Park’s Barbeque

Park’s BBQ was on my friend and former colleague’s Leeanne’s “must dine again before I move to Switzerland” list, so Cat and I had our last supper with her last night. It was my first time dining at the restaurant, and I was excited because Park’s BBQ was the best at the Korean BBQ Festival last year. I was surprised that the interior is modern and clean, because it’s at a strip mall in the dirty part of K-town. There’s only valet parking but you can find metered parking or bike it like I did.

Park’s BBQ uses charcoal for their grilling so that was a plus.

Their banchans could have been better..


Fried tofu

Japchae

Cat was famished so she ordered for us. We had the Kalbi (short ribs w/ bones and w/out bones).

I love their meat; it’s top quality--that's the difference when you go to a non-all-you-can-eat KBBQ restaurant. I just wished they had the salt and sesame oil sauce at Chosun Galbee. We also had their beef short rib soup. It’s so good! I think I’ll substitute chicken noodle soup for their beef short rib soup the next time I’m sick.

Lastly Cat ordered the buckwheat noodles with cold broth since Leeanne has never had buckwheat noodles. It was ok; honestly, I don’t care for buckwheat noodles.

We were quite full and trying to save room for desserts so we only had half of it. I thought our waitress would have packed it to go but instead she threw it away! Unbelievable! Does she know how many starving people there are in this world? I was about to argue with the waitress but since Cat didn’t and was offering to pay for our meal, I let it go. I’ll be sure to instruct the waitress the next time I’m here.

Address: 955 S. Vermont Avenue, LA, CA 90006
Phone#: (213) 380-1717
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SO HYANG KOREAN RESTAURANT

It’s rare for me to grab a bite at a restaurant that’s more than a 20 minute drive from work, so when I had the opportunity last week, I went to So Hyang Korean Restaurant (SHKR) in K-town. I picked SHKR because it’s an expensive Korean restaurant, but their lunch specials are reasonably priced for the amount of food you get.

SHKR is located in the Equitable Building. They offer free parking with validation. It’s a bit of maze if you park in the lot. You need to take the elevator to the first floor and SHKR is on the other side. The restaurant is modern when comparing to the other Korean restaurants in K-town.

I went for the Kalbi special for $13. I had no idea what it came with and didn’t bother to ask, as I was just so happy having lunch in K-town.

To my surprise, they gave steamed egg, cold soup, marinated dry squid,

kimche, mushrooms, spinach, and bamboo as their banchan, and ON TOP of that, the Kalbi came in a bento box with rice, jap chae, potato salad, seafood salad and hot soup!

WOW! There’s so much food! I loved the mushrooms.

I avoided the carbs.

The kalbi was flavorful but VERY FATTY. I chewed on one piece for five minutes before chucking it out. The meal ended with my favorite dish, not fruit, but the Korean sweet rice drink aka Korean horchata.

Come here for lunch and if you’re starving….

Address: 3435 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 123, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Phone#: (213) 385-5600
Rating: 3 out of 5
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CHOSUN GALBEE

Happy Ox Year!

After jogging/walking 9 miles and 1.5 hours of Bikram Yoga, I was actually looking forward to eating and celebrating Chinese New Year at Chosun Galbee with my friends. I know...it's Korean and not Chinese, but the location was convenient for everyone. Plus, I recalled the food was excellent a couple years ago when my friends took me out for my birthday lunch, and once again, Chosun did not disappoint me on CNYD.

If there's 4 people they don't take reservation...luckily I showed up 5 minutes late because Cat was late, and once she arrived, we were seated immediately. Service was excellent here! I didn't need to touch the tong!!

Had I known they were going to give us a lot of Banchans, I would have skipped the Korean pancakes or the Japchae...we ordered (2) Galbi plates, (1) Bulgogi, (1) Japchae, (1) Korean Pancakes, and (1) Steamed Dumplings. My plate looked like: The meat were yummy!! Cat pointed out that you need to request the sesame oil with salt for your Galbi as they're cheap now. It's the economy... The dumplings were scrumptious, but definitely on the pricey side...I think they cost $15??? The Japchae and Korean Pancakes were also good. Our dinner ended with the Korean "Horchata" -YUM!

The damage was $40 (including tip) per person (no alcohol at all!), but it's worth it!

Address: 3330 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90019
Phone#: (323) 734-3330
Rating: 5 out of 5

DONG II JANG RESTAURANT

I really have to try coming here without a big group. The 1st time it was $25/person. The 2nd time it was $40/person. Last night/ the 3rd time it cost $42/person (14 persons in our group). Although the beef is tasty I cannot warrant a place more than 2 star if I spend that kind of money and am still hungry!

Address: 3455 W 8th St Los Angeles, CA 90005
Phone#: (213) 383-5757
Rating: 2 out of 5

Photo credit: Steve C.