All Entries Tagged With: "Korean"

Shabusen Yakiniku House on Granville and West 14th, Vancouver

The last time we had Japanese AYCE (all-you-can-eat) was 7 months ago. That was when we went to E-Bei.

As much as Nanzaro and Arkensen love Japanese sushi, the reason why we had not gone to one more often is because Suanne just doesn’t like raw fish, period.

But Shabusen Yakiniku House is different. It is both a Japanese AYCE and a Korean BBQ AYCE.

There are two Shabusens in Vancouver. There is one in downtown Vancouver. We went to the other one on Granville.

In case you don’t know, the word Yakiniku means grilled meat in Japanese.

For an AYCE, Shabusen looks a lot posh and better than all the other AYCEs we had been to. The whole place is bright with lots of ceiling high windows and skylights. It was actually a beautiful day eating here despite the it being rainy the whole morning. The Fall colors looked so good at this time of the year.

Every table had a gas grill in the center. That is for the Korean BBQ. See the bottle above? That is the BBQ sauce but really, we hardly need to use that because the meat were already very well marinated.

Service was kind of slow here. The waiters and waitresses seems to walk around with their eyes peeled to the ground all the time. It is as if they are afraid that if they get eye contact with the customer, they will have to do more work or something. It was so hard to get their attention when we wanted something from them.

The AYCE is $13 for weekdays and $13.50 for weekends. Dinner is is $22.

The selection at a glance looks a lot smaller than places like Kingsway Sushi and E-Bei. The above was our first round order where we max out our order of Sashimis.

We left these 32 pieces to the boys. These alone kept them very happy.

For Suanne and I, we were quite contended with the Korean BBQ. There are three choices … chicken, beef and pork.

In our greed, we ordered a total of EIGHT plates of BBQ meat. That was way too much and we had a difficult time finishing all of them. We did not feel good about wasting food.

For once, I was the one who did all the cooking. Oh yeah, believe it or not [giving myself a pat on the back].

BBQ is a guy thing for some reason. Suanne was happy to let me do all the work while she enjoys my cooking.

Well, I must say that I did quite well. The meat was super … More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Dai Jang Kum Korean Restaurant on St Edwards Drive and Bridgeport, Richmond

The thing we enjoy most in blogging is getting to know people. We had made a lot of friends over the years through this blog.

Some of you guys may remember this book on the left.

When we blogged about Pinpin right after our Spain vacation, we also mentioned the Culinaria Spain which we enjoyed reading. It is the book we used as a reference in planning our gastronomic vacation in Spain. Rey was kind enough to loan us the book and we mentioned that we returned it to him.

Well … Kan-Man, who was a silent reader of Chowtimes until recently, wrote to us saying that he had the same book. He asked if we wanted it before he donates it to the library.

As much as we were reluctant to accept it, Kan-Man was kind enough to insist that we take it, given that I mentioned I enjoyed this book. This book that Kan-Man gave us is in hardcover.

We made arrangements to meet up and have dinner with his young family. We always enjoy meeting up with our blog’s readers.

We went to Dai Jang Kum. Dai Jang Kum is located on Bridgeport at the intersection with St Edwards Drive. It is on the same place as The Bricks.  The restaurant is owned and operated by Koreans. So it is as authentic Korean as it gets.

Dai Jang Kum is named after the main character of the popular Korean period drama called Dae Jung Geum. The pictures of the Jung Geum actress adrons on the walls. I am not sure why the name got spelt as Dai Jung Kum. Maybe it is because it is spelt phonetically according to Chinese characters.

Have any one watched the TV series before? It is a series based on Korean history of a girl named Jung Geum who rose from the imperial kitchen to become the emperor’s personal physician. I heard that in the TV series there were always a part where they show Korean cuisine.

Here is a youtube of what I mean. The above is 9 minutes and is a series of several. Check it out … you might be as mesmerized as I was.

Unfortunately what we had did not come close to what is on the youtube video. LOL!

