Daldongnae Korean BBQ Montreal

Korean barbecue (고기구이) has evolved a lot in Montreal in the recent years. They are still not on a par with the Korean barbecue spots of  the USA, but the Kbbq standard in YUL has improved.

Daldongnae Korean BBQ has two locations in Montreal (many in Toronto), and I went to eat at their offshoot located at 1850 Saint-Catherine Street in downtown Montreal.

Before I start my food report, just the usual relevant reality check: As usual, when I eat ethnic food outside of its country of origin, I use a very practical “spice” called …. common sense: food cannot and will not always taste exactly the same, especially when the country of origin is situated oceans and continents away from the country where that same food is cooked. Different soil, different water, different “terroir”, different palates to please. Cannot always be the same. Will not always  be the same!  You should always use that common sense  if you want to avoid delusions, trust yourself on that one, Lol. And always remember that a restaurant has a clientele to serve, obviously lol and …NOT our fantasies: for sure, in a city like LA, with the important Korean community that LA has, the standard of their Kbbqs will be higher and different from your Kbbqs elsewhere across North America (especially in cities where the majority of the clientele is either not demanding in that regard or simply “casual” about it). So when you hear a dude who is telling you that this or that North American Kbbq is not Korean enough, the dude is most likely “tripping” and “frozen” in his “Kbbq fantasies” (I mean, if you really want the full genuine Korean experience like in South Korea, then be lucid and  just go to South Korea….do not expect what should not be expected where it should not be expected …)

One last note before we get to that food report: even though that has nothing to do with this review, if you find a great Jjamppong in YUL, please let me know. I doubt I can find a great Jjamppong in Montreal, but who knows? Anyways, let me know if you stumble upon a good one.

Ok, now the food report.

Some of the sides (banchan) and condiments:

–Steamed eggs. It is a popular belief that egg is just egg, but …. well, Nah. Not always and this was a reminder of just that: although Ok/fine enough, like most eggs at most Kbbqs in the nation, indeed, I still did not find this side of eggs to be as great as the side of steamed eggs at, say, a place like Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in NYC (which I reviewed here. I know…I know…the food of that meal at KHDB did not impress me, I know…but the eggs of that very same meal at KHDB were superb in that they had a superb texture and were fun to munch on. In this genre, I do personally prefer a proper gyeran jjim, but again and again, do not get me wrong: this was still satisfying enough as you came to expect from steamed eggs in general.

–Corn cheese. Can’t go wrong with the comforting flavours of corn and cheese, indeed, but  for corn cheese at a South Korean eatery, I’d prefer something more elaborate as this specific corn cheese offering was a bit too “basic”, I found. That said, I know I am asking too much here, Lol, as it is a chain and not a solo operation, therefore it is more efficient for them to serve their corn cheese in such straightforward fashion. Satisfying enough. Eat it quickly, though, as it won’t take long before it starts looking like corn suffering from aridity, as you should expect, obviously…. And you do not want to get there.

–Kimchi 김치. Fine enough. It’s a chain, not a solo operation, therefore do not expect benchmark kimchi. But again, this was fine enough (properly/timely fermented, proper crunch, the genuine kimchi spicy, sour, and slightly tangy flavour profile is there ). My only problem is that, by default, they leave it cooking (on the picture above, it’s the little guy that is, clockwise, in between the corn and the egg), which is technically Ok (as you can eat your kimchi cold or hot), but cold kimchi is way better in the lettuce wrap (by far actually). So I quickly removed the kimchi from the warming side of the grill, and that was for the better……..

 

–Soybean paste stew. The base of doenjang (soybean paste) used to proper effect (the proper soybean paste based flavour at the fore, its umami present as it should). This was good, properly executed and tasting as South Korean and it can be.

 

–Pickled cucumber. Again, do not expect some benchmark pickling from a Kbbq chain. Expect that from a solo operation. With that said, Daldongnae Korean BBQ is a Kbbq chain of quality, therefore their pickling was still on point (adequate pickling technique, etc). And the relevant South Korean flavour profile was there (it was certainly not westernized, which is what you are looking for).

 

–Acorn jelly 도토리묵. Another typical South Korean side. Proper execution of  the Dotori-muk (adequate usage of acorn starch, genuine South Korean flavour profile to the pairing seasoning, the expected combined array of bitter/sweet/salty taste sensations at the fore).  The seasoning was actually really good, staying true to its origins and not trying to please non initiated palates, therefore having its  real identity at the fore. So, again and again, not westernized at all, which is a great thing.

 

–Ssamjang 쌈장, the little guy at the bottom in the above picture-  a fermented paste of soy beans to which onion, sesame oil, garlic, red chili paste, etc. are added. They make their own Ssamjang, which shows their seriousness about the quality control of what they serve. The genuine Ssamjang savoury/spicy/umami flavour profile properly expressed as it should and that’s all I am asking ethnic restaurants to do: do like Daldongnae, which means respect the core flavour profile of whatever you are offering. A properly executed Ssamjang.

-Dipping sauces. This is useful in adding more “fun” to your meat. Under this section, you will find combinations of  onion/sweet soya sauce, then  salt/pepper/sesame oil  as well as the typical Ssamjang. All logical /complementary choices of dipping sauces for meat at a Kbbq, with the Ssamjang expected contribution of multi tasting sensations through the sweet/spicy dimension of its gochujang component, savoury doenjan and further enhancement with onions, garlic, sesames, etc.

There were  more sides, such as a potato salad, bean sprouts with soya sauce, seaweed with hot sauce, all having fine taste.

