Many assume the territory between San Francisco and Sonoma County wine country an hour’s drive north is bereft of Korean cuisine. I did, too, until I discovered one long-disguised as a coffee shop.

Java Hub Cafe is Marin County’s only noted venue for Korean victuals. It’s a simple coffee shop in San Anselmo, Calif., a suburb of San Rafael located about 10 minutes north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge. And it is well off the beaten tourism path of Highway 101, the Marin-Sonoma thoroughfare.

On entering the little cafe, I noticed the subtle sounds of acoustic modern folk and alternative music playing subtly from speakers. The large counter has a big posted menu from which to order.

Indoor seating is on barstools with a long table facing a large window. That’s nice natural lighting for food photography, but it offers an unimpressive view of the regular stream of traffic.

Outside there are more than half-dozen tables. It would be nice to enjoy coffee and a meal alfresco in the summertime. However, it’s now winter in California. Even though our winter days are mild compared to Korea’s, I still didn’t want to eat outside.

Tucked behind the coffee shop edifice is a restaurant serving all sorts of North Asian cuisine, including 갈비 kalbi, 비빔면 bibimmyun and miso udon.

After waffling between ordering bibimmyun or bibimbap, I initially ordered the spicy bibim noodles (called bibimmyun in Korean, $7.25 USD). But owner Joyce Jung immediately advised me it would take about 20 minutes to make it. I asked if the bibimbap ($6.50 USD) would arrive more quickly, and she said “yes.” So I opted for the popular Korean dish.

The bibimbap arrived in a regular ceramic bowl — not the oven-heated stone bowls of dolsot bibimbap — with steamed white rice, raw shredded carrot, sauteed mushrooms, steamed broccoli, a sunny-side-up fried egg and a couple of tablespoons of 고추장 gochujang.

After thoroughly mixing items together with the supplied fork. The raw carrots and lack of marination of the ingredients made the Java Hub version not as sweet and garlicy as the dish often is in traditional Korean restaurants.

Non-Korean vegetables such as broccoli may surprise some, but as a big fan of broccoli I enjoyed it very much.

Jung told me Java Hub has been open at this location for 10 years. Originally she only served coffee, tea and typical coffee shop fare like bagels and sandwiches. However, she soon found she needed to offer something more to keep the doors open.

“I noticed that business dropped off in the winter, and I started offering hot meal options to draw winter business,” she said.

So she began offering familiar Korean and Japanese dishes to her menu as well as other hot items like hamburgers.

The mix of coffee joint and Korean restaurant may seem eclectic. Yet while I was talking to Jung after my meal, one of her customers, waiting for his “usual order” of a bacon cheeseburger, opined, “Her burgers are the best anywhere.”

If 빨리 빨리 bbali bbali (“Hurry, hurry!”) is your battlecry and you just want a quick coffee to go, you can place your order from the drive-through window. Jung makes the coffee herself and will bring your order to your car.

Java Hub Cafe

60 Greenfield Ave.
San Anselmo, CA 94960
(415) 451-4928

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If you haven’t tried them yet, go to Vatos Urban Tacos. Get the Kimchi Carnitas Fries. You’ll be happy! More on ZenKimchi Dining.

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Sometimes I need to pinch myself at the type of life I have these days. But since I abhor pain, I never do it. One afternoon Chef Hickey at the W Seoul texted me and asked if I wanted to come over for some wine and tapas. It was part of their Tastemakers series. I had that evening free, so I scooted on over to Walkerhill to hang at my favorite hotel.

Yes, I did get my food and wine complementary as a guest of the chef, but I was in no way obligated to post about it. I only post about things that I feel are worth it, and this is worth it. The theme for that month was Spain. We ambled into Namu and sat at the bar, Liquid, where we were served a tray of yummies with a flight of six wines. In true Chef Hickey style, it was whimsical. He had a tuna mousse that I just want to munch on every day for the rest of my life. It was packed into what looked like a sardine tin, keeping in the spirit of real Spanish bars that have no qualms with serving high quality canned treats. Olives, cheeses, meats, a playful take on gazpacho, and a stuffed chili. This came with a nice array of wines, each having a distinct personality like a classic ensemble comedy. Please forgive the poor quality of the photo. I only had my camera phone that evening.

This is also a great way to meet people. We talked with a couple young ladies who had found a discount special on the W’s Facebook page, and went there to celebrate a birthday.

