Bad experience at Korean restaurant

[sone66]

I wanted to share this experience with all of you. Walked into this Korean restaurant with my 7 year old daughter. The place is called 'Jeo Pal Gae' Korean Restaurant on 631 Anderson Avenue, Cliffside Park NJ.

The lady who came to our table was surly at best. We ordered the pork barbeque. Waited forever (we were starving) and none of the kimchee and sides arrived either. Finally she put down this plate of miserable fatty bacon and a few smitherings of kimchee.

I was shocked. I said I ordered pork, not thin and fatty bacon slices! I asked to change to something else as there was no way I could eat plain fat. She said "Either eat it, or pay and leave". When I said, "Why should I pay for something I am not going to eat. Please change it."

She then said she would call the police! My 7 yr-old burst into tears and got hysterical and begged me to pay her and get out of there. I refused to be bullied like that but my daughter would not calm down so I had no choice but to just pay the bill and walk out.

It was awful. Wanted you to know so you can STAY AWAY from that pyscho!

[Behemoth]

It may have been a misunderstanding. The pork BBQ is typically made of pork belly, at least the few times I've had it. As far as the lack of banchan, well, I guess it's just not that good of a place.

[Jason Perlow]

It may have been a misunderstanding. The pork BBQ is typically made of pork belly, at least the few times I've had it. As far as the lack of banchan, well, I guess it's just not that good of a place.

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Yeah, you need to be careful when ordering pork dishes in Korean restaurants. It's most likely going to be pork belly, which is extremely fatty. Sometimes you will see pork loin, or some other cut of pork, but you really need to ask what cut of pork it is.

Generally speaking, most Korean restaurants, especially in Northern NJ, do not want to cater to American (or even Non-Korean) customers because they've had bad experiences with us not liking their food and there is almost always communication and language problems when ordering. If you can somehow get over the hump and display some knowledge and confidence in what you are ordering, however, they can tell you are not some ignoramus and will give you better service. I always have problems going to new Korean restaurants because they don't have that comfortability factor with me yet -- we almost always have to tell them that we know what we are ordering. The ones that we go to usually recognize me after a visit or two (I realize I am not difficult to remember) and take good care of us. Some restaurants are better with American customers than others.

[PicnicChef]

It may have been a misunderstanding. The pork BBQ is typically made of pork belly, at least the few times I've had it. As far as the lack of banchan, well, I guess it's just not that good of a place.

←

Yeah, you need to be careful when ordering pork dishes in Korean restaurants. It's most likely going to be pork belly, which is extremely fatty. Sometimes you will see pork loin, or some other cut of pork, but you really need to ask what cut of pork it is.

Generally speaking, most Korean restaurants, especially in Northern NJ, do not want to cater to American (or even Non-Korean) customers because they've had bad experiences with us not liking their food and there is almost always communication and language problems when ordering. If you can somehow get over the hump and display some knowledge and confidence in what you are ordering, however, they can tell you are not some ignoramus and will give you better service. I always have problems going to new Korean restaurants because they don't have that comfortability factor with me yet -- we almost always have to tell them that we know what we are ordering. The ones that we go to usually recognize me after a visit or two (I realize I am not difficult to remember) and take good care of us. Some restaurants are better with American customers than others.

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Good to know. Pork belly is indeed that...and is frequently used in Korean dishes. The trick is to cook it low and slow so that most of the fat melts and the remaining fat is just a melt in your mouth HELLO. But, that aside, it is good to know about that kind of service. Just bad...english, korean, Anglican, French...when someone doesn't like something, you take it off the bill, not call the police! Absurd, that!

[sone66]

I'm from Hong Kong and we used to go to Korean bbq places all the time and very frequently because I love it. We had never been served stuff like that. It was always proper pieces of pork - actual flesh with no fat. So that was what I was expecting so it was a shock. And on top of that her demeanour was so awful.

[Rosie]

In any case, welcome to eGullet sone66 and be sure to tell us about all of your dining experiences--both good and bad.

[tommy]

i'm at the point where if i *don't* get a fatty piece of pork that's probably the equivalent of bacon in some other culture then i'm offended and want to call the cops.

[dumpling]

Try Han Il Kwan in Fort Lee.

Nice place, reasonable service, tons of food.

[Pan]

It's interesting that I don't think I've ever had a problem with ordering in Korean restaurants in Manhattan or Flushing. The server sometimes asks me if I've had something before; they want to make sure I'm likely to like it. But I can't remember the last time they brought something other than what I ordered. I think the places I've gone to must be more used to non-Korean customers who enjoy the cuisine than the places in Northern New Jersey are. I do remember overhearing one of a deuce of non-Korean men at Yangpyung Seoul Haejanguk Restaurant on 33rd St. telling a waitress that they didn't like their kalbi and getting no response, though, as if to implicitly reply "too bad." The same waitress was friendly to me, because I showed that I appreciated the food. (By the way, sone66, I don't mean to imply anything about you, just recounting a story.)