Korean

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fourstardan

Original Poster:

5,218 posts

154 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
I went for a Korean grill last night as a birthday treat.

Are Korean restaurants generally all of the same level or do you get cuisine?

It striked me as being far more authentic, tastier and less "brit adapted" than Chinese, Thai probably sits in between these two.


Greshamst

2,271 posts

130 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
Korean bbq where you cook your own food are a specific type of Korean restaurant and wonderful

More general Korean restaurants are likely to have some bibimbap (rice, meat and veg, often in a hot stone bowl) and lots of soupy noodle type dishes.
Most food comes with ‘banchan’ which is lots of little dishes of veg, kimchi etc.

They do great beer food of ‘jeon’ crispy pancakes, fried chicken and spicy chewy rice cakes.

New Malden is the best place to try some more authentic Korean as the embassy was there and a big Korean community settled in the area.

Where are you based, there’s also lots of relatively good chains in London, and then some really good Michelin star Korean food at Sollip restaurant near London Bridge.

dickymint

26,255 posts

268 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
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Following as Korean is my favourite Asian cuisine.

wyson

2,965 posts

114 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
Depends on where you are but you can get a lot of ‘authentic’ Chinese cuisines from the different regions in London, I suppose anywhere with a sizeable Chinese community. It’s not uncommon that restaurants have a Chinese menu with ‘authentic’ foods and a westernised menu. Having hung out sometimes with a Chinese overseas crew at uni, I was surprised by what they ordered. They would order off menu as well. Conversations with the waiter like ‘the chef is from X bit of China, and then one of the crew would say, oh I like dish Y from there, can he cook that? Yes, he can, etc.

Which Korean restaurant did you go to and where are you based? From what I understand, its more a ‘regional’ cuisine as it originates from a small area. China is a big country with different types of fruits and crops grown across diverse geographies and the cuisine is varied.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 15th June 10:50

Your Dad

2,011 posts

193 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
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wyson said:
It’s not uncommon that restaurants have a Chinese menu with ‘authentic’ foods and a westernised menu.
There’s a place in Sheffield like that, they have a section on the menu titled ‘English Dishes’. Has stuff like S&S chicken, beef in black bean etc.

Main menu has things like crispy pig ears, chicken feet and many others dishes that suggest the food will be very genuine.

wyson

2,965 posts

114 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
Yeah, I won’t lie, I tried dishes containing both those ingredients and I couldn’t eat a lot of it. Definitely see the point in the Westernised versions, lol. Traditional Cantonese cooking is also big on slow cooked soups. They ordered one with pig stomach and lord knows what else. The smell and taste of it sort of made me wretch, was glad for my hot and sour soup, which of course, only I was eating. One ‘authentic’ plate I did enjoy was a jellyfish and cucumber dish. Sort of tasted like eating fresh, garlicky rubber bands, but was refreshing.

What I noticed though was the balance in what they ordered, wasn’t all greasy stodge, fried everything with thick gloopy sauces that is ‘normally’ ordered.

Once with another group of British friends, I tried to show off and order like the Chinese, braised this and steamed that. They were like, what is this food? Lol.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 15th June 11:29

wyson

2,965 posts

114 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
Oh to answer the OP, the dishes he eats here will be edited to be acceptable to Westerners. I've watched quite a few Korean food videos on YouTube.

Would they serve raw marinated crab?
Live octopus with the legs still wriggling?
Sliced cow brains to be eaten like cold cuts?
Raw sliced beef with pear and raw egg?

They certainly didn't in the Korean places I've tried in London.
All the foods were on the safer side of the spectrum, much like the Chinese food. BBQ meats, Korean fried chicken, fried dumplings, assorted vegetables etc.

dickymint

26,255 posts

268 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
wyson said:
Yeah, I won’t lie, I tried dishes containing both those ingredients and I couldn’t eat a lot of it. Definitely see the point in the Westernised versions, lol. Traditional Cantonese cooking is also big on slow cooked soups. They ordered one with pig stomach and lord knows what else. The smell and taste of it sort of made me wretch, was glad for my hot and sour soup, which of course, only I was eating. One ‘authentic’ plate I did enjoy was a jellyfish and cucumber dish. Sort of tasted like eating fresh, garlicky rubber bands, but was refreshing.

What I noticed though was the balance in what they ordered, wasn’t the greasy stodge, fried everything with thick gloopy sauces that is ‘normally’ ordered.

Once with another group of British friends, I tried to show off and order like the Chinese, braised this and steamed that. They were like, what is this food? Lol.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 15th June 11:21
If you ever see Hot Pot on the menu then go for it. Like Korean BBQ it's a very hands on cook yourself course for sharing. We really need a K-Pot chain in the UK...............





wyson

2,965 posts

114 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
Yes, met up with a few of them recently (some stayed back in Blighty), tried to get into Heidilao in Piccadilly Circus, which they said is a famous hotpot chain in China. Alas, that restaurant only did walk ins, the waiting area was absolutely packed, said it was 1h 30min wait, so decided to eat elsewhere, that I can't remember the name of.

I'm not going to lie, we had a split mild and spicy side soup base, the spicy side totally numbed out my mouth because of the Sichuan peppercorns and I was sweating, on the verge of tears. Desperately wished I had a mini milk the next day on the toilet as well.

A stock image I randomly found on the internet, but it was this sort of setup:



Was nice enough, though next time, I'll definitely stick to the mild soup. That spicy soup, the heat sort of creeps up on you, totally caught me off guard.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 15th June 13:17

dickymint

26,255 posts

268 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
wyson said:
Yes, met up with a few of them recently (some stayed back in Blighty), tried to get into Heidilao in Piccadilly Circus, which they said is a famous hotpot chain in China. Alas, that restaurant only did walk ins, the waiting area was absolutely packed, said it was 1h 30min wait, so decided to eat elsewhere, that I can't remember the name of.

I'm not going to lie, we had a split mild and spicy side soup base, the spicy side totally numbed out my mouth because of the Sichuan peppercorns and I was sweating, on the verge of tears. Desperately wished I had a mini milk the next day on the toilet as well.

A stock image I randomly found on the internet, but it was this sort of setup:



Was nice enough, though next time, I'll definitely stick to the mild soup. That spicy soup, the heat sort of creeps up on you, totally caught me off guard.

Edited by wyson on Saturday 15th June 13:17
Nice nosh yum

I enjoy spicy and hot bur avoid most food that lists Sichuan peppercorns - reminds me of the dentists - cloves likewise.

fourstardan

Original Poster:

5,218 posts

154 months

Saturday 15th June 2024
quotequote all
OP here.

This was the Korean BBQ grill in Bournemouth, so the grill optio or dishes.

We had a couple of meats for the grill and stone/sizzle options as additional. Nom nom. I loved the eggs on top.

They did have ox tounge and a few other offals but generally rather westernised.

I am originally from south London and know New Malden very well, it was only frequented for the macdonalds though!