THE BEST: Manhattan Korean

[jpr54_]

my favorite korean restaurant is han gawi-

and tea shop franchia-

[schmooty]

Anyone have any udpates on places in the city or northern nj that are still

using coals?

[rooftop1000]

hi hi

just got back from lunch at Kang Suh gas grills indeed...we did the bukoki a sliced pork belly and chicken BBQ the service was attentive but not intrusive and since we ate all our "yummies" panchan they brought more stuff out midway

T

[lambretta76]

Can anyone recommend their favorite Korean restaurant for vegetarians? I know Hangawi is, but we'll be going with some teenagers and I feel that its prices are just a bit too dear for us. Franchia seems to be a slightly better option, but yet again, it's a bit pricey. I've heard good things about Cho Dang Gol and their homemade tofu, as well as a possibility of another veggie place on the 2nd floor of a building on 32nd St.

[melonpan]

My mother's Koreanist friend's favorite place is Kang Suh, but she has never been to Woo Chon.

what does koreanist mean?

[Pan]

A Koreanist is a scholar who specializes in the study of things Korean. In this case, I'm talking about an anthropologist. Her husband is a historian, also specializing in East Asia. Both of them speak fluent Korean and have spent a great deal of time living in Korea.

[jesuki1]

Can anyone recommend their favorite Korean restaurant for vegetarians? I know Hangawi is, but we'll be going with some teenagers and I feel that its prices are just a bit too dear for us. Franchia seems to be a slightly better option, but yet again, it's a bit pricey. I've heard good things about Cho Dang Gol and their homemade tofu, as well as a possibility of another veggie place on the 2nd floor of a building on 32nd St.

←

lambretta, are you talking veggie only vegetarian, or is seafood a possibility? I go with a vegetarian friend to Seoul Garden (formerly Natural Tofu) for soon doo boo (tofu stew). They have many kinds, including seafood and kimchi (I personally love the kimchi soon-doo-boo there). You can always ask for the kimchi soon doo boo without beef, although I've found that occasionally, meat creeps in there by accident.

FAVES

As for my favorite Korean places, as another poster mentioned, Kam Mee Oak is a favorite for sul-rung-tang, bibimbap and kimchi.

Kun Jip is great for bibim naeng-myun (spicy clear glass noodles, no soup). The place is always packed when I go.

Choga - great kimchi chigae. Not much in the way of banchan, unfortunately.

Not technically Korean, but I love the duk-book-yi (steamed rice cakes with a sweet red pepper sauce) at Momofuku. They grill the rice cakes to give it a crispy, crunchy outside. (rest of the menu is ramen-focused)

Food court at the Union St. Han Ah Rheum supermarket - LA kalbi and bibim naeng-myun. Limited menu, cafeteria-style, but reliable and cheap!

NOT FAVES

Woo chon has terrible bi-bim-bap. I should stick with the bbq, I know.

Kum Kang San - the Manhattan location food is pretty blah. I used to think the Flushing location was better, although I recently had awful bulgogi there.

Dok Suni - the food here's not bad, but it's not really "authentic". And I really hate paying extra for banchan.

Edited February 22, 2005 by jesuki1 (log)

[ErinB]

I think Cho Dang Gol is a good option for vegetarians, especially if they like tofu, and they have other options for meat eaters as well.

[Kahrs]

I think Cho Dang Gol is a good option for vegetarians, especially if they like tofu, and they have other options for meat eaters as well.

←

damn dootin'

cho dang gol has the best tofu I've ever had.

But not a charcoal place as I recall.

[philadining]

I just ate, gee, I lost track, I think it was about 200 dumplings at Mandoo Bar on 32nd. We had the basic (boiled, pork) mool mandoo, vegetable goon mandoo, which had a nice fried crunch on the green dough, and probably my faves, the kimchee mandoo. A big bowl of Dduk-Bok-Ki brought chewy rice cakes, some subtle fish cake and thin noodles in a bright red sauce/broth that had only a little heat, but a really nice full flavor. A seafood pajon pancake was smallish, but good. I really enjoyed everything, especially, appropriately at a place named as it is, the mandoo. I had a rather obscene amount of food and a bottle of OB for $20-something.

I too love the tofu at Cho Dang Gol, and sure, Dok Suni's not all that trad, but I love those ribs! But I'm going to have a hard time going to either, or to barbecue places for a while, I think i have developed a mandoo obsession... I think it's probably healthy that I live in Philly, I can measure out doses of these dumplings, rather than just eating them every day until i burn out.

[touaregsand]

. . . Union St. Han Ah Rheum supermarket - LA kalbi and bibim naeng-myun.  Limited menu, cafeteria-style, but reliable and cheap!