Here’s the skinny–the info you need. These are small bites, so don’t expect a big meal. It runs around W70,000, which is a good deal for what you get. They run once a month from 8-10 PM. Each is themed around a different country.

January 4: USA
February 1: Australia
March 7: Argentina
April 4: Italy
May 2: South Africa
June 6: California

Ph.: 02-2022-0222
namu.wseoul@whotels.com

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I haven’t visited St. Louis in 18 years, and I certainly don’t remember the city for its Asian food. So it was a treat to eat at a Korean restaurant there during a recent 20th high school reunion trip to rural southern Illinois.

St. Louis is the nearest major metropolitan area with a sizable airport to my little hometown, located more than an hour east. After a long flight, my husband and I were hungry. On my asking about nearby Korean restaurants, the hotel clerk directed us to one about a mile away in the suburb of St. Ann.

The first thing we noticed at Seoul Garden was the full parking lot on a Friday night. This was the first good omen; the second, a dining room full of Korean-speakers. Many were feasting on the $20 all-you-can-eat beef, chicken or pork Korean barbecue.

More tired than hungry, we chose lighter meals. I ordered chicken fried rice (닭복음밥 dak bokeumbap) made with peppery grilled chicken, Chinese restaurant–style peas and diced vegetables (carrots, corn, green and red bell pepper). I was a little disappointed they didn’t sneak any kimchi into the fried rice. The dish came with a small salad.

Kimchi Jjigae at Seoul Garden (Tammy Quackenbush photo)

My husband ordered a hanshik (Korean food) standard, kimchi stew (김치찌개 kimchi jjigae). This one contained enoki mushrooms, a couple of slices of fish cake as garnish and hidden slices of rice cake (가래떡 garae tteok). It had the expected spiciness and sourness as well as welcome warmth for that cool fall evening.

Thanks to the mealtime custom of multiple side dishes (반착 banchan), diners at many of the more traditional restaurants can sample the multiple personalities of Korean cuisine. Every time I visit a restaurant for the first time, I get more excited to discover the banchan than my main course.

Among the banchan at Seoul Garden was a bowl of Gyeran Jjim (계란찜), which is a Korean egg custard. This was the first time on either side of the Pacific I’ve had it served as banchan. It was as comforting a dish as it was simple — two scrambled eggs and one cup of a simple broth (such as anchovy or dashida), baked or steamed until set.

Yongeun Jorim as banchan (Tammy Quackenbush photo)

Another side dish surprise was marinated sliced lotus root, called Yongeun Jorim (연근 조림). It was pleasantly crunchy, sweet and salty.

Seoul Garden

10678 St. Charles Rock Road
St. Ann, MO 63074
(314) 429-4255
Hours: Monday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

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DISCLAIMER: I was given a free meal by these folks, but I never let that influence my judgment. I told them that too.

I was invited by the folks at Walkerhill to try one of their newest restaurants, Vizavi. It’s an upscale buffet at the COEX Convention Center. It ain’t cheap, but it’s good. As I get older, I find I don’t like buffets. They don’t hold the glamor they used to. They overwhelm with the variety and endlessness of foods, but less then twenty percent is edible.

Not so with Vizavi.

Foods aren’t made in mystery in a back kitchen and dumped onto a steam table. The sushi station has the cooks prepping live fish right behind the line in full view.

I was first impressed with the salad station. They had little amuse-bouche in individual cups that used ingredients you normally don’t see in Korea, like couscous and salmon roe. They also had unlimited crab legs next to a hot bar with enchiladas and mero (sea bass) on hand. Dessert included two full stations plus gelato. The centerpiece, though, was the grill station that served barbecued ribs, lobster, and lamb chops.

The other thing I noticed was the attitude of the staff. They were having a good time. They were playful. They took pride in their work. It’s stuff like this that you never notice when eating in Korea until you actually see it. And it wasn’t just because I was some VIP. I observed how they interacted with other diners. They were trying to create an overall fun experience.

I took a lot of pics, and I would be doing an injustice by fluffing this up with text. I’ll do what the Korean language food blogs do and just post the pictures with descriptions.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto with Ricotta Puree

Mashed Potato Tart

Couscous Salad

Cherry Tomato with Cumin Dressing

Salmon Roe Cocktail

Caramelized Fig

Jamon and Cheese Board. You can see I took a big bite out of the leg.

