Korean Food - Real Restaurants in the States

 NEW Update: I recently took a trip to Colorado Springs, CO and our friends took us to San Chang House. 

They ordered us the pork belly meal with hot pot tofu soup. It's where the waitress brings a hot plate right to your table and grills the meat for the table. Once cooked, you can dip the meat in sesame oil, salt and pepper, or you put it in a lettuce leaf with red bean paste, rice, any of the side dishes and roll it up before you pop it in your mouth. The soup was slightly different from the other hot pot I tried - this one had the clear rice noodles in it - I think I like it better this way! 

Oddly enough my FAVORITE part of the meal was the KIMCHI! I could have eaten just their radish kimchi for the entire meal... Maybe I was running a little low on vitamin C that day? I don't know what their recipe has that's different from the other places I've eaten, (it's not like the recipe was that different than the others), but this kimchi was the best I've had, and the next time I'm in that part of the state again I am definitely going back! 

Here's the web-generated Facebook page if you want more information: https://www.facebook.com/pages/San-Chang-House/109630119074367

 (This isn't a photo of their kimchi, it's from maangchi.com, but mmm it looks so good I had to include it!)

I just tried Cupbop - Korean BBQ, and yum! It's different than the two sit-down restaurant style versions I've had but still delicious. The beef is incredibly tender and the spiciness of the sauce they add has just the right kick. 

Plus I love their slogan: "Shhh...just eat!" Haha, the foodie in me agrees :p
https://www.facebook.com/CupbopKoreanBBQ

Special post! Since I've started watching my Korean films and dramas, I've had a strong desire to try out some authentic food. I mean, you see the characters eating these delicious meals all the time, and you HAVE to know what it's like. In my quest to try Korean food, I have found two restaurants (so far) here in the States that serve genuine Korean cuisine: 


Kangnam House in Milpitas, CA
http://kangnamtofu.orengeo.com/Clients/f1a9aff46a494478/n0flhiw4.aspx 

Tofu hot pot!






 Sam Hawk Korean Restaurant in Provo, UT
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Hawk-Korean-Restaurant/114165495347995


 Mmm, bulgogi! (Beef Korean barbecue)

I attended the Kangnam House with friends who said it was authentic, and so I compared that experience to my visit to Sam Hawk's restaurant. Just as good!

I know there are many other Korean style restaurants out there, and as I visit them, I will update this post :)

It's helpful to find friends who have eaten at the place you want to try, but I also found the "Yelp" reviews to be quite useful in determining which restaurant I should visit next. Good luck in your foodie adventures!

KFilm to Miss: Romantic Island (2008)

Romantic Island (2008)

The story follows three separate couples who vacation in the Philippine islands, two of which aren't couples until they go on the trip together. It was a little weird because the husband kept trying to kill himself so his wife could get insurance money because he had a brain tumor. The other couples were a stern business man who meets a poor but happy, outgoing girl, and then there was a runaway pop star who runs into a guy visiting his friend. Some swearing.

*Will probably not watch again. Too much going on and the actors/characters were just not lovable enough*

KFilm to Watch: No Breathing (2013)

No Breathing (2013)  

Cho Won-il gave up swimming as a child when his father died during a swim meet, attempting the “no breathing” technique while racing. The father's friend, Jae-suk, convinces Won-il to attend a sports high school and swim again after he is expelled from school. Woo-sang is a competitive swimmer who was kicked off the national swim team after some misconduct, so he ends up attending the same sports school as Won-il. The two compete in the pool for a chance to go to the Olympics, and they compete outside the water for a girl they both know from their childhood.

*Might watch again. It's a pretty upbeat, fun sports film, with only a few sobering moments. Won-il's character is quite entertaining.*

KDrama to MUST Watch: You're Beautiful (2009)

You're Beautiful (2009)

Grade: A+

 16 Episodes  

Orphan Go Mi Nyeo is a nun in training when she encounters her twin brother's manager and he pleads for her help. Go Mi Nyeo agrees to disguise herself as her talented twin brother in order to keep his spot in the famous musical group A.N. Jell (pronounced “angel”) while he recovers from plastic surgery in the U.S. Mi Nyeo has to sing, dance, act and attend social functions, all as part of her duties. The ill-tempered leader of the group, Tae Kyung, discovers her secret early on, but somehow she wins him over and he agrees to let her stay while helping Mi Nyeo maintain the charade.

*I LOVED this drama! I love any plot that has to do with Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night” and the subsequent complications. There was a very funny 15-second cover of Super Junior's “Sorry Sorry” song, the boys in the group had a very real feeling to their camaraderie, the music would cut off to emphasize comedic points, and the kiss scenes were perfect! Top 3 for sure (even though I am aware I now have more than three dramas in my top 3) 


 If you decide to watch this Kdrama, PLEASE watch this music video first, so you'll get the joke during the show :)

Super Junior "Sorry Sorry" dance video