Posts tagged korean

BonChon Chicken East Village @ Boka

Rob Bruce IMed me at work. He never IMs me and we never talk about food. He was raving about the BonChon Chicken he just ate. I thought it was suspicious, like BonChon hacked his IM to message me. It worked.

Every time I planned to go to BonChon (Midtown) before, I was dissuaded by what I hear is a super long wait for the food. In fact, I just assume that’s the nature of Korean Fried Chicken. There used to be a BBQ Chicken (not barbeque chicken, but “Best of the Best Quality Chicken”) Korean spot near my work. There would be no one in there and it would still take over 30 minutes for my small order. They said it was because they fry each chicken to order.

I got Chris of Cubeecraft to go eat BonChon Chicken right now. He got me to go to the East Village one (the same one Rob went to). They both said the service is so much faster there. I’m sold …and they were right. The chicken came so fast. Maybe five-ten minutes after we ordered.

The chicken was crispy, sweet, sticky …delicious. I liked it with Sriracha sauce. They were finger lickin’ good.

We also had Korean Tako Balls, which I kept thinking they said Korean Taco Balls. They were those octopus Takoyaki balls. Really good. At the time, I was wondering what made them taco-style or Mexican. Now I get it. I no dumb.

Okay, yes. The East Village BonChon is the one to go to if you don’t like to wait. It’s hard to find though. There’s no real sign and it looks like a cave. And the small whiteboard says Boca. From my understanding, it’s a bar called Boca that serves BonChon Chicken. I think this place used to be a wood and metal parts shop. I thought Chris was taking me there.

BonChon Chicken (@ Boka) - 9 St Marks Pl (btwn 3rd Ave & Astor Pl) New York, NY 10003

Speaking of “Finger Lickin’ Good”, here’s my tribute to MCA, Beastie Boys, NYC and Huey Lewis…

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Elisa’s Homemade Yukaejang Soup

I’m not sure how I invited myself over, but I got some good comfort home cooking at Elisa’s. She made some really good Korean Spicy Yukaejang Soup. It amazes me that people can cook food in their home. I always think that something like this needs to be made at a restaurant. I need to invite myself over to other people’s suppers more often.

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Kimchi Fried Rice?

I made Kimchi Fried Rice by mixing Kimchi and Fried Rice. How-to video coming soon!

Kimchi Fried Rice small Kimchi Fried Rice?

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Korilla BBQ Truck

I finally tried the Korilla BBQ Truck. There was no line …well, I mean there was only 5 people vs a line down the block that I usually see if I pass by it.

The way you order is kind of like Chipotle. There’s a line of servers down the assembly line. You pick between tacos, burrito or rice bowl, but with Korean style meats. They even have salsa and cheese. Add kimchi and some veggies, then top it off with their specially made sauces.

Dang, this was so good. Really good. I got the Bulgogi Beef Bowl with everything ($8). The meat was super tender and they gave me a lot. You just can’t see in my photo, since it’s hidden under all that cheese. I thought I would need a knife for those big slices of beef, but I could easily bite it off.

The sauces are really good. I had them put on the Spicy Korilla sauce and the Smokey Mayo one. Hot, creamy and flavorful.

Now I understand why they have lines. Next time, I think I’ll forgo the cheese and the salsa. It just didn’t seem like a right match for my tastes. The salsa almost tasted like pineapple. Was there pineapple in there?

Korilla BBQ Food Truck – Manhattan, NY

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HIT Deli & Korean Food

This tiny deli is inside a building. I guess most are in New York, but I mean you have to go inside the building and down a hall to get to it. The thing that interests me is that they have Korean food. So I gave it a try.

I got the most expensive meal – Bulgogi Deopbap Beef Box $12. The other Korean boxes are cheaper at around $9. It came in a hefty platter sectioned off neatly –with potatoes, cellophane noodles, salad, rice and the Korean sliced marinated beef.

The food was alright. Looked pretty, but didn’t impress me. It got me stuffed though. The soup was too salty, but I’m not sure if it’s one of those things that you pour over the rice? I don’t know. That makes more sense.

The people were nice in there. They seem to have regulars like this old guy who apparently gets coffee all the time. In my photo, it looks like he doesn’t have a head. No photoshop.

HIT Deli & Korean Food - 150 W 28th St (btwn 6th & 7th Ave) New York, NY 10001

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H Mart’s Korean Lunch Box Meal

I was strolling back and forth on 32nd Street trying to decide on which Korean restaurant. Only thing was that I didn’t want to sit down to eat …wanted it to go. Main option seemed like Woorijip, but it was packed.

