posted about 14 months ago by nakji
about the venue: Kitchen

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I want to love this place, but every time I eat here, I find a hair in the food. Sure, I eat around it, the food is great, and living in Hanoi, you can't be too picky about food cleanliness standards, but still, I prefer the alien organisms in my food to be microscopic, and thus invisible to the naked eye.

Three stars for the food; one star for food prep cleanliness.

posted about 18 months ago by nakji
about the venue: Cook & Cook

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I finally managed to try this place the other night. First off: their air-con was first rate - I actually felt cold, even though it was forty degrees outside. God knows what that's doing for global warming, but it felt good at the time.

That was just one of the touches I appreciated when we were there. We were seated at a big table in our own booth, and the staff clicked the TV from some VTV-over-dubbed Korean Soap to Discovery Channel. I don't usually require a TV to eat, but it was a nice consideration either way.

Seeing a Benihana in "40 Year Old Virgin" was my only experience with Teppanyaki until now, but the waiter was very helpful and pointed out some set menus. They consisted mostly of seafood, which my husband has a severe dislike of, so we opted to order a la carte instead.

The chef did his whole flipping-tossing-salting routine, which was fun (and might be nice for a first date, or a business dinner, or some other event when you're desperate to break the ice) but we were more interested in the meat. We ordered beef with mushroom rolls, fried asparagus with butter, bacon and asparagus rolls, and the samgyeobsal. We also ordered a side of potato salad - don't make the same mistake - it was dressed with strawberry vinamilk yogurt (common enough in Korea, but I never liked it there either). Unless you like strawberry potato salad, in which case, my only critique is that the potatoes were tossed in the yogurt while still warm.

The meat, however, was sublime - often with beef rolls in Japanese restaurants, the beef is chewy and hard to eat - one roll is too big, but prying off a piece with your teeth impossible as well. Not so here - the rolls were tender and melt in your mouth, and infused with enoki mushroom-soaked-in-butter goodness.

The bacon was sweet and smoky, and contrasted amazingly with the crisp asparagus. The chef called for the staff while tossing his flippers and asked them to bring us a round of panchan "service".

I have not tasted kimchi this good since leaving Korea.
Tart, tingly, and not at all fishy.

Fried potatoes, some sort of jellyfish salad (I think) and cool radish soup rounded out the table nicely.

I ordered plain steam rice, and it came with a bowl of miyuk-gook made with real beef stock - real attention to detail!

The samgyeobsal (fatty pork - almost like uncured bacon) had the requisite piece of bone in it - apparently the only was to tell true samgyeobsal from imposters - and was cooked with piles of fresh sliced garlic, and presented beautifully by the chef. Samjang, sesame oil and salt, and lettuce leaves appeared by magic for making Ssam. I admit I stuffed my leafy packages full of pork, samjang, garlic, and kimchi. Bliss!

I thought this was a really great taste of Korean barbecue, especially if you're not in the mood to slave over a grill and cook it yourself. It was as good as any samgyeobsal I'd tried in Korea. Authenticity was verified, when, upon leaving, I noticed the South Korean ambassador's car parked outside; I had a Hanoi-appreciation moment then - how many other cities in the world could an ESL grunt like myself afford to eat in the same restaurants as ambassadors?

Basic Set menus started at $10/person, and went up from there. We ended up spending $20 ordering a la carte, including soft drinks, and walked away with full bellies. That being said, you can get good samgyeobsal and kimchi at some of the divey places over by the Daewoo for cheaper, but you won't get the show or the atmosphere.

Not recommended for vegetarians.

posted about 20 months ago by nakji
about the venue: Jang Won

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As far as I know, THE only place in town serving Korean barbecue on real charcoal (not gas) grills. That's right, you heard me, sutbul galbi - beef ribs, spicy pork and pork ribs are all on the (non-English) menu, and like all Korean restaurants, you'll be weighed down with complimentary side-dishes (panchan). There's mul naegnmyeon as well, if your gut's not splitting already from all the food. The proprietress is Korean, but speaks a little English. It's often full up, especially with tour groups or Korean businesses, but it's definitely worth a try. Beware - floor seating only!