Chow Down Atlanta

There’s a new kid on the block that I predict promise will take Duluth by storm (if it hasn’t already). It opened 3 weeks ago. I learned about it from my mom’s Chinese good friend who literally walked me over to the restaurant and introduced me to the owners and staff as her “other daughter”. Even at just being open for 2 days, they have everything spot on: food and service.

Located in a brand new huge Asian shopping plaza with only a handful of businesses open, this Korean barbecue house was packed on the lunch day I came in (and they’ve only been open 2 days!) with a mostly Korean clientèle. The shopping plaza is on North Berkeley Lake Road which cuts through PIB, Buford Hway, and Pleasant Hill. It’s closer to the Pleasant Hill side and if you keep going, Super H Mart Duluth will be on your right past the Pleasant Hill traffic light (where Walmart is). [Side note: Incidentally, a new Super H Mart-type super grocery is going to open here soon. The new place has been embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with Super H because they want to name the new place something like The H Mart. Clever. They were supposed to open 3 months ago. Name has been settled and I heard they’ll be open in a few weeks.]

Anyway, I was impressed with the food, both quality and quantity-wise. And the prices — well, it puts Super H Mart to shame. At cheaper than it’s supermarket counterpart, this place offers superior taste that’s world’s away. They offer quite a good list of Lunch Specials that, at $6.99, is the best deal in town (and cheaper and way more flavorful than the fast food at Super H). The food is fresh, with good quality ingredients, and very, very tasty. You get 12 banchan dishes per order (too much for one person, if you ask me). Not to mention its serene ambiance that, well, the supermarket will never have. And you’ll love the huge tables. So why go to Super H at all? It’s 200 yards away!

I had Kimchi Rice topped with Egg. Since very little English is spoken here, my Beef Kimchi Rice order got lost in translation. No matter, it was spicy and delicious. The banchan (12 total) was all good, too, especially the bowl of hot broth with taro.

A friend came a little while later and ordered a Beef Bibimbap in a stone hot pot on a slab of wood. Awesome presentation. Plus the fact that the stone pot was so hot, so you really needed the slab of wood. And I like that the rice and sauce is served separate so you can adjust the heat to your liking.

Definitely a must-try. Go now. The lines during lunch are already piling up out the door.

Insider tip:

Go early and beat the lunch crowd of Korean business people. Banchan available for purchase.

The signage outside is in Korean and the only English words are Catering House. So I’m naming this place Korean Catering House. Go through the plaza entrance and it’ll be a little to your left as you go all the way in.

The scoop:

Korean Catering House
2645 North Berkeley Lake Rd.,
Duluth, GA 30096

Technorati Tags: Korean Catering House, Duluth, North Berkeley Lake Rd, Korean food, bibimbap, Korean Barbeque, Kimchi Rice

This is not your typical Buford Highway joint. First of all, it has ambiance. The place is ‘zen-fully’ decorated with contemporary design. Due to this ambiance, the client�le is also different as most everyone is garbed in their Sunday best. The restaurant is huge, comprising of two floors each with its own hostess stand, cash register, kitchen, and servers.

Myung Ga Won sits in a brand new plaza off Venture Dr. in Duluth and opened about two months ago. It serves cold noodles, soups (tang), and traditional Korean barbecue (gi). Although prices are a bit more and portions are generally small, the pay-off is in the quality and taste.

The bancha (appetizers) included items not common to most Korean restaurants in town. Most notable were the mashed potatoes topped with a sweetish yellow gravy, paper-thin slices of fresh radish, sliced onions in sauce, wasabi potato pancakes, and chunks of radish kimchi.

