Viv P.
Yelp
Got 2 soups for takeout per covid on a chilly December night. Hearty soups to warm you up, one spicy, and one not.
The restaurant was manned by two young guys. I wouldn't say they're friendly, though not necessarily rude. Kinda felt like maybe family, who had to work cuz their parents made them?
Since I've been calling a lot of restaurants lately to place an order, I've noticed how people don't have some basic principles in mind. I hate calling up places and talking to people that I don't know. The least a business establishment can do is answer the phone with, "hello, this is [insert name of business]. How can I help you?" Don't answer the phone saying "hello?", as though I'm a spam caller. I always feel silly asking them, "oh hey, are you guys [insert business name]?"
Anyway, that was a side point, but a pet peeve of mine that I've developed of late. And it happened here too. On the phone, and in person when picking up the food and paying for it, I felt like I was talking to a guy who just hated being there, never greeted me or cracked a smile. I kind of understand... Growing up in an immigrant family, I remember having to do a lot of stuff for my parents that I didn't enjoy doing, like working for our home business during school days or weekends. Or having to translate really embarrassing stuff for your parents who can't really speak English. So I understand. Doesn't mean I enjoy being in the customer end of it.
OK, all that ranting aside.
The important thing: food.
- kalbi-tang
it's a clear beef broth soup with short rib pieces (about 3 LA kalbi strips) and dangmyun (clear glass noodles).
The pro:
+ The broth was very hearty, flavorful and delicious!!
The cons:
+They added an egg in here, which is not traditional and kinda weird.
+ The cons of the dish were that the rib pieces should have been cleaned out better, as I kept having to spit out little tiny bone pieces. (I remember a celebrity Korean chef once say that you have to clean out the meat well for this not to happen - Baek Jong-won)
+The noodles were not cooked. It like they put it in cold water to rehydrate, then just placed in the container with the hot soup. I think they were trying to avoid getting it overcooked for takeout orders, but it still needs a little cooking.
- soon dubu
spicy soup with soft tofu and proteins. We had the combination, at a higher spicy level. It did pack a punch, but didn't feel crazy spicy. And we could taste the pepper flake taste - I don't know how to explain it, Cooked well, the pepper flake should add spiciness but not be so detectable. And the beef in the dish looked like the long shredded beef that goes in the Yookgaejang dish. That's a trick I use when cooking at home, but a restaurant should not recycle ingredients like that.
- banchan (little side dishes)
some cucumbers, potato mash, and kimchi. Unlike the hearty and flavorful soups, the sides were on the bland side. I ended up opening my own kimchi to go with my kalbi-tang.
I hope the review didn't sound too negative. I'd like to think I was trying to be more constructive than destructive, especially to the one out of two legit Korean restaurants in Milwaukee. It is really my wish to be able to recommend this place for some Korean food to my friends, rather having to tell them to forget it and go to Chicago.