HRD Coffee Shop

521 3rd St
San Francisco, CA 9410

Occasion: Food for the Giants game on Virgin America Voucher day. 08.11.12

Loco Moco

Not even sure if this is what it was.  I didn't order it.  It was like a kimchee fried rice with chicken, curry sauce and a fried egg. It was good, the flavors were there and it had a nice kick to it. BUT, the rice seemed a little undercooked, which brought this dish down a notch.  I'll definitely give it another shot, since I've only heard great things about this place.  Next time, I'll probably try their spicy pork kimchee burrito!

Tobang

1052 Kiely Blvd
Santa Clara, CA 95051

Occasion: Thursday night dinner! Korean food is Henry's favorite cuisine and since there's so much of it in Santa Clara, I guess we just had to.  04.26.12

Soup for a cold day

It was a perfect night for soup.  It was some kind of beef bone soup with rice cake and noodles.  Simple, warm and super filling.

Pancake, Kalbi, Tofu Soondubu

Complimentary pancake with a yelp check in.  Everything seems to taste better when it's free.  The Beef was absolutely flavorful and the stew...I wish they had an egg for us to crack in it.  It was decently priced, delicious and filling.

Honey Pig

7212 Orangethorpe Ave
Buena Park, CA 90621

Occasion: After Coachella, we hung out in LA for a day.  04/23/12

I love coming here!! I've tried this place on a previous trip down to LA a few years ago...and it's so freaking delicious.Check out my previous post here!  It's one of my favorite Korean places in Socal and I wish they had it up north! It's definitely a place to try when you're down in the LA area. So good!!

Seoul Gom tang

3028 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051

Occasion: After class grubbing in Santa Clara! 04.11.12

Chadolbagi Gomtang

Way too bland. Maybe on a Sunday afternoon when I'm hungover, but not something for dinner, especially when I'm starving. It was way too bland. I rarely ever complain that things are too bland, so when I do...that's kind of a problem. Sigh.

Kalbi 

Though the soup was disappointing the kalbi was pretty good. I'm not big on meat, but it was super flavorful!  It's hard to go wrong with this dish.  It's all about the seasoning.

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Zazang Korean Noodle

2340 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Lunch on a beautiful sunny day 02.09.12

Za zang myun with house made noodles, black bean sauce, veggies and minced pork 

The noodles are so fresh and chewy and definitely has the consistency of home made food.  The black bean sauce was flavorful and tasty, but not too overpowering.  Portions were generous and it fed me for two meals.  So close to work, I'd go there again!

Palace BBQ Buffet

1092 E El Camino Real Sunnyvale, CA 94087 

Occasion: Celebrating Henry's sister's bday! My first time here and it was very hyped up. It's not really worth it for me to go to buffets because I can't stuff myself crazy. 11.27.11 

pickled radishes, kimchee and bean sprouts
raw blue crabs
korean short ribs

Sarang Bang

3631 S Port Dr
Sacramento, CA 95826

Occasion: After the State Fair and some shopping at Arden Fair Mall, we made our way here for dinner. Definitely brings back some Davis memories! It was so good and so cheap! Love their authentic Korean food! 07.30.11

Bulgogi

Not something I would order, but shared it.  I guess it's good for those meat lovers!  Unlike Kalbi, there's no bones, so I guess it's easier to eat, but I know some who'd prefer the bone in.

Tofu Stew

Something light and best eaten when drenched over rice.   I love that you crack an egg and let it cook in the hot pot stew.  Most Korean food is super spicy, but surprisingly this wasn't too bad.  Perhaps I've adapted to it.

Seafood pancake

So delicious. This has to be one of my most favorite things to order at a Korean restaurant.  I only like ordering it when there's a group of us because though it's delicious, it's not a main course type of dish.  It's a very big and filling appetizer.  I placed this order after we had placed our main orders and I'm so glad we did because everyone enjoyed it just as much as I did.

Manna

845 Irving St
San Francisco, CA 94122

Occasion: Catch up dinner with my college roomie 07.19.11=] We can go months without seeing each other or hanging out and pick up where we left off.  Chose this place because it brings back Davis memories when we used to eat Korean food at a restaurant with the exact same name.

Soft Tofu Soup

Pretty good and not too spicy, but still flavorful.  I ate it with a little bit of rice.

Bibimbop

My favorite thing to order. It's delicious, healthy and what I like.  I love the idea of the fried egg on top and the fact that it's in a stone pot so that it makes the rice crispy.  I don't usually add too much of the spicy red sauce it comes with.  Just a touch of that will do for me.

Han il kwan

1802 Balboa St
San Francisco, CA 94121

Occasion: Saturday night dinner for two. 04.09.11

Tofu Stew

A staple at Korean Restaurants.

