Las Vegas' Bachi Burger!

Dear Bachi Burger,

I cannot wait to go back to Las Vegas just to have your savory burgers in my mouth.  I would love to try your Oxtail Chili Cheese Fries, Banh Mi Burger, Miyagi-san's Grass Fed Wagyu Burger, Spicy Miso Burger, and The Crusty Crab.  So basically the entire menu....

I wasn't able to experience the feel of the restaurant since I was sitting in the hotel room aching with tremendous pain, but luckily my best friend (Erica) and her boyfriend (Son) brought back the Pork Belly Steamed Buns as well as the Kalbi Burger.  That initial bite into the Kalbi Burger helped temporarily alleviate the sharp feeling in my leg.  And let me tell you, nothing could really get my mind off of it, so that means a lot.  What I loved about this burger was that it came with a side of Korean-styled, spicy red-pepper cucumbers also known as oh ee ji (Korean) or liang ban huang gua (Chinese) which is my absolute favorite Korean side dish of all time.  Their menu has Bachi Pickles but I'm unaware if they are referring to the cucumbers as described above. On the inside, the Kalbi Burger is light pink with juices oozing after each bite.  It has a thin crispy, brown layer from the sweet kalbi marinade and has kimchi, ko chu jang mayo, and green onions for added flavor.  Wasn't able to get a snapshot of the burger since it disappeared before I could get my camera.  Yeah, it was that good.  Love Korean food?  You'll love the Kalbi Burger.

Bachi Burgers' Pork Belly Steamed Buns were equally delicious!  These Vietnamese-inspired pork buns consisted of pork belly, hoisin, scallions, cilantro, Chinese black vinaigrette, and a boiled egg (which was excluded in our order).  I just remember the pork fat melting while the soft puffiness of the buns filled my mouth with the saltiness of the hoisin and the distinct taste of cilantro.  Bachi Burger is known for their creative Asian fusion burgers, but this wasn't necessarily the first time I've had something like the Pork Belly Steamed Buns.  Can't remember where else I've had this dish, but its still a must-have especially if you would like order it as an appetizer and share with other people since they are bite-sized and comes in an order of three.

Thank you to both Son and Erica for introducing me to Bachi Burger, my new favorite, creative burger joint of all time.

<3 Lina Chen

9410 W. Sahara Ave.,  Las Vegas, Nevada

702.255.3055.  www.bachiburger.com

Little Sandong Chinese Restaurant

Little Sandong Chinese Restaurant reminded me of my dad's Chinese restaurant.  We used to use the same place mats that is depicted in the picture below, but also our restaurant was called Sandong Restaurant.  This was long before when I was a little elementary/middle school.  Oh the memories.

Ahjangpi - Combination Plate with Vermicelli

This was the first time I've ever heard of ahjangpi.  It was good.  They served it with a side of Chinese mustard which I didn't care for but everyone else in my party ended up adding more of the sauce on their plates.  The picture above depicts the ahjangpi before it's mixed all together.  Iust wanted to show you their attention to detail cause technically they could have brought the dish out already mixed.

I ordered the jajangmyeon since that's what I used to eat at my dad's restaurant all the time.  Jajangmyeon, also know as black bean noodles, is an inexpensive, wheat noodle dish with a black, salty soybean paste mixed in with onions, vegetables, meat, and sometimes seafood.  For the longest time I thought jajangmyeon was a traditional Chinese dish (which it still is); however, after reading the history about it, the popularity of this dish didn't boom until it was first introduced in Incheon, Korea when the Sandong Chinese immigrants settled there during the Japanese rule in Korea.  he jajangmyeon above is the Korean-version which is wet, creamy, and dark black.

Little Sandong's jajangmyeon unfortunately wasn't as good as my dad's jajangmyeon when he owned his restaurant.  My dad's jajangmyeon has much more meat and veggies whereas this dish at Little Sandong has more noodles and black bean sauce which was a little too bland for my taste.  It did seem as though the owners at this restaurant were remodeling, but according to Yelp, they have 64 reviews, four stars, but people have commented that there has been a change in ownership so it might not as be as great as before.  Who knows what it is...

<3  Lina Chen

11740 Artesia Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

562.809.3887.

Road to Seoul Korean BBQ

If you've never had Korean BBQ you are missing out.  The meat is marinated to perfection and the culmination of meats that come together is just mouthwatering.  Most places serve it with ban chan (side dishes), kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), man eul (raw garlic), rice or rice paper, and an endless number of foods.  Honestly, Fourth of July BBQ's got nothin' on KBBQ!  Depending where you go and the many options that they provide all determine what you get out of it.  Before I left for California, Eric and I would drive all the way up to Thornton, Colorado to the only all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Korean BBQ restaurant at the time.  I'm not sure if they have anymore AYCE restaurants there but the one in Thornton, Q-Table, is more of a buffet style where there's many options to choose from in addition to Korean BBQ such as sushi, fresh fruits, and other Korean dishes you would normally order from a sit down menu.  Great thing is that it offers more foods, ideal for those who want a variety of foods to try from.  I wouldn't necessarily say that they quality is superb since buffets tend to emphasize more on quantity, but the food was good enough for me since it is a Korean-owned restaurant with real Korean foods that I would see on the table in my very own home.  

As my friends and I ventured out towards downtown L.A., we stopped by a few places in search for the best AYCE Korean BBQ.  At first we went to a place called Hae Jang Chon Korean BBQ off of 6th street but the place was packed!  After placing our names on the waiting list and standing around for about 15 minutes, we decided to leave because the wait time was well over 2 hours and I'm pretty sure there were 20+ groups ahead of us.  Not individuals.  Groups.  As much as I would have loved to eat their unlimited Korean BBQ, there was just no way we could wait that long for food.