However, like a feast that Korean cuisine is used to, we were served 8 types of Banchans (Kimchee, potatoes, salad, seaweed, daikon, beancurd, soy bean sprout, and eggplant).

Kan-Man made the order mostly since he had been here several times before and is familiar with the menu. Dai Jung Kum’s menu is large but generally has about the same items that you will find in most Korean restaurants.

There were two families dining and so we had a 2-person BBQ Combo, 2-person hot pot, a pancake, and oxtail & knee bone soup. Oh, we also had Chicken Fried Rice for our boys.

The meal came with five bowls of rice which I think came with some of the food we ordered. The metal bowls are hot from the steamed rice.

Did I tell you this before? Unlike Chinese and Japanese, Koreans do not lift the bowls from the table when they eat. So it is OK then that they serve rice in a metal bowl.

We also had three bowls of soup which came with something. Again, I am not sure what they are for.

The above is BBQ Combo A which is a combination platter of BBQ meats including chicken, beef, beef short ribs and pork. We had the order for 2 person which costs $29. More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Bool Chul Pan Korean Hot Grill on North Road, Coquitlam

Ladies and gentlemen.  This restaurant is a great find.

It is unique and one of a kind in Vancouver.  It is cheap.  It is delicious.  It has monstrous portions.  It is multi-course.  It is interactive.  It is fun.  The people are super friendly.

If I tell you the name of this place, you will NEVER find it.  Yeah, go ahead … go Bing or Google or Bingle the name “Bool Chul Pan”.  See if you can find it.  LOL!

It is everything I like in a restaurant.  And I think you will too.

The place is unpretentious.  Not much of a decor.  The tables and chairs are of bulky wooden unpolished type.  The place is smokey.  It is smokey from all the cooking they do for you at your table.  The smell alone of this place will make you drool in anticipation.  The hardest part is eyeing the neighboring tables having the same thing on a sizzling pan … cooking away.

I swear those at the tables who were already eating smirking at us droolers who had not started yet.

Let me clue you in a little bit more.  They serve drinking water in plastic containers like the ones above.  The characters on the label should give you some clue what type of food they serve.

OK, the title of this post already has the word “Korean”.  Just humour me and stay with me … pretend you still don’t know.

This place gives us metal chopsticks.  No other nation in the world uses metal chopsticks.  And the chopsticks are very thin … very hard to hold even for someone who grows up using chopsticks.  It forces you to pick your food more delicately … more deliberately.

They give you banchan.  Lots of it.  Plates stacked high as they bring them to your table.  Then they lay it on the table leaving hardly any space left for anything else.

Suanne had to put her note book on her lap.  I had to also put my camera on my lap.

Kimchee.  Potato.  Bean sprout. Daikon. Cold Sour Soup.  It is free.  No charge at all.  Free is good.

The banchan is quite OK.  Not great.  I had better ones.  But it is forgiveable given what we are about to have.

Then they gave each of us an apron.  Everyone has one.  It is bright orange.  This is gonna sizzle.  This is getting exciting.  Felt kind of silly putting this on.  But we did.  Everyone did.

They proudly declared that they are the only people who serves this unique meal in Metro Vancouver.  No one else.  Non.  Nada.  Nien.  Nyet.  Illai.

Mei you!

Then came the gas burner.  For once we see a Korean made one.  It is not one of the billions of Chinese made burners that had flooded the worlds market.

The Korean stands are taller.  They are different.

Nanzaro ordered this.  This one came in a bowl as big as a basin.  Not really, but close.  It is huge, big, humungous, gigantic, enormous, massive.  This alone can feed a family of four, communal style.  Am not kidding.

This is called Spicy Seafood Soup with Korean Pasta.  Only $9.

The noodle was chewy.  It is loaded with stuff … with squid, onions, mushroom, wood ear, cucumber and green onions.

Value for money.  Delicious too.

But wait.  This is not “it”.  The above is not “it” at all.  No siree.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is IT! … More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Meok Ja Gol (MJG) Korean Barbeque Restaurant on Kingsway and Nelson, Burnaby

I bet you will find Meok Ja Gol (MJG) interesting enough to want to check it out — we did.