Thick pieces of meat are used for the bulgogi and each order comes with a basket of fresh romaine lettuce leaves, chili paste, slices of fresh garlic and jalapenos. For those not familiar with what to do with these sides, what you do is take a piece of lettuce leaf, spread some chili paste, add garlic and jalapenos, add the barbecued meat, roll like a burrito, and eat. Most traditional Korean barbecue places serve such sides with their barbecued meats. Anyway, MGW’s bulgogi was superb — there’s a perfect blend of sweet-salty taste to the flavorful marinated meat. It is also grilled perfectly: slightly browned on the outside and pinkish in the center. I loved that the grilled meats came with a few slices of grilled zucchini, mushrooms, and squash.

The beef soup (Sulung tang) was terrific and comforting — it was slightly milky and wonderfully seasoned. It had slices of lean meat as well as chunks of fork-tender beef. As authenticity dictates, it was served with a side of sliced green onions to add as much to the broth as one pleases. There were other items that were ordered during this visit including the tasty Seafood Pancake that was thicker than in other restaurants, and Bibimbap that came with chunks of meat. Both were equally delicious.

While prices are generally higher and portions are smaller, all in all, I was impressed with the taste, quality, and authenticity of the food. It’s definitely a new favorite place of mine. We came in at 5pm on a Sunday and the place was packed. Not a single table was empty. Half an hour later, there was already a wait. Good news travel fast. By the way, this place is open 24 hours.

Insider tip:
The upstairs dining area requires climbing two flights of stairs.
Located in a brand new plaza next door to the plaza where Venture Cinema and Santa Fe Mall is located.

The scoop:
Myung Ga Won
also goes by Korean House
1960 Day Dr, Duluth, GA 30096
770-622-1300

Technorati Tags: Venture Dr, Duluth, Korean cuisine, open 24 Hours, Korean barbecue

I’ve been waiting for this to happen and finally we now have Korean fried chicken in Atlanta. Love Letter Pizza and Chicken is located next door to the Super H Mart in Johns Creek. Now don’t wonder about the restaurant’s name. Korean restaurants usually have humorous American names. Lost in translation, I surmise. The inside looks typical of a pizza joint with booths on both sides of the wall, two tables for parties of 8, and a couple of bar-height tables for 2. There’s a walk-up counter for to-go orders, but basically, eat-in patrons get ushered through to one of the booths or tables and are provided with table service.

True to its name, Love Letter Pizza and Chicken serves Cheogajip (Korean-style fried chicken) and pizza and nothing else. Cheogajip is marinated chicken pieces lightly-battered then deep-fried. It comes in three flavors: fried (plain), sweet and mild, and sweet and hot. You can order any two combination of flavors you like. The chicken also comes in three varieties: chicken pieces, wings, and popcorn style. What’s neat about this place is the plastic gloves they provide so that you don’t get your fingers all orangy and saucy from eating the chicken with your hands. Of course, nobody said you should use the gloves. I actually found them more cumbersome so I used what’s best for chicken: my bare hands.

The chicken were cooked to perfection: crispy on the outside but still tender on the inside. The chicken were marinated enough to have flavor but not too much to overpower the sauce. Although the plain ones came, well, plain, they had enough taste to render them tasty. The sweet and hot flavors were not too sweet yet packed enough punch to add a little heat. By the way, don’t expect huge American pieces here. The chicken are cut up similar to sizes you’d use in stew, making them more manageable to eat.

There are 7 kinds of pizza with Bulgoki Pizza as the must-try. You can request to have your pizza with a different kind on each half. On this visit, we tried half cheese and half Bulgoki. Now let me remind you that this is not your typical Italian pizza. Asian pizza borders on the sweetish side so don’t expect a tangy pizza sauce. That said, the Bulgoki pizza is delicious. Think of it as a Supreme pizza topped with pieces of Korean beef. There’s also Sweet Potato Pizza on the menu which is also sweet-tasting as expected of Korean (or any Asian) pizza.

All orders come with a fresh cabbage-kernel corn salad with mayo and ketchup for dressing. It looked weird at first glance but mix them up good and you have your salad with classic thousand island dressing. A bowl of crunchy, pickled, cubed, fresh daikon (radish) also accompanies all orders. The daikon is a good accompaniment to the chicken.

Insider tip:
Chicken prices range from $13.99 - $15.88 while 10-inch pizza prices are from $9.99 - $12.99.
Local beer priced at $2.99 / Imported at $3.99
Lunch specials start at $2.99 (the best deal at $7.99 — 7 pieces fried wings, 1 slice pizza, salad, and drink but only available during lunch M-F 11am-3pm)

The scoop:
Love Letter Pizza and Chicken
10820 Abbotts Bridge Rd, Ste 350
Johns Creek, GA 30097
770-813-8882

Technorati Tags: Korean fried chicken, Korean pizza, Love Letter Pizza and Chicken, Super H Mart, Johns Creek, Abbotts Bridge, restaurant

Boasting of a healthier alternative to the same old Korean food, Min Sok Chon delivers its aim through soups. If you’re in the mood for soup, this is the place to be. Now I’m a self-confessed Galbi-tang (beef rib soup) fanatic and would always order it if it’s on the menu.

There two versions of galbi-tang: seasoned beef broth and unseasoned milky broth (which is actually called sulung-tang). Min Sok Chon’s version is of the milky variety (sulung). Which means you have to add salt as it’s devoid of any taste. I’m not crazy about this version and much prefer the flavorful alternative. Still, it’s galbi-tang.

There are many other types of soups available with varying ingredients ranging from the tame (chicken), middle-of-the-road (fish), and not-for-the-meek (oxtail). The oxtail soup is actually very, very good. And it’s nice that each item on the menu has a corresponding picture on the wall so you know exactly what you’re getting. Other notables include the Bulgogi and Seafood Pancake.

Insider tip:
This restaurant used to be a Korean Chicken Wing place until the owners decided to change concepts in January ‘06. Located inside the Super H Mart plaza in Duluth.

The scoop:
Min Sok Chon
2550 Pleasant Hill Rd #204
Duluth, GA 30096
Phone: 770-232-0001

Technorati Tags: Min Sok Chon, Duluth, Korean, soup, Pleasant Hill Rd, Korean soup, Korean cuisine, Bulgogi, Galbi-tang, Sulung-tang, Korean Seafood Pancake

I’ve been going to BCD since its opening day in January 2005. I was literally one among the very first customers and have been a regular ever since. My mom, also a big fan, describes it as “like eating at someone’s home.” And I definitely agree. It’s home-cooked meals at best.

I eat at BCD almost twice a week (sometimes more). I like the fact that the food consistently stays the same: quality and taste wise. The menu has stayed the same until early this year with the addition of two new soups: Galbi-tang (beef soup made with short ribs), and Chicken soup. Galbi-tang is my absolute favorite Korean food and I was jumping with joy when they finally added this to their menu. In Atlanta, BCD has the best Galbi-tang — it is pure beef broth (no milk), seasoned perfectly (the ones with milk are not seasoned at all and you’ll know this by the bowls of salt that are served with it), and has fall-off-the-bone beef ribs and tender radish and mushrooms. (Side story: they used to call this soup Well-Being Soup and they even had small posters on the wall advertising this new soup. I asked one of the ladies there if it was Galbi-tang and when she said yes, I told her the correct translation was Beef Ribs Soup. They’ve since changed the posters.)

Everything on the menu is good. I guarantee it. The Galbi-gi (grilled short ribs) are tender and flavorful; and the tofu soup is tasty with chunks of silky tofu. The cold noodle dishes are refreshing and perfect for the hot summer-like days we’ve been having. The seafood pancake is full of seafood chunks; and the Bulgo-gi (grilled sliced beef) is a good choice as well.

White steamed rice comes in its own individual servers (hot stone pot in a wooden box) and you must spoon it into the provided metal bowl to eat it. After a while, a crusty bottom will form in the stone pot and the servers will pour hot bori-cha (barley tea) over it. Leave it to soak for a minute or two before you spoon the rice directly into your mouth. The result is soft, wet rice in a nutty soup. Delicious. Personally, my rice of choice at BCD (and only because BCD has the best) is the red bean rice. It’s only available by request.