Tuna Tataki

Sashimi

Twigim. The cook put some shrimp straight from the fryer on my plate. Light and crispy.

At the salad bar. I had never seen this before in a restaurant–Baby Ginseng.

One of a few dessert stations

Crab

Honeycomb

Prepping Salmon

More pictures here

Vizavi on Foursquare

DIRECTIONS: Samseong Station (line 2) exit 6. Walk to the front of the COEX Convention Hall. It’s on the first floor to the right.

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Let’s test your ‘gringo-ness.’

When someone says sushi, what comes to your mind?

If you said raw fish, then congratulations – you’re one of the truest of the true gringos. Sushi is the vinegared rice that the slices of raw fish, or any other toppings, rest on.

Ok, then what do you call the slices of raw fish?

If you said sashimi, then you’re a well-cultured gringo. Now if you want the elite gringo status, what is sashimi called in Korea?

회 Hui (pronounced hway) is correct, but more specifically it’s 생선회 Saengseon Hui. If you say ‘hui’ most people will assume that you are, indeed, talking about raw fish.

Although they are prepared in the same exact way, there are a couple of huge differences in Korean hui and Japanese sashimi. The most glaring one might be the condiments. Japanese will only serve you soy sauce and wasabi, basically the same stuff that accompanies sushi. Koreans, however, will serve you 초장 chojang – a mix of  고추장 gochujang, vinegar, and sugar. Wasabi and soy sauce are available upon request, if not served up front. The other disparity is that Korean hui is usually a full course dining experience, whereas the sashimi is more like an appetizer to a meal.

Let me expand on the full dining experience that is 횟집 huitjip – Korean raw fish restaurant.

One of the most talked about huitjip in Los Angeles is 와! 싸다 ’Wa! Ssadda’. It is sometimes misspelled as Wassada, especially on the ‘Net, and is mistaken for a Japanese sushi joint. But hey, however you find this place, just get in here!

Also, forget about the menu. Get either the combo plate or the 광어 Gwang-eo (flounder) hui plate, then you can add live lobster, live sea cucumber, or live abalone as needed. Notice the word live. When you enter the restaurant, you will be surrounded by fish tanks featuring your dinner menu. You can even name the fish before they take it to the kitchen and kill it for your consumption. It’s a good thing that fish do not make any audible noises.

We ordered the combination plate #2 (medium) and a side of lobster. The huge plate consists of sea urchin, abalone, flounder, tuna, salmon, some sea bass, and other fish that I could not identify. But this plate is only a small part of why you go to a huitjip. As soon as you’ve ordered your food, the army of servers come out with various banchan dishes and the beginning of your full course meal.

First to be set on your table are a house salad, sea snails, spicy peanuts, seaweed salad, edamame, raw half-shell oysters, macaroni salad, sweet potatoes, and 전복 죽 Jeonbok Juk (Abalone Porridge). Also, at this time, they bring you lettuce, sesame leaves, sliced jalapeno peppers and garlic, and an array of dipping sauces. As some of you may already know, Koreans love to make lettuce wraps with various greens (organic preferred).

Round 2 – Tuna Tataki is served with monk fish liver.

Round 3 – the lobster arrives with its tail split open, cut up in bite sized morsels and presented back in its shell.

Round 4 – the server brings out the spicy tuna roll.

Round 5 – the main course is presented to us on a huge plate the size of a small satellite dish. A sizzling plate of grilled onions and garlic is served for the lettuce wraps.

Round 6 – vegetable tempura time. Also at this time, they take back the lobster to the kitchen to cook it.

Round 7 – the grilled trio of mackerel, salmon head, and mixed fish on a half shell is served.

Round 8 – they bring out the 매운탕 spicy seafood soup made with the leftover flounder from the earlier hui. The staff also offers up our leftover lobster that they have just cooked.

Round 9 – as if all that wasn’t enough food, the fine sushi chefs prepare a spicy kimchi hand roll… for dessert! I will warn you, this stuff is SUPER HOT!!!

So, there you have it. Since I cannot describe the flavors of all 12-15 dishes, I will just say that all the dishes were excellent in flavor and texture – they were living and breathing just a mere few minutes ago. Our bill came to about $150 for the medium combo plate, a lobster and a couple of Cass beers; for the four of us, it was quite fulfilling. You will eat like there is no tomorrow!