Even though I work one short block away from MJG, I had never paid any attention to it.

This is because MJG is hidden in a recess from Kingway in Burnaby.  The best way to find it is to know that it is located east of Nelson on Kingsway.  But then the address is not really Kingsway … kind of weird I know.  If you are driving and want to get to MJG, the entrance is on the short road almost parallel to Kingsway called Newton St.  Forget what I just said … just drive to the back lane on Kingsway!

I feel for MJG.  They are a very unique and interesting restaurant and yet the location sucks.  What a shame.

MJG is so authentic Korean that they can hardly speak English at all. They were so authentic that they even have loads of Korean magazines and newspapers neatly stacked for the customer’s use.  Even the TV was playing Korean serial drama.  They asked if we wanted to switch to another channel but we told them we’re fine … Suanne loves Korean love drama with dashing young handsome Korean actors.  LOL!

Suanne and I went before 5PM … the place was empty at that time.  Actually, MJG had only a couple of tables taken the whole time we were there.  We like the cleanliness of MJG and also the rustic villagey feel to it.

They brought is some hot tea in a plastic container just as we got settled down.  I assume that Korean restaurants commonly serves tea this way.

They have a really big menu … 16 pages of glossy pages with lots of pictures.  Even their take out menu is printed in high gloss and comes in a 16 page booklet.  You can’t beat that, can you?  If there is an award for the best take out menu, MJG will win hands down.

Without even bothering with the rest of the menu, Suanne and I already know what we wanted.  It is on page #1 … the one thing that MJG is known for … the MJG Dinner BBQ Combo.  Read on … this is NOT any kind of Korean BBQ you normally see around.  This one is high tech.  LOL!

Ordering is simple:

• For 2-3 people: $49.95 with 12 (best) items
• For 4-5 people: $99.95 with 13 (better) items
• For 6-7 people: $149.95 with 17 (bestest) items.

With this combo, you don’t need to order anything else.  There are more than enough food for everyone — trust me!

We were warned that it will take at least 30 minutes to prepare.  Sure, we could wait said … we had all the time in the world that afternoon.  I was actually quite pleased with the wait because it meant that good food cannot be rushed.

Since everything is Korean, it was hard to entertain ourselves during the long wait.  If you go, bring along a book or something.  Let’s talk a bit about ho hum matters.  OK … for one, they have one of those wireless service buttons on each table.  I was not sure initially what it is because there is no icon or something to indicate what it is.  I guess this also acts as a panic button of sorts in case the BBQ flares up.

I can’t get used to Korean chopsticks.  They are so flat and narrow that it’s hard to get a grip.  Japanese and Chinese chopsticks are easier to handle.  Also, you will notice that Korean spoons have very long handles.  I think there is a practical reason for it but am not sure why … anyone knows?

The above is their high tech BBQ computerized device (their brochure said so!).  It was pretty interesting.  It is a complete eating system designed from the ground up not just for table top charcoal BBQ but also for soup, etc!  Read on … you will know what I mean.

This is what the wait was about … the charcoal.  They need 30 minutes to heat it up.  It was a pretty glow-y sight … and very hot.  I can feel the heat radiating from where we were sitting.

They do everything for you.  When they left the charcoal by the side of the table I thought I am supposed to handle this myself!  They opened up the grill and put in the two baskets of charcoal.

Underneath the charcoal is a tray of water.  I guess the water serves a dual purpose of moderating the heat and also to prevent the entire BBQ’ing cavity from getting too dry.

The delicious looking meat is put on skewers specially to rotate at a constant speed in the BBQ machine.  Our combo included beef ribs, beef ribeye, chicken and prawns.  Mind you, I am not even half way there on this blog entry!

More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Man Ri Sung Korean Restaurant on Clarke Road, Coquitlam

This is an “Oh Wow! Oh My!” kind of post. You really got to pay attention to this one.

