KANG HO DONG, LA KTOWN

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

LA Kbbq is really something else. I mean Kbbq itself is already damn satisfying but having the LA style in LA is:

I've been to so many kbbqs in the Bay and Toronto, but this one beat them all in many ways..

We got the beef set (~$60) and it started us off with the brisket. The first time I had this cut at a Korean bbq place was at Gen (San Jose location), and I fell in love with the thin marbled slices of meat that were very meaty in flavour (because it's brisket). Even if its left on the grill too long you won't not want to eat it because it might turn dry, because it actually stays moist (because the fat omg), and caramelizes too. So good

Then was the prime rib cut. This one has to be eaten right after they cut it up and so you see that it is still a very nice medium rare (why can't any other restaurant not over cook a medium rare order and turn it into a medium?!). But it was just the two of us devouring this meal so the last few pieces of the prime rib were no longer medium rare, but medium. The flame was a nice presentation and very picture worthy. If you're looking for a melt in your mouth experience, this is not the cut for you. If you want a beefy taste and substantial bite of beef, this is the cut for you. Okay

Last of the three plates was marinated boneless beef short rib. This is the melt in your mouth beef cut that you were waiting for. The one were the marbling of fat was apparent before and after cooking. The one where it glistens on the grill because the fats are melting above the embers. The one where you go for that end cut of meat that has a chunk of fat on it that you left it on the grill until you ate every other piece because you want to savour that piece of 9:1 ratio of fat to meat because that 90% would have crisped up so nicely on the hot grill. The one where you then wrap it in a thin slice of pickled radish because the lettuce salad can not handle the umptuous-ness of that 9:1 ratio.Very good.

The cheesy corn on the side of the grill, which usually only makes an appearance in Korean pubs. But cheese could have been creamier. I didn't like how the cheese didn't stay very melty and gooey - once it's off the grill (when you pick it up), the cheese starts to harden. Bad.

The egg that is cooked on the side of the grill so it catches all the meat juices and fat. Very custardy and flavourful. I suspect some sort of MSG or broth was mixed into the egg. Good

The salad for which LA style bbq is famous is not the kind that I had eaten or that I had expected to be served here. There was a bed of marinated bean sprouts underneath the green onions (which were good though!) But what happened to the leaf lettuce? Did they run out of leaf lettuce so that they were forced to put romaine as a stand in? SMH.

Pickled radish and a fatty piece of short rib

Kimchi pancake was meh, kimchi stew was also meh. But who will actually fill up on that stuff when you have incredible meats in front of you? But I admit to finishing the tofu and two servings of sliced pickled radish.