I walked into H Mart (Hanahreum Supermarket), thinking I was just going to get a container of kimchi …but they had some prepared food in there. Looked like some omelets and this lunch box I got for only $3.99. It’s like the complimentary sides you get when you eat at a Korean restaurant. Sometimes when I dine in, that’s really the only thing I want to eat.

The box had kimchi, greens, ham & green beans, and pollock fish. All good and spicy. Fish had them bones. I should have taken photos of that, because it looked cool.

Surprisingly, I was stuffed. I didn’t think I would be. Nice lunch for $4 …with none of the hassle.

H Mart – 25 W 32nd St (btwn 5th Ave & Broadway) New York, NY 10001

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Muk Eun Ji & Son Ja Jang Restaurant

I didn’t realize this place was two restaurants in one when I ate there. Muk Eun Ji Korean Restaurant and Son Ja Jang Chinese Handpulled Noodles. I picked this place because it wasn’t packed like the other places in K-town. I needed my kimchi.

I wanted another one of those Soju bottles with the hot chick on it, but the waitress suggested I get the Bek Se Ju Korean Ginseng Wine. The waitress said if I drink it, the bottle says I’ll live to 100 years old. I don’t know if that’s what I need, but the wine was pretty tasty with that Ginseng flavor.

I got the Handpulled Noodles with Spicy Seafood Soup lunch special $8.99. Big bowl. I was taking photos of it and the waitress came over to show me how to take a photo …taking my chopsticks and pulling out a giant glob of the noodles from the bowl. Even after four years of food blogging, I still have things to learn.

I liked the broth. The noodles may not have been too impressive, although this long video of how they pull the noodles is. It puts me in a trance like watching my hard drive defragment.

I also got complimentary Kimchi, Onion and Pickled Radish that I dipped into Korean Bean Paste. I couldn’t believe how good the raw onion tasted with that bean paste.

The walls of the restaurant were big advertisements for Jinan Maisan aged kimchi. The restaurant also posted this video on Youtube…


1:08 –Me So Hungry!

They gave me a little Yogurt drink at the end. I think this meal left me with some good stomach bacteria for my probiotic diet.

Muk Eun Ji & Son Ja Jang Restaurant – 34 W 32nd St (btwn 5th Ave & Broadway) New York, NY 10001

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Sik Gaek Korean Restaurant – $5.99 Lunch Special

I had recent dermatitis skin flare ups. So I looked online to see what helps diet-wise. I’ve suffered most of my adult life with dermatitis, so I’m surprised I’ve just looked it up. A found a lot of sites recommending fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut for their probiotic (good bacteria) benefits. So with my week off, I took the bus in front of my apartment towards Woodside, Queens to try this Korean spot I found on Yelp –Sik Gaek.

Cool looking place. Kinda reminds me of the Japanese spots on St Marks like Kenka.

Once they sat me down, they started the gas stove at my table. It confused me because I hadn’t ordered. But then soon brought over a pan and cracked an egg on it. Brought over complementary kimchi, rice noodles with hard boiled egg and a glass of hot water/rice. Can someone tell me if I’m supposed to drink that? Or what do I do with it? It tastes like hot water with rice. The kimchi was good and crunchy.

They got a several dishes on the $5.99 lunch special. A really good price. I went with the Doenjang Soup (fermented soybean paste with mixed seafood), which should also be good for the flareups. Dang, awesome soup! It had shrimp, clam, mussel, squid and a little baby octopus. The broth tasted great.

I had my food with a Coors light. But kept staring at the Soju posters all over the place. So I rang the service buzzer on my table for the bottle with the hot chick on it. The waitress said it was the lightest one. Shit. It still had 19.5% alcohol and was the size of my Coors light. This soju was easy going down. I was a big boy and finished it all.

A table of five sat next to me and ordered the Fresh Lobster Seafood Hot Pot. A huge plate of clams and seafood came out with a fresh lobster cut in half on top. The fucking lobster was still moving …both halves. The top half crawled off the plate onto the table. That was the most awesomely bizarre food thing I’ve seen in person. When it was all cooked, one of the claws was clamped onto some of the squid.

I read on Yelp, they do the same thing with Fresh Octopus. It comes out squirming while it’s cooking in front of you on your table. I want to do that.

I really like this place. The food was great. They gave me extra kimchi at no charge (…that shit is like $5-7 for a small container at my local vegetable store). Also complementary cucumber juice at the end of my meal.

Sik Gaek – 49-11 Roosevelt Ave. Woodside, NY 11377

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