Kalbi

Not something I usually order, but many others do. I'm not big on meat, especially so much of it.  I usually have just a few pieces.

Steamed egg

Complimentary and so good! Love love love it. So simple, but so good. Goes really well with rice.  Reminds me of home cooked food.

 

Seafood Pancake

This has to be my favorite appetizer to get at any korean restaurant.  They don't have the best, but it still satisfied my cravings.

Tofu House

4627 Geary Blvd
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Bday celebration with the fams! March 2011.  Not the original place we had hoped to go to since Il Kwan was closed for reconstruction.  We settled for the next best thing in the area.

Seafood Tofu Stew

Kalbi

Bibimbop

I always order this!

Seafood Pancake

Airirang

32 W 32nd St

New York, NY 10001

Occasion: Sunday night dinner in NY. James brought us to one of his favorite spots to eat. 10.17.10

Home made chicken noodle soup with dough flakes

Anything that's home made definitely appeals to me. I enjoyed it though Ella thought it was a bit too bland. Yes it might have been on the bland side, but that's why I liked it.  I didn't want anything too rich in flavor or heavy and this hit the spot for me.  Noodles definitely tasted very homey. It was nice and "qing" just what I needed that night. Sprinkle some white pepper powder in it and it definitely adds some flavor! yum.

Kun Jip

9 W 32nd St
(between 5th Ave & Broadway)

New York, NY 10001

Occasion: After Saturday night club hopping to karaoking then here for some after hours grubbing. 5am 10.17.10

Steamed Eggs

Complimentary steamed eggs. Soo Goood. I love eating this at korean restaurants

Seafood Pancake

I don't know whether it was good or bad, I just know it did it's job when it had to. It was good to me, but then again my judgement could have been off since it was sooo late at night/ early in the morning.

Soon do boo

I only had a little bit of this because it was spicy.

BiBimBop

I don't even remember eating it, but knowing me I was probably the one who ordered it.

My Tofu House

4627 Geary Boulevard

San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Dinner before heading to Tahoe for a weekend trip! 7.30.10. Unfortunately, I didn't get to sit, eat and enjoy the food much. I had to leave for tahoe, so I ate a little bit and took a box to go!

Stonepot BiBimBop

This is seriously my favorite korean dish at any restaurant. This is my "safe" dish because I know I'll like it.  I've been a bit more brave these past years and have been more willing to try different dishes. It's safe to me because it's not spicy (unless you load it up with a lot of that spicy red sauce). It's also pretty healthy to me.  Not a lot of meat. I've never been a big fan of meat.  I can't go wrong with this dish. 

Bulgolgi

Like I've mentioned, I'm not big on meat, but I did think it was good.  It's good with plain white rice. I personally think Kalbi is a bit tastier, but also fattier. You can't go wrong with this if you're a meat lover.

Tofu Soon Doo Bu

Yummy Tofu Soup! I love it here! Perfect to have on a cold winter day. Crack an egg in it and eat it with rice.  I love tofu, so you can't go wrong with it!  Their Tofu Kimchi soup is #9 on SF BIG EATS 2010. Though not exactly the same, its pretty similar just with kimchi in it. Since I don't like kimchi all that much I don' t like ordering it. I still mark it as though I've had it because it's basically the same.

Heung Bu Nae

1560 Fillmore Street

San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Sunday night dinner for two!

Kalbi Soup

Second time having this dish in general.  I thought it was decent. My friend really likes the soup base at this restaurant because of the sweetness of the base.  It's true, at most places the soup base isn't as sweet.  It's not candy sweet, but its the sweetness of the meat in the broth.  She was definitely satisfied with this dish and for me, I thought it was pretty good!

Seafood Pancake

I love getting this, but I myself can never eat it all...or maybe I can. I loved their generous amount of seafood into the pancake especially the tentacles part of the squid.  It was fried to the perfect crisp and when you dip it in their sauce, it's absolutely divine! This place definitely executed, but then again, who am I to judge what's good and not good for Korean food.  All I know is that it satisfies my taste buds, so at this point I guess that's all that matters.

Kalbi

Definitely not the best I've had. The pieces of meat were very fatty.  It might not look like it but every piece I bit into consisted of at least 30% fat.  I know that's where all the flavor is, but I'm just not a big fan of fatty meat.  It was edible and I can see why people would really like it, but it was just ok for me.  I made lettuce wraps with the meat and it definitely takes out the greasiness of the meat, well it doesn't take it out, but it tastes more balanced and for me more enjoyable to eat, though I don't always like eating with my hands.

Arang Restaurant

1506 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: One of the few places open for a late dinner on a saturday night!