Lastly, the Korean hui dinner is an experience that everyone should try at least once. The whole experience is not only a feast for your stomach, but your eyes, nose, and mouth will thank you even more.

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Recently, a few of my friends have been asking me where to get the best Korean food in the South Bay (San Jose Area of California). It’s then when my drill down questioning starts, because some places make great soups while others make great meat dishes. It is very rare to find a single restaurant that does all types of Korean food well.

But for most beginners and/or the uninitiated, I would recommend Myungdong Grill in Santa Clara, CA. Yes, the restaurant is located in the heart of SF Bay Area’s K-Town – El Camino Real and Lawrence Expressway. This place is very unassuming from the outside, as it shares the strip mall space with a 빵굽는 마을 Baking Village and Salvation Army Thrift Store. Once you are able to find it, you will find a clean and contemporary Korean restaurant.

You will find table-top-grill-equipped seating along the walls, and the middle rows feature plain tables. Don’t forget to tell the staff that you want the grilling seats if you are planning to grill – they forget to ask sometimes. The menu covers look like they belong in a museum, as they look and feel substantial.

I, personally, frequent this establishment on a regular basis. So on this fine evening, my date and I decided to order some 순두부 soondoobu and 해물 파전 haemul pajeon (seafood pancakes).

Let me get my one and only gripe out of the way first. When a customer orders appetizers, such as haemul pajeon, the appetizers are supposed to be served ahead of the main course. This restaurant does not seem to care about that simple rule, because the appetizer dishes have come out along with the main course several times. But, in all honesty, Korean dinner tables do not feature ‘appetizers, per se… that is such a Western cultural thing.

And now to the good part. I ordered my usual, the 김치 순두부 kimchi soondoobu with average spice level, and my date ordered the extra hot 해물 순두부 seafood soondoobu. The soup dishes at Myungdong Grill are consistently good. Although many people swear by So Gong Dong Tofu House, I feel that the quality of their food has dropped off significantly in the last few years–to be honest, the flavor of SGD Tofu House soondoobu is too much like 신 라면 Shin Ramyun!

The various 반찬 banchan dishes are also standouts at Myungdong Grill. They are not too sugary and feel like mom’s cooking. The soondoobu has the right flavor and spice level, the texture of the tofu is just spot on, the ingredients are well matched and fresh, and the broth consistency is well above average. Lastly, the haemul pajeon is no joke either – perfectly cooked and the seafood bits were very tasty!

All in all, I would highly recommend Myungdong Grill to most people. They feature all types of great dishes, especially the soups and grilled meats. You will not be disappointed with the food, however their service can be somewhat of a mixed bag. Even with that said, the service issue will not be a hindrance to your enjoyable dining experience.

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Because of the name of the restaurant, we ordered broiled 불고기 bulgogi and broiled barbecued chicken (닭구이) from the lunch menu, which bundles the items with 밥 bap (rice), 반찬 banchan (side dishes) and a bowl of soup. Both entrees were $9.99 each.

The banchan were typical Korean restaurant fare: baechu kimchi, lightly pickled cucumbers, marinaded soybean sprouts,  marinaded mung bean sprouts, soy sauce–brined jalapeños, and two kinds of daikon kimchi (one was fresh and the other was made from dried daikon). They were tasty but not surprising.

Miyukguk, a simple Korean seaweed soup (Tammy Quackenbush photos)

The surprise for us were the small bowls of 미역국 miyukguk, which is a Korean seaweed soup made with wakame in a simple broth. Of all the soups in Korea’s culinary repertoire, few are more Korean than miyukguk. I have to give the restaurateurs credit for serving such a bold, unusual dish to a couple of non-Koreans, since many non-Koreans are still somewhat squeamish about seaweed in its leafy form.

Korean women recovering from childbirth are served this soup morning, day and night for the first couple of weeks after giving birth. Some Korean women are also compelled by well-meaning relatives to eat lots of it leading up to childbirth, since is it believed to purify the blood and help women with lactation.

The waitress set the bowls down, I looked at my husband and said “Happy Birthday,” though neither of us have a birthday coming. He doesn’t like seaweed in soup or 김밥 kimbap (sushi).

“It’s good for me, right?” he asked me while stirring the leaves and looking skeptically into the bowl. He ended up liking the flavor of the soup.

