On my actual birthday, I opted for a tried and true favorite, Korean barbecue with the oldest '87 and her middle sister at Hae Jang Chon Korean Barbecue Restaurant in Koreatown. The photos for this post were actually taken back in February, during my first visit when my dad's friend's daughter was in town.
I guess it does pay to advertise. I noticed the restaurant's ad on LA Weekly's website and clicked over. All you can eat Korean barbecue, including 19 items, for $16.99? And open until 2 a.m. every day? Definitely worth checking out.
So on my dad's friend's daughter's last night in town, we decided to go there for dinner. When I got there, I realized that I actually had tried to go once before with lil' sis, after noticing it during a visit to Kyochon Chicken - Los Angeles (Koreatown). But the restaurant looked empty so early in the day, so we defaulted to Tahoe Galbi Restaurant - Los Angeles (Koreatown) for lunch.
It was an hour wait on a Saturday night, but we stopped off at Scoops - Los Angeles for gelato beforehand so we didn't mind.
Part of the reason I wanted to try Hae Jang Chon was for the rock slab grill. You'll see why later in the post. The waiter immediately started bringing out all the panchan (Korean side dishes). The Baechu Kimchee (Korean Pickled Napa Cabbage) and the Kong Namul (Korean Seasoned Soy Bean Sprouts) were the overly fermented kind intended for the grill.
Korean salad and various dipping sauces.
More side dishes including potato salad, fish, mustard greens, daikon, and rice noodle sheets. While the panchan weren't extraordinary, they were perfectly decent and refilled frequently.
There were three of us so for the first round, we started off with beef brisket.
Then thick pork belly and Kalbi/Galbi (Korean Marinated Barbecued Beef Short Ribs).
Mmm. Gawd, I love Korean barbecue.
You also get Kimchee Pajeon (Korean Kimchee Pancake) and steamed egg.
I've been back to Hae Jang Chon about half a dozen times in the past nine months so that's really saying something.
Beef tongue and Bulgogi (Korean Marinated and Barbecued Beef).
They even have squid here.
The bean paste stew normally comes near the end of the meal.
After a while, the grill got a little sticky so the waiter scrapped it.
Then cleaned it with shredded daikon.
Kinda cool huh? So I took a YouTube video of the waiter cleaning the grill and then making our kimchee fried rice.
Mmm. Kimchee fried rice. I can't think of another place besides Seol Ak San - Stanton that does that. And that's precisely why I wanted to try out Hae Jang Chon. If you choose to get rice with your meal though, then you don't get kimchee fried rice at the end.
Since the restaurant is open until 2 a.m., I went back a few times with lil' sis's best friend and her other friend around midnight. No wait then. And plenty of street parking as well.
Besides the usual, lil' sis's other friend always likes to get hot dogs. So we let him have one or two.
The hot dogs are actually pretty tasty once they've become nice and toasty. Lil' sis's best friend likes to order tripe. There's also intestines as well.
There's also chicken, pork shoulder, thin pork belly, and spicy pork. They used to have "cone" tortillas on the menu, which was a typo for corn tortillas, but I guess that wasn't too popular since it's now been covered.
Each time I've been here, I've always had good service and good food. And really, that's what keeps me coming back. Especially when it's $16.99, and if I added in the panchan, dipping sauces, and barley tea, it's more than 30 items for that price.
Other Korean barbecue restaurants:
Chung Kiwa Korean BBQ Restaurant - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Feedable BBQ Buffet - Rowland Heights
Gui Il Bun Ji BBQ Restaurant - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Hwa Ro Korean BBQ and Tofu -San Gabriel
Hwang Hae Do Korean BBQ - Artesia
Light Town House Korean BBQ - Garden Grove (Korean Business District)
Manna Korean BBQ - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Miga Korean BBQ Restaurant - Rowland Heights
Ong Ga Nae Korean BBQ - Rowland Heights
San Ya Restaurant Korean BBQ & Noodle - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Seol Ak San - Stanton
Soot Bul Gui Rim 2 Korean BBQ - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Tahoe Galbi Restaurant - Los Angeles (Koreatown)
Hae Jang Chon Korean Barbecue Restaurant
3821 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
213-389-8777
11 a.m. to 2 a.m.
*****
1 year ago today, Great Balloon - Orange County Great Park - Irvine.
2 years ago today, Pumpkin Ravioli with Browned Butter Sage Sauce.
3 years ago today, Okra and Tomatoes.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious. I work right near there and go to Pho Saigon next door all the time for lunch. Never thought about checking out the place with the "cute pig" - it's a definitely must try now!
ReplyDeleteOoooh. Must try.
ReplyDeleteYou really do eat well! I'm trying not to be jealous of your access to such a wide range of cuisines...
ReplyDeleteLOL...I was salivating at this post...and then realized I've been there. Didn't get any kimchee rice, though (even though only 2 people got steamed rice during the meal). I've had kimchee rice at another place in K-town, but I'll have to ask my friends who took me what the place is called. I'll let you know.
ReplyDeleteWeeMo,
ReplyDeleteUmm, hmmm.
Vuthy,
It is good, but oh how you wound me by going to a Korean pho place!
Marie,
Yes!
Tammy,
It's all yours if you come back to SoCal!
Meowmi,
It's an all or nothing with the steamed rice or kimchee fried rice option. Do let me know if you find another place that does kimchee fried rice. It's always a fun option.