Jenny of My Secret Eden went for the Duck Feast at Man Ri Sung and blogged about it. It was one of those rare finds that you only know about by word of mouth. This is the kind of feast that you need a lot of people to attend. So, we invited Angie of Sea Salt With Food and Whitney and Ken. With the kids there were 10 of us altogether.

Man Ri Sung is a Korean Restaurant. They are located on 609 Clarke Road in Coquitlam — which was a long drive away for all of us. If not for this duck feast, we would not have taken the trouble to drive that far. Man Ri Sung is a standalone restaurant with its own parking lot. However, parking is limited and some cars need to be double parked.

Forget about ambiance and decor. It is a really simple restaurant. The dining area is large but was very busy when we were there — that was a good sign.

The above was what we were there for. The duck feast is normally $62 but they had it as a special for $50. Each order is meant for four people but I felt it has more than enough even for five people.

This is quite complicated … let me see if I can explain the Duck Feast. Each order will come with three courses. The main course is the duck. Part of the duck is then used to make either a hotpot or congee as the second course. In the third course, you get to choose from Japchae, steamed gyoza or some dark rice rolls.

It worked out great for the ten of us — we ordered two sets of the Duck Feast.

BTW, you will need to pre-order the Duck Feast as it takes two hours for the chef to prepare it. When I made the reservation, the person on the phone could not understand English and asked if I speak Korean or Mandarin.

Korean eating utensils are different from Chinese and Japanese. Unless you are Asian, you might not notice the difference. For one, Korean has spoons with long handles (kind of good that they even have a paper wrapper around it) — Chinese normally issues soup spoons while Japanese does not have spoons.

As for chopsticks, Chinese uses longer, thicker chopsticks with blunt ends. Japanese uses shorter chopsticks with sharper ends. Now, Koreans uses chopsticks made of metal and has a flat side … we were not used to handling flatter chopsticks. I think the reason why the chopsticks are metal is because it is more suitable for food like Korean BBQ.

The Chef personally cart the duck and carve the duck in front of the diners. I think it’s a nice personal touch but wished that he speaks English. During the time we were there, we counted that they sold about 8 ducks in all. Not bad.

We can see that the ducks were fresh out from the oven … it was steaming when the chef carved it. Actually we were all very hungry because we reminded each other to come hungry. Waiting for him to finish carving was sheer agony for me!

The duck by the looks of it was great … it looked moist. They are very tender to the bite and most important of all, they were quite fleshy.

However, you do not eat it just like that … there are more, much more!

More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Cho Sun Korean BBQ on Kingsway, Vancouver

One of the thing I had to accept being a Project Manager is that I don’t have a permanent team to work with. Members are assigned to my project and once the project is delivered, the members are re-assigned elsewhere. The project I am working on right now is just a few short months away. It is at this time that the team begins to say our Thank You’s … by eating out.

It was Neelam we all gave a Thank You to. It is sort of customary that the Goodbye Girl gets to choose the type of food and gets to choose whoever she wants to invite (outside of the team).

Neelam said she wanted Korean BBQ and left the choice of the restaurant to me. Within walking distance from the office is Jang Mo Jib which I ruled out immediately. There is also Johnston House but to my surprised they were closed for business already. I remember eating at Johnston House before and absolutely love the mansion that they were in.

We ended up in Cho Sun Korean BBQ which located on Kingsway just west of Boundary. When I called for a reservation for 14 people, I had a tough time because they don’t speak much English. Which I think was great because this means that it is an authentic Korean place.

We were given a booth with long tables with just enough space for the 14 of us. It was as authentic as it could get. The benches were lined with thin pillows. If you want to squeeze in more people, no problem … just grab one of the pillows from the common area. Red is for the girls and blue is for the boys (I’m kidding).

We were there at noon but the place was freezing cold like there is no heating at all. They have these portable heaters placed all over the restaurant which I thought that it was kind of dangerous leaving it standing on the walkway.