The service was prompt. The waitress took our order shortly after we sat down and brought the banchan, rice and soup within a few minutes. The bulgogi and grilled chicken arrived a few minutes after that.

The bulgogi was quite dry, and the smoke flavor from the real wood oven was pronounced. We dipped the meat in the miyukguk and wrapped it in moist rice, which helped.

The chicken, however, was moist, the “special house sauce” more obvious than on the bulgogi, and the smokiness more subtle.

Korean Village Wooden Charcoal BBQ House, or Wooden Charcoal BBQ, is located in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond neighborhood at 4609 Geary Blvd.

It is easy to find from Highway 1, commonly known as 19th Avenue, a major north-south thoroughfare on the west side of the city. If you’re traveling north on 19th Avenue (coming north from San Francisco International Airport and San Jose on Interstate 280), turn right on Geary Boulevard. The restaurant will be on your right between 10th and 11th avenues.

Making left turns on a number of streets of San Francisco is difficult. If you are traveling south on Park Presidio (from Napa-Sonoma wine country and the Golden Gate Bridge), you can’t turn left onto Geary. Travel a block south of Geary, turn right onto Anza, turn right at 14th Avenue then turn right a third time, onto Geary

This restaurant is worth the hastle. Parking is available along Geary or side streets.

Geary Boulevard has a string of Korean shops, grocers and restaurants. Wooden Charcoal BBQ is about a block away from longstanding Korean barbecue master Brothers Restaurant and several blocks from the Korean establishments in Japantown.

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By Jason Yu

In the early afternoon here in Seoul, Korea, a delightful smell is just around the corner.  As my friends and I head for the restaurant, the fresh aroma is coming from not just any Korean restaurant.  While Kimchi, bulgogi and bibimbap may be Korean staples today, this sit-down eatery is a chicken place.   And their chicken did not disappoint.

Last week, I had the pleasure of eating at Oppadak – which translates to the cute Korean saying “Big brother chicken” (the full name actually translates to “The chicken that fell out of the oven”).  This chain of chicken restaurants are all over Seoul and after eating their chicken, I understand completely why.  The chicken is that good!

While comparisons to American food chains KFC and Popeyes will come to mind for people that read “fried chicken” place, rest assured that Oppadak distances themselves from those food chains.  The taste and texture of Oppadak’s chicken attest to this.

“I’ve been waiting to eat this chicken all day,” one of my friends says before digging in.  Him and I both.

Variety

Oppadak features a variety of chicken from baked and rotisserie to honey and spicy flavors.  Their chicken comes in skinless or with skin.  Their skinned chicken, I would say, has a lot of juice and crisp in it.  When ordering a basket of chicken, rather than having one chicken part (such as a thigh, wing or breast) the basket is filled with a variety of parts.

For people that like their dipping sauces, barbeque, honey mustard, and spicy flavors are just some sauces they offer.

Price

The place is moderately expensive. Yet with a party of people the bill gets considerably cheaper.  A full basket of chicken is about W12,000, which can usually feed two people.  Beer is about W3,000.

For a party of four ordering two baskets of chicken and some beer expect to spend about W40,000.

Environment

Oppadak is quite popular among the young crowd.  While I’ve been there during times when there are only a couple of people, this is the exception.  Both Koreans and foreigners love their chicken, so expect to see a full restaurant.  At night time, the combination of chicken and beer makes the place even more packed than usual.  The plus side of this is that the sit-down is open until midnight or even in the early morning in many locations, making it an attractive place to go to after spending the day shopping, coming back from the noraebang (karaoke), clubbing or coffee.

Also something to note: this place is absolutely nuts during the winter.  Since Korea is brutally cold (don’t let those Korean dramas fool you that Korea has nicer and warmer winters), hot chicken is a great cure to fight the cold.

Wrapping Up

If you’re visiting Seoul or live in the metropolitan area, and you’re a fan of chicken, you owe it to yourself to go to an Oppadak.

Jason Yu is honored to guest post for the popular Korean food blog, ZenKimchi.  As a fan of food, anything Asia, learning, and hip-hop, he is a professor by day and programmer by night.  He currently develops his website devoted to Asian pop culture, GreenTeaGraffiti, under his alias “Jangta” from Seoul, Korea.  Check out his site and for the latest in food culinary, please continue to read ZenKimchi.

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