Banchan Mania!

Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ at 856 Vermont Ave. Los Angeles, 9005

So the other day I was trying to decide where to have lunch with my friend who I have not seen in awhile. He's from New Jersey and is currently finishing up school at LMU.

Me: Uh... so how does Korean BBQ sound?

Matt (friend from NJ): Well... I love Korean food but I haven't really had really authentic Korean food since 1) I moved to LA and 2) since I lived in New Jersey.

Me: Are you serious? Have you been living in a box your whole life?

So it was established! K-town was gonna be our stop obviously. Where else would you go for Korean food? I even brought along my Korean friend Heidi, who was craving some home food. I chose Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ and by the way... everyone loved it. *pat on the back* So my friend Matt is the typical white guy that loves Asian food, but just more adventurous. I love it! I sat down and started explaining what we could order off the menu. He automatically pointed to beef testicles and beef tongue! Awesome! But yeah we said he should stick to the basics for his first true Korean BBQ experience. I liked his attitude though!

And the banchan (side dishes) starts arriving.... Matt was so intrigued that this big salad was only a side dish. He thought this was what we ordered to eat. haha silly...

Okay so when they were finally done bringing out all the side dishes, I have to admit I was even surprised how many they brought out! Awesome! Then we started thinking that we ordered way too much food. We ordered 2 whole combinations. Uh oh... we're gonna have way to much food left over right? Wrong!

Combo 1 came with bulgogi (the beef with no bones) and also...

Naeng Myun. We ordered the one on the right but they accidentally brought out the soup one instead so they ended up switching it for us. The soup broth for the one on the right came into a cup. Cool!

We were already starting to get full off all the side dishes and then the waitress brought out our box of meat. Crap!

We had chicken, beef brisket, and pork's belly in the lunch combo we ordered. The waitresses cooked everything for us. A waiter was kept suggesting different ways to eat the meat to Matt since I don't think he's ever met someone who hasn't had real Korean BBQ before. He kept asking him what he thought of everything. We grilled our kimchi too! Rest assured, we finished everything! 

All 3 of us loved this place. Everyone was so friendly. There was 1 lady who didn't speak very good English but hey, neither do I according to my family so it's all good. P.S. my friend Matt already established he would be coming back very soon. I did my job.


Happy Eatings!