(sides are unlimited as long as there is still meat on the table)

The meat:

You need a minimum of 2 orders. Pork and beef offered in several cuts. Good sourcing of the meat, although, at the end of the day, well … it’s just fine meat, so do not go there expecting the moon where that should not be expected (Daldongnae is not a specialist of meat, it is not a steakhouse, it is a Kbbq). They even have Wagyu for those who want to splurge even more. For the most part, they do not marinade their meat (the idea here, as per their facebook post in that regard, is for us to savour the meat as it is, without any interference from a marinade, etc), but you still have their beef hanging tender that is marinated in herbal seasonings and sesame oil. Depending on the context, I am actually a fan of not marinating the meat (for eg, at an Asador, or grilling a superb steak on charcoal at home, enjoying a dry-aged steak at a steakhouse etc), but as far as Kbbq goes, I personally prefer to marinate the meat  at a Kbbq (with a great marinade, a Kbbq style piece of meat is way more fun to eat), but that is their philosophy and I respect it.

As for the meat, today I ordered beef. But usually, my preferred meat at a Kbbq is  one that is popular with most Kbbq lovers: the samgyeopsal (pork belly). And they have it on their menu at Daldongnae Korean BBQ .

Vegan option available? They have a Vegan set.

As you may have noticed, I did not rate anything in this review (which I usually do for the sole constructive purpose of segregating the bad, the good, the excellent and the benchmark, etc.). That is because, in this specific case, it will convey nothing: in the USA, it makes sense, for me, to rate Kbbqs, because the competition is high and the Kbbq clientele very demanding, therefore I feel compelled to convey how I found a  Kbbq place like Dons Bogam , for example, to fare in comparison to a place like, say,  Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong in NYC. In the hot Kbbq scene of Los Angeles (they have a large Korean community in LA),  that is even more pertinent (and of course, as always, it’s subjective). But there’s no Kbbq spot of a level of Dons Bogam in Montreal, and a Kbbq spot like Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong would rank among the best in Montreal if they were in Montreal  (I was not impressed by my meal at  Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong  but it would still beat the majority of the Kbbqs in Montreal). In Montreal, there are just 2 or 3 Kbbq places that are better than their direct local competition, and the rest are uniformly just Ok, which makes it useless to start rating them (I’ll just tell you which ones are the better of them, and that will be all you need to know).

To immerse myself wholly in the complete Korean experience, I sipped some Soju. An interesting piece of the history of Soju is that, for a long time, different cities or regions of South Korea had their exclusive / dedicated manufacturers of Soju (as explained here). I did order the Jinro Chamisul Fresh. Distilled spirit from grain and filtered with charcoals . Those advertising the Jinro Chamisul Fresh like to say that it will never leave you with a hangover, and that is so true (well, for sure, if you want to to get there, it eventually will…Lol. But I know plenty of bottles of 360ml and less, with far less advertised level of alcohol, that will leave you with a hangover right from the 1st bottle, whereas this one does not. Lovely nice clean flavour, indeed.

For Montreal, Daldongnae Korean BBQ was really nice. That said, hopefully, one day, with time and a more demanding local Kbbq clientele, the Kbbq standard in Montreal will be as great as, say, the ones in the USA.

Bottom line: This is my  first time trying Daldongnae. I know that Daldongnae is present in Toronto, and I came close to try a Daldongnae during a recent trip to Toronto,  but I ended back at Arisu and Mapo on Bloor Street, two BBQ spots that I frequent when I am in Toronto. Here, in Montreal, I have already tried all the other Kbbq locations. For this first meal at Daldongnae, I did limit myself to the gogi-gui 고기구이 (grilled meat) and the usual pairing of banchan 반찬, but they have plenty of other food items available such as noodle soups, kimchi fried rice, bibimbap, salads, pancakes, beef tartare, etc. I devoured too much meat, therefore I was full, but next time I will go there, I will try their rolled omelette as it is a food item that I like a lot. For the most part, the banchan and condiments tasted of their respective  core flavour profiles, when and where need be (for eg, the Ssamjang, the seasoning of the acorn jelly, the Soybean paste stew had their original flavour profiles at the fore. As for the corn cheese, it was just straight corn and cheese, and not any specific South Korean dish based on corn and cheese, consequently no South Korean flavour profile was expected from their corn and cheese food item and that did apply to their steamed egg as well). It is not cheap, and it is not an AYCE, but it is a top tier Korean BBQ by Montreal standards. As Axl Rose once sang in the song November Rain  “…when I look into your eyes…I can see a love restrained…Darlin’ do not refrain“…hahaha…that one is  relevant, here..as, that is…actually…my sole advice to Daldongnae (as in, “”darling unleash your fun, unleash it, Lol”” …!!! in my mother tongue, French, we say “”Lâche ton fou, ma belle! Lâche ton fou! “”) Daldongnae Korean BBQ  Addr: 1850 Saint-Catherine St W, Montreal, Quebec H3H 1M1, which is the one that I did visit. But you also have one, in Montreal, located at 1216 Bishop St, Montreal, Quebec H3G 2E3. https://www.daldongnaebbq.com/

Kochi, New York, NY

Heard about Kochi from one knowledgeable and highly reliable Korean foodie from NYC with whom I exchange plenty of intel about the NYC’s food scene. The venue has just opened recently and he tried it in its first week of opening and has recommended that I give it a try.

Kochi is a contemporary Korean-American bistrot with, at its helm, a Chef who did work at 3 star Michelin Per Se. Most of the dishes are skewered. The Chef told the medias that he drew his inspiration from the traditional festival cuