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As featured in:
Korean Soul
Sometimes
we get so caught up in defining ethnic food that we
miss a lot of good restaurants because of an unfamiliarity.
We know Italian, so we go; we don't know Korean, so
we do not. That's not always good logic.
Korean
BBQ House, with its roots in Buena Park, has recently
moved to Newport Beach near the airport. And it's a
gem. Manager Steve Kim says his family made the move
because there is less competition from Korean restaurateurs
in Newport than in North County. The trick now is to
lure not only the large Asian population from nearby
Irvine to come to dinner, but also to get nearby residents
and businesspeople to give the place a try. You may
know nothing of Korean cuisine, but you will appreciate
the result.
For lunch,
I ordered the special, -a BBQ Short Rib -and my tablemate
had the Marinated Spencer BBQ. Before we could blink,
little side dishes appeared to complement the meal -pan-fried
noodles, bean sprouts and vegetables, spicy cucumbers
-along with a small salad and turnip soup. Our chopsticks
were working overtime by the time the meat portion and
the rice arrived.
We quickly
tried everything in sight; within a few minutes we had
the table spread with side dishes, main dishes and empty
dishes.
A side order of pan-fried
dumplings was a good choice.
There is
much on the menu that might be reserved for a Korean
palate (Eel, Baby Octopus, Tongue, Wild Boar are examples).
However, as we discovered, you don't need to experiment
if you don't want to.
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