OC: Just opened

[jschyun]

This just opened this month and so I went to check it out. Their specialty is all sorts of noodles (gakjong guksuryu), but especially busut maeuntang kalguksu (spicy soup with mushrooms and handcut wheat noodles). The picture on the window shows a cool pic of this dish. The owner told me to get this, so I did. By the way, Pung Ro, for our intents and purposes, means "burner" (Chinese derivation).

Banchan: was very homemade tasting,as in the home of a normal home cook, not some cookbook author or famous chef. There was kkakdugi (cubed Chinese radish kimchi) and mak kimchi in a big tub with tongs to ladle out as much as you wanted onto a cute little plate. Bindaedduk (red with kimchi juice), cucumber pickles, and some tofu with spicy soy sauce were all presented on various little flowered plates, the kind that you see gracing the pages of popular Korean women's magazines, like Sa Vie.

My busut maeuntang came out on a gas burner, as advertised. I must admit that I've never seen anyone else put little checkered cozies on the soup tureen handles, not to mention the shiny plastic ladle she put by my side that had Peter Rabbit running down its handle. She lit the burner and when she turned her back, I sneaked a taste. There were button mushrooms, straw mushrooms, some beef, hot pepper powder, and prob some vegetables in there like large green onions, but I forget exactly. She chitchatted with another guy who came in, who apparently was a friend trying to support the restaurant. He asked what I was having and she told him that it was really good, and so he got it too.

After about 10 minutes, she bustled to the back and stayed there for a couple of minutes. Then she came out with a bowl full of just cooked knife cut noodles (kal guksu). She dumped them in the maeuntang and told me that they would be ready in just a bit. She asked me lots of questions like where I lived and other bio info, and joked around as if I had known her forever.

Another lady came out and gave me a pink apron to put over my clothes, so they wouldn't get ruined, even though I was just wearing a ratty t-shirt. I noticed they didn't give the other (guy) customer a pink apron.

I finally started eating the maeuntang and for the next 15 minutes forgot everything else. I have to say, for a non seafood maeuntang, I really liked this dish. The fact that the noodles were pre-cooked in the back meant that they didn't gum up the soup and turn it into a slurry. The mushrooms and beef mellowed each other. yum.

The owner came back after I was halfway finished and told me that I should leave a little soup in the pot. I had a hard time finishing the contents of the tureen and she nagged me about leaving so much food, and wondered aloud if I thought it tasted bad. I was dangerously close to full! But, I laid on the charm and told her how great the mushrooms were in this dish, and how I loved the noodles and how it all worked together, and how I was sooo full. Anyway, she beamed and started her banter again, as she started shoving everyting except a little broth out of the tureen into my bowl, so that she could make the second dish.

In a separate bowl she had put rice, tiny mince of carrot, I think seaweed, I think green onion, sesame oil, and an egg. She put this all in the tureen and put the heat a little higher and left it to cook and form a nice little crust. Well, I didn't let it wait long enough because mine didn't form a good crust. However, it did turn out into a decent little rice dish to finish off the meal.

2 dishes for the price of one, just like some other restaurants you might have read about. $11.99, not to mention the side order of personality!

Dunno if they speak English, but I suspect not. However, they're really friendly and outgoing here, so I'm sure they'll pick it up fast if you come by.

Pung Ro Noodle Restaurant

9972 Garden Grove Blvd #f

Garden Grove, CA 92844

714-636-0800

[savvysearch]

thanks for the review. was it a busy opening?

[jschyun]

Well, I wasn't there for opening day, so don't know. When I was there, there was nobody and that one other guy that I mentioned strolled in. So far, I don't think there is any other restaurant in OC that does this particular dish which is why I wrote about it. I could be wrong though. Things are opening all the time.

[Joe Blowe]

Something just dawned on me while I read your post: Are there male Korean waiters? I've been in quite a few Korean establishments over the years, and it just hit me, I think I've only been served by females. Am I wrong?

[Squeat Mungry]

Something just dawned on me while I read your post:  Are there male Korean waiters?  I've been in quite a few Korean establishments over the years, and it just hit me, I think I've only been served by females.  Am I wrong?

You know, I've been eating in Korean restaurants for over 20 years now (not exclusively of course, but fairly often), and cannot recall a single male server. Odd. Never really considered that before.

Edit:

Posts per day: 2.7

New goal: a life!

Edited August 26, 2004 by Squeat Mungry (log)

[jschyun]

Hmm. I've never thought about this. I've seen male waiters, in fact, I was helped by a young man at Coffee Garden in Garden Grove, just the other day. He served me and took my money for an okay patbingsu. Also, my parents had a male waiter at a soft tofu house the other day. I think Shik Do Rak in GG has at least 1 male waiter, but I haven't been there in a while so I could be wrong. Maybe he just does the register.

I'll try to remember to start asking around about this. Now that I think about it, we also had a lot of women waitresses in Korea the last time I was there. I can't remember a single male waiter.

[mongo_jones]

barbecue places will often have male wait-staff--but they're usually overseeing rather than serving.

in india it is highly unusual to see female waiters.

i guess it depends on whether a patriarchal culture is more obsessed with protecting masculinity or guarding femininity.

[jschyun]

barbecue places will often have male wait-staff--but they're usually overseeing rather than serving.

hmm, I was actually excluding those. If you include those guys then yeah, there are lots of male waitstaff out there.

Oh yeah, I had a male waiter at gohyangsanchun (translates to hometown or the place you were born, actually melonpan has a better,more thorough translation), which is that place melonpan wrote about in here. He poured my water, brought out my burner and cookpot with the deokbokki and cooked it for me. Not a woman in sight.

I know I'll remember more if I think about it long enough.

--added note

Edited August 26, 2004 by jschyun (log)