I was just thinking … is there a reason why they have portable heaters? Could it be because that Korean BBQ places have so many stove burning that they don’t turn on the internal heating as the place will warm up from it?

As we got seated, the girls scampered off and came back with these. Nice! The bottle says it is Jimro Chamjin Isulro Soju. It had 20% alcohol content. They also bought a can called Milkis to water it down. Milkis looks a lot like Pocari Sweat — funny names!

I noticed that after the drinks, the party got a lot more louder.

Bonnie was the resident expert on Korean food. We gladly left all the ordering to her. She was kind of exasperated ordering because the Korean wait staff did not understand the order. They eventually got someone who speaks English to help straighten out the order. You will probably understand … with such a big group of people with some being vegetarian and all, we need to make sure that everyone had their fair share.

Since I did not order the food, I have no idea what these all are. The main dish is the Korean BBQ. There are a number BBQ choices to it with some of them pretty expensive ($27-$37).

Here is another type … ribs.

Tyler painstakingly took the time to snip off the bones. Although they provided the scissors, I am not sure if it is meant to snip off the bones or if it’s just to separate the ribs into serving sizes. What is the right way? Anyone?

Being amateurs, we set the stove real high with flames leaping out. High heat means faster cooking right? They came by and politely told us that we should turn the flame down — we were smoking up our section like crazy.

More on following page. Click here to continue reading

Kyung Bok Palace in Richmond

The Caring Place Community Kitchen celebrated the end of another great session by dining out. We would love to take a break from laboring in the kitchen.

Minnie was asked to bring us to a Korean Restaurant. Minnie, thank you for being our Korean culinary guide again. She brought us to Kyung Bok Palace which located at the Lansdowne Mall in Richmond. I love this bright red signage on the dark wall of the restaurant because it stands out very clearly although I cant read the Korean language.

Kyung Bok Palace also has patio seatings and it’s just great for their all you can eat BBQ which is only served in the summer evenings.

One good thing about Kyung Bok Palace is there is a sample of the dishes served in the restaurant displayed outside the restaurant. These displays are common in the Asian countries. This is a good way to advertise and bring customers in as many will not dare to try new food which they have no idea how the food looks like. The pricing displays along with the model dishes also helps as one can expect how much the food costs.

All Korean restaurants serve side dishes like these which include soy bean sprouts, braised potatoes, kimchee and other vegetables. You can ask for refill for these side dishes.

Minnie was incharged of ordering the food for us. Due to the presents of people who cant eat spicy food, Minnie mainly ordered food that is not spicy. The first dish is ‘Galbijjim Jung Sik’ which is braised beef ribs and rice with side dishes. The beef ribs are tender and the sauce is slightly on the heavy side, goes best with the steamed rice. This dish costs $15.95.

Next came the ‘Haemul Pajeon’ which is Seafood and Green Onion Korean style Pancake. The pancake came in a sizzling hot plate. Jean and Minoo called this Korean Pizza. This dish also costs $15.95.

Minnie also ordered two ‘Haemul Kalguksu’ which is Seafood with Handmade Noodle. The noodles are really nice and chewy. One bowl costs $7.95. The bowl is huge and good for 2 to 3 people.

We also had ‘Tangsuyuk’ which is Sweet and Sour Pork. The pork is deep fried to crispy and drenched with lots of sauce, should goes well with rice too. This dish costs $17.95.

Lastly, we had ‘Japchae’ which is Stir-fried Sweet Potato Noodles with Shredded Meats and Vegetables like Spinach, Onion, Carrot and Mushrooms. I wonder if the sweet potato noodle is more healthy than the regular wheat noodle. This dish cost $15.95.

Overall, the meal is good except the pricing is slightly on the high side. This meal costs $95 including tips. I would like to mention that some of the members did not turn up and Minnie had ordered enough food for 10 people. The five of us ended up eating all the food and no dinner for me, I’m not sure about the rest of them. Nevertheless, we had a great time checking out each other’s summer plan and wishing each other a great summer. We’ll meet again in September.