Road to Seoul was our next and what deemed to be our last destination.  Parking wasn't as difficult to find since they have their own parking lot.  We did, though valet the car ($2) and went inside.  By the time we got inside, there was a heap of people but the wait time was only an hour (Thank God!). 

As soon as we were seated I immediately hit up the common items on the menu from option A which gives you the option to get AYCE...

-  Steamed Egg
-  Black Pork Bacon
-  BBQ Chicken
-  Bulgogi
-  Beef Sirloin
-  Whole Squid
-  Korean Pancake
-  Seasoned Beef Rib
-  Baby Octopus
-  Pork Belly
-  Galbi

And other things that I can't quite remember.. The list was quite extensive...Option A only entails every individual at the table to pay $17.99.  The list for Option B has more options to choose from.  Fortunately Option A has, to me, most of the essential and popular meats such as bulgogi, sang-gyup-sal, and galbi.

Road to Seoul brings out a bowl of salad, rice paper (which was a foreign concept to me until I moved out to L.A.), raw garlic, Korean pancakes that consist of green onions, gyeran jjim (계란찜)--steamed egg casserole, kimchi (김치)--fermented, spicy cabbage, and a Korean version of a potato salad--all I remind you are unlimited as well.  I generally take the rice paper, place a few pieces of lettuce on top, then take the meat which is lightly dipped into Road to Seoul's rock salt (which is pretty neat), and then wrap it all up and take a bite into it.  If you want to go traditional, traditional...dip the raw garlic in the this brown pasty sauce called ssamjang (쌈장) and place it on the meat before wrapping up the rice paper.

At a Korean restaurant I generally lean towards galbi but the sirloin steak here was juicy and delicious so I highly recommend you getting

Overall the place speaks for itself.  There's a high demand for Road to Seoul BBQ for a reason.  That reason is because this place is soooooo goooood!  The sole purpose of this write up is because I'm currently craving it at this very moment...

<3 Lina Chen

1230 S. Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90006

323.731.9292

Korean New Years Tradition: Dduk Guk

Happy New Years!!!  Can't believe it's already 2013!  Hopefully everyone had a wonderful time ringing in the New Years with friends and loved ones.  I, of course, spent it with my boyfriends family stuffing our faces with delicious hot pot (火鍋) and mochi ice cream with cream puffs for dessert!  As much as I enjoyed my first year celebrating with Eric's family, I did occasionally thought of my parents back at home and how I miss their presence. 

The one other thing I longed for was the traditional Korean rice cake soup, also known as dduk guk (떡국), my mother would make for us on New Years day.  I'm not 100% sure where the traditions come from but there probably is some meaning behind it like how the Chinese believe consuming noodles symbolizes a long and healthy life ahead.

Dduk guk is usually served in a beef, chicken, or anchovy broth with bits of dry seaweed, garnished egg, dumplings, and green onions.  Meats are optional.  It's slightly seasoned with sesame seeds, egg garnishes, and a little bit of salt and pepper to add some flavoring to it. 

If you are interested in making dduk guk you would gather (ingredients):

1. 2 1/2 beef, chicken, or anchovy broth
2. 1 Package of sliced Korean rice cakes (Can be found in a Korean supermarket like H-Mart)
3. 1 Tablespoon of Dashida (Korean soup stock in power-form)
4. 1 Bunch of chopped green onions
5. 12 Korean dumplings also known as mandu
6. 4 Beaten eggs (including the yolk)
7. Sesame seeds
8. 2 Sheets of Nori seaweed
9. 1 Minced garlic
10. 1/2 Chopped white onions

How to make dduk guk (directions):

1. Rinse and soak Korean rice cakes in bowl of cold water for 10-15 minutes.
2. Preparing the egg garnish:
1. Place a dab of oil on a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat and slowly pour the already beaten eggs in the pan.  
2. Immediately lift the pan and swirl the egg around.  The idea is to evenly distribute the egg so that it is a thin-sheet like that of crepes.
3. Carefully flip the egg onto it's other side.  Once fully cooked place it on a cutting board to cool off.
4. Fold the pancake-like egg into a tri-fold and cut the egg into strips.
3. Preparing the soup base:
1. Bring the beef, chicken, or anchovy broth to a boil.  Add dashida, minched garlic, chopped white onions, salt and pepper for added flavor.
2. Optional:  Add thinly sliced cooked meat into the soup. 
   Note:  Meat needs to be cooked prior to adding in to the soup base.
4. The grand finale:
1. Add Korean dumplings into the soup base.
2. Then Drain and add the sliced Korean rice cakes as well.  Boil both the dumplings and rice cakes until they tender or start to float.
3. Add the chopped green onions and cook for one minute.  
4. Remove from heat and serve in a big bowl.  Garnish it with slices of egg, sprinkle some sesame seeds, add salt and pepper (if needed), and lastly crumbled pieces of the Nori seaweed and serve.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Prepare as much dduk (Korean rice cake) as you want be make sure to eat it all without having any leftovers.  Like noodles, dduk will become very mushy, the soup thickens, and the flavor may lose it's taste.  Personally, it's better to keep the soup and the dduk seperate to maximize your taste buds!

Consider trying dduk guk in the forth coming year.

Happy New Years Everyone!

<3 Lina Chen