Soft Tofu Stew

Nice a flavorful, but also very spicy. I love eating it with rice.

BiBimBop

I always order this dish when I go to Korean restaurants. It's good, flavorful and healthy. I know it's nothing special, but I love having it. Nothing stood out about this dish, it was just what I needed that night; nothing too unhealthy or too flavoful, but something fulfilling and simple.

Bento Box

Namu

Korean Taco

I've had it at the restaurant before, but never at the farmer's market stand they have. In my opinion I think it tastes better at the stand than at the restaurant. I thought the seaweed was very soggy and hard to eat at the restaurant, but it wasn't the same at the stand, which made it easier to eat. This is a very unique way to make a "taco," what a great spin to mix korean with mexican. Good little snack. It's on BIG EAT SF'S LIST of things to eat before we die: #90 Korean taco at Namu’s market stand.

Han iL Kwan

1802 Balboa Street
San Francisco, CA 94121


Occasion: Sunday night dinner..even after a filling lunch at Ike's. We had 5 people, so we each ordered a dish to share family style.

Spicy Rice Cake
Although they are spicy. I really really really like rice cakes and will endure the spiciness. I just love the chewy texture of it. Loved it!

Short Rib Soup
The meat was absolute tender that it fell right off of the bone. It was also full of flavor. I can't have too much meat in one sitting, therefore I wouldn't be able to order this on my own. Thank goodness I had 4 others to share this with.

Korean Pancake
I love ordering this. It is absolutely one of my favorite korean dishes. Generous portions and delicious here. I love that it's thick and filled with a lot of ingredients.

Fried Makeral

Another dish I love. I'm a fish lover more than a meat lover, which is why this is my kind of dish. Only bad thing is that there's too many bones in the fish, which scares me sometimes. I definitely advise ordering this, but eat with caution.

Steamed eggs
This is one of their many complimentary dishes they serve. It goes really well with rice. Love the smooth texture of the steamed egg. It's full of flavor and really tasty. Kind of has a mousse like texture where it just melts in your mouth. Delicious and free= good.

Won Mi Korean BBQ

1545 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115

Occasion: Friday night dinner!

Korean pancake

Always one of my favorite korean dishes. I enjoyed it a lot. I liked the thickness of the dough, but it lacked in ingredients. I wish it had more squid and meat in it. It wasn't the best, but it wasn't too bad either. It was the best dish we ordered that night.

Korean Short Rib Soup

Never had Kalbi Soup before. I didn't get to try the meat, but the soup broth was pretty good. It's simple. It was just soup with kalbi, eggs and onions.

Korean Short Ribs
Some pieces were really dry and Flavor wasn't all there. It was not the best kalbi I've had and I will not go back there for it again.

Namu

439 Balboa St
San Francisco, CA 94118

Occasion: Dinner date with Diana.

Korean Beef Short Rib "Tacos"

The waitress said that it was one of their most popular dishes and that it usually gets sold out at their booth at the ferry building, so we decided to give it a try. It was delicious. I loved the flavor of the beef mixed with diced tomatoes and the pink sauce they drizzled it with. What i didn't like was the fact that two pieces of seaweed acted as the taco shell holding everything together. When I think tacos i think finger foods. I was really confused as to how to eat it without it being too messy. The seaweed got soggy from the meat, tomatoes and sauce, so when we lifted it up to eat it, the filling all started to fall out. I would have enjoyed it more, if it was easier to eat.

Hamachi Crudo

It was served with five pieces. Each piece lay on top of a slice of lemon topped with garlic chili oil and seaweed. Our server told us the chef recommended us eating it without the lemon. I thought that was so funny...then why put the slice of lemon under the fish. I understand that lemon takes out the fishiness of seafood which is why it was probably there. They could have put lemon on the side so that we can drizzle it on the fish if necessary. The fish was really fresh and tasty. We loved the flavors used and freshness of the fish.

Shitake Mushrooms

It wasn't bad, but it wasn't extremely good. I loved the mushrooms in the soup. it came with a total of 8 dumplings which is not really worth it for the price.

Kimchee Fried Rice

It was topped with a fried egg and bits of bacon, which i'm not too fond of, but it did add flavor to the dish. It was our most filling dish. Loved the consistency of the rice. I enjoyed it, but not as much as one from a more authentic Korean Restaurant. It was still yummy though.

Adzuki Red Bean Cupcake

I love japanese red bean, i think its very different from chinese red bean. I don't know what it is, maybe the consistency, sweetness or the texture. Anyhow, the dessert was just alright. Nothing that wowed me. It came with two pieces of strawberry and was garnished with milk and white chocolate.