Mon 23 Apr 2007
The Food Court at Uwajimaya Village is a frenzied place. The narrow alley of restaurants and bakery storefronts faces off against the ever bustling deli counter of the Asian Grocery Giant. Sticky crisp duck hang in a warmer as seasoned Deli vets bark out order numbers, “41?”, “41?”, “41!” Separated only by a stream of awkward tables, which patrons begrudgingly share family style, sits Korean BBQ, a quick Korean take out, as close as I can get to my beloved Kim Bap Chung Guk.
As I pour over the menu, a English friendly descriptions and photos, sans Hangul, I over hear a high school student breakdown kimchi with the same enthusiasm Actor Ben Stine repeatedly calls out “Bueller, Bueller, Bueller,” in Ferris Bueller’s day off. “Uh, it’s like cabbage, that is like, uh, fermented, with, uh, chilies.” In fairness to this young lad, I bet he gets asked this question 20 times a day, I’ll put money on the fact the he can probably spot out who will and won’t choose the fiery condiment over a bland hospital-esque salad of iceberg lettuce sprinkled with tinned sweet corn.
Kevin’s aching throat called out for kimchi jjigae, and me, the bulgogi sandwich. Here marinated slices of beef are sautéed up with onions and nestled in a soft French roll with tomato slices, iceberg leaves, blanketed with a slice of sliced processed American cheese. Heaven.
The kimchi jjigae, arrived without rice, but was chock full of sliced pork, chewy rice cakes, tender kimchi, and tofu cubes. Less pungent than those tried in Seoul, this version played a more sweet, salty, spicy almost akin to a Thai coconut chicken soup.
Prices are easy, most hovering around the $6.95 mark. But don’t expect stone pots here, everything, rather, is served in plastic to go containers; gochujang is served on the side for a quarter, as is gim, seasoned seaweed, 95 cents. On the plus side, all dishes are cooked to order.