So thin sliced Kalbi over there (or is it here?) is called "LA Kalbi?" When I go to Manhatten the last thing I'm looking for is Korean (because I live in LA and I've been to Seoul over a hundred times, so it's just not something I go looking for elsewhere). That's what they call it in Korea too "LA Kalbi." Of course in LA we just call it Kalbi or it shows up at non-Korean markets as "Korean short ribs" or "Korean barbecue ribs." I do know that the particular cut was created in LA.

[philadining]

In the course of an article about Japanese Robata joints, the Times reports that the Korean barbecue restaurants Kom Tang Soot Bul and Gyu-Kaku are still using charcoal in Manhattan.

the article

[jogoode]

Has anyone eaten at Kom Tang, on 32nd Street? I got a recommendation from a food-minded Korean friend but have yet to follow up.

[donbert]

←

So thin sliced Kalbi over there (or is it here?) is called "LA Kalbi?" When I go to Manhatten the last thing I'm looking for is Korean (because I live in LA and I've been to Seoul over a hundred times, so it's just not something I go looking for elsewhere). That's what they call it in Korea too "LA Kalbi." Of course in LA we just call it Kalbi or it shows up at non-Korean markets as "Korean short ribs" or "Korean barbecue ribs." I do know that the particular cut was created in LA.

←

"Kalbi" literally means ribs, though it is by default understood to be beef ribs, pork ribs are called "Tweji Kalbi". Traditionally (beef) "Kalbi" is a 3" section of a single short rib with the meat butterflied back and forth to create a long flat ribbon attached to the bone, often refereed to now as "Pyon Kalbi" which means unfolded Kalbi. LA Kalbi is 3 (though sometimes 4) short ribs still connected that are cut cross sectionally about a 1/4" thick. The result is a long thing piece of meat with 3 small bones across the top. Though I don't know the exact history of when this cut was first introduced, I can only assume that it originates form LA, hence "LA Kalbi".

[larousse]

Kun Jip has really good makerel (I cant spell). Really fatty...my mouth is watering. My korean friend Kyoo insists on eating there as well.

[Todd36]

In the course of an article about Japanese Robata joints, the Times reports that the Korean barbecue restaurants Kom Tang Soot Bul and Gyu-Kaku are still using charcoal in Manhattan.

the article

←

Curious if people have Gyu-Kaku reports---early word from my Japanses friends is that it's not as good as their Japanese locations---none of my clise friends have eaten there yet.

[Pan]

Looks like Kun Jip may be worth a visit. For the record, here's their superpages.com listing:

KUN JIP Restaurant

9 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001

(212) 216-9487

[MichaelZ]

In the course of an article about Japanese Robata joints, the Times reports that the Korean barbecue restaurants Kom Tang Soot Bul and Gyu-Kaku are still using charcoal in Manhattan.

the article

←

So does 36 Bar and Grill on, of course, 36th St. just west of 5th Ave.

[slkinsey]

A recent article in the NY Times had some interesting things to say that touch on NYC Korean dining.

When Nobu Matsuhisa opens Nobu 57 this summer, it will have a 12-seat table around a Korean-style charcoal grill.

I'll be interested to see if the food is also Korean-style.

Kunsup Chong manages Kom Tang Soot Bul in Midtown, one of the few Korean restaurants using only wood charcoal in table grills. . . . He said the flavor from charcoal is irreplaceable: "Fire. Heat. Smoke. There is no substitute for that."

Looks like Kom Tang Soot Bul is the go-to Korean place for real charcoal now.

Jewel Bako Robata, a rigorously authentic robata in the East Village, closed last month. It just reopened as a Korean barbecue place, Grace's Kalbi Bar.

It is named "Grace's" after owner Grace Lamb, who grew up in a Korean-American family in New York. Sounds like a place to check out.

[GaijinGirl]

Thought I'd drop a line and mention two really good Korean finds I found recently - must tries, actually:

1) Hwe Dup Bop (Sashimi with spicy red sauce and veggies) - in of all places, a deli called Old Bridge - 373 Lexington Avenue (39th Cross). Veeerrrry tasty.

2) A particularly good and soft Mochi at Koryodang - 31 west 32nd street - it's usually at the counter, large, asymmetrical and white. Best mochi I've ever had.

FYI to all!

--Janet (GG)

[banquo]

Last night I craved something hearty and spicy, so the search was on for some soup. I recalled a Korean place on 33rd that I tried last year but had since completely forgot about (who goes to 33rd when everything seems to be on 32nd?). The place is called Yangpyung Seoul Haejangguk. The last term, according to my Korean wife, means 'morning after soup', as in morning after a severe bender. This is an apt description of their primary offerings. They do not have a phone book sized menu like many places on 32nd, and I think this is to their advantage. I noticed a handful of BBQ offerings, but no one in the place was ordering any. Everyone I saw, and myself included, ordered some form of soup or stew (excepting one table that got a full sized roasting pan full of something I couldn't see).