Insider tip:
There is a special going on wherein you’ll get 5% of your total food bill back in a form of a ticket which is redeemable on your next visit.

The scoop:
Book Chang Dong
Located inside the Super H Mart Plaza on Pleasant Hill Rd.
2550 Pleasant Hill Rd., Duluth
(770) 814-2299
Open daily from 11am

Technorati Tags: Book Chang Dong, Korean food, Korean cuisine, Pleasant Hill Rd., Duluth, Super H Mart plaza

I ate Korean two days in a row. First at Book Chang Dong (BCD) where I actually came in during opening day in January 2005 and have been a regular ever since. Then today at Toh-dam (another favorite), which I consider to be the best place in metro Atlanta for tofu soup and ribs. And that’s coming from someone who has tried every Korean restaurant in town. Really.

Toh-dam is located inside Assi Plaza on Old Peachtree Rd in Suwanee (close to Discover Mills mall). Funny, Assi Plaza is an exact replica of Super H Mart but slightly smaller in scale (Super H was built first and Assi followed a little close to a year later). Read the rest of this entry »

I went to Super H Mart on Pleasant Hill Rd in Gwinnett to get a huge bottle of Kimchi. I used to get my Kimchi at Han Gang Korean Grocery on Steve Reynolds Blvd in the early 90s. It was the first big stand-alone Korean grocery store in Atlanta where they sold meat and seafood aside from the usual fresh veggies, canned and dry goods, and also had a food court inside although very small. Since that has closed, I’ve been going to three other places.

At Super H today, they had three different kinds of fresh firm tofu: Plain, Carrot, and Spinach. The carrot tofu had only the slightest hint of carrot taste in it. Not overpowering. Just a tad carrotish if there’s even a word. The spinach tofu is equally awesome, with just a slight infusion of spinach so as not to kill the true taste of the tofu. These faintly flavored tofu aren’t really the type you’d use in cooking. Instead, you eat them as they are, cut up into cubes and drenched lightly with Korean sauce made with soy sauce, peppers, scallions, sugar, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. They’re great in salads, as appetizers, or as an accompaniment to grilled meat and seafood. By the way, these gems are less than $2 per block.

Technorati Tags: Super H Mart, flavored tofu, tofu, spinach tofu, carrot tofu, plain tofu, Pleasant Hill Road, Gwinnett, Korean grocery, food finds Atlanta, Atlanta, kimchi

I grew up eating Korean food. The first Korean restaurant my family went to in Atlanta was back in the 80s at the only Korean restaurant in town located deep inside the downtown area. I could not remember exactly where it is or even what it’s called. I was very, very young then and at that age, you don’t really try to remember anything.

Since then, we’ve been to almost all the Korean restaurants in Atlanta. 88 Tofu House occupies a stand-alone building that used to be Arby’s back in the 80s just inside I-285 on Buford Read the rest of this entry »

This post is mainly aimed at the four well-behaved teenagers dressed in goth who were brave enough to come in and willing to give Korean food a try. While their looks must have scared raised one too many eyebrows among the all-Korean clientele (us excluded), they sat down, asked many unintelligible questions to the server, ordered, ate, and left with full tummies. Foodies in the making! In any case, think of this as the unknowing diner’s guide to Korean food. And a preface to my upcoming numerous Korean food posts.

The setting

Upon being seated at a Korean restaurant, you will be served a glass of Bori-cha (roasted barley tea) and given menus. Korean menus are generally very descriptive written in Korean with English translation. Don’t get pressured, you can politely ask the server to come back a few minutes later after you’ve read through the menu. When ordering, it is best to point to the dish name on the menu rather than attempt to say the dish name. This avoids confusion and prevents surprises when they bring

Read the rest of this entry »