The soups here are 1st rate and not for the faint of heart. They have various offal soup offerings, some dumpling offereings, and one black goat offering, but we opted for the more mundane pork and beef. The pork stew came out bubbling hot in a slightly-larger-than-usual clay bowl. To say the presentation is rustic here is a gross understatement (I still can't get out of my mind the roasting pan they brought to that one table). The bowl was piled high with pork neck bones and a large potato cut in half. I had to remove most of the bones and the potato to comfortably eat the stew lurking beneath. The stew was incredible. It was rich and deep, hearty and spicy: everything I was craving. I pulled some of the pork meat from the bones and threw them in the stew. Even more delicious. The banchan is also first rate. Fresh and crisp with easily discernible flavors. That is, very much unlike many of the restaurants on 32nd. My wife ordered the spicy beef soup (yuk gye jang). I didn't try it last night but had some this morning. As equally delicious as the pork stew. We also ordered the seafood pancake. This was only ok. Nothing special, but not a failure either.

All in all clearly the best Korean soup I've had in Manhattan. The other bonus is that the place seems to be a bit under the radar. There is no wait for a table (unlike Kun Jip--my favorite overall Korean in Manhattan). Perhaps the adult video store and cabaret across the street are keeping people away.

[LycheeLover]

Woo Lae Oak and Kum Gang San are my favorites.

[Sneakeater]

Last night I craved something hearty and spicy, so the search was on for some soup.  I recalled a Korean place on 33rd that I tried last year but had since completely forgot about (who goes to 33rd when everything seems to be on 32nd?).  The place is called Yangpyung Seoul Haejangguk.  The last term, according to my Korean wife, means 'morning after soup', as in morning after a severe bender.  This is an apt description of their primary offerings.  They do not have a phone book sized menu like many places on 32nd, and I think this is to their advantage.  I noticed a handful of BBQ offerings, but no one in the place was ordering any.  Everyone I saw, and myself included, ordered some form of soup or stew (excepting one table that got a full sized roasting pan full of something I couldn't see).

The soups here are 1st rate and not for the faint of heart.  They have various offal soup offerings, some dumpling offereings, and one black goat offering, but we opted for the more mundane pork and beef.  The pork stew came out bubbling hot in a slightly-larger-than-usual clay bowl.  To say the presentation is rustic here is a gross understatement (I still can't get out of my mind the roasting pan they brought to that one table).  The bowl was piled high with pork neck bones and a large potato cut in half.  I had to remove most of the bones and the potato to comfortably eat the stew lurking beneath.  The stew was incredible.  It was rich and deep, hearty and spicy:  everything I was craving.  I pulled some of the pork meat from the bones and threw them in the stew.  Even more delicious.  The banchan  is also first rate.  Fresh and crisp with easily discernible flavors.  That is, very much unlike many of the restaurants on 32nd.  My wife ordered the spicy beef soup (yuk gye jang).  I didn't try it last night but had some this morning.  As equally delicious as the pork stew.  We also ordered the seafood pancake.  This was only ok.  Nothing special, but not a failure either. 

All in all clearly the best Korean soup I've had in Manhattan.  The other bonus is that the place seems to be a bit under the radar.  There is no wait for a table (unlike Kun Jip--my favorite overall Korean in Manhattan).  Perhaps the adult video store and cabaret across the street are keeping people away.

←

I am FAR from an expert on Korean food, but this place is my favorite of all that I've tried in New York. It's off the beaten path (by a whole block!), so people might tend to miss it. But it's really worth that strenuous one-block detour.

[oakapple]

A friend of mine absolutely swears by Woo Lae Oak, and at her suggestion we gave it a try last night. The space is large, the vibe dark and sexy, the tables generously spaced. Though there were just two of us, we were seated at a four-top, with partitions separating our table from those on either side of ours. It almost felt like a semi-private room.

She steered us clear of the appetizers, based on past experience. There are some 17 barbecue choices, priced $18–39m if which we selected two: black tiger prawns and sliced beef rib eye (both $24). Cook-it-yourself food is always plenty of fun. We were particularly impressed with the rib eye's intense flavor.

She selected a rice dish, Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap (steamed rice with vegetables in a hot stone bowl) ($18), again based on past experience, which was a spicy delight. Dinner also comes with a salad and garnishes, and with the two barbecue dishes this probably would have been enough.

But we also ordered the black cod and daikon radish in a spicy, sweet garlic soy sauce ($28), which was superb, ranking right up there with Nobu's famous preparation. I would run back to Woo Lae Oak for this dish alone.

We didn't drink alcohol. Dinner for two was $102 including tax, before tip. I don't believe I've tried Korean Barbecue anywhere else, so I can't make comparisons, but Woo Lae Oak was plenty of fun, and we were quite happy with our meal.

Edited June 14, 2006 by oakapple (log)

[Dryden]

A friend of mine is trying to figure out one of the banchan dishes they have at Kum Gang San - I was hoping someone might be able to help. She describes it as pickled, with a sort of escargot-like way about it...

Does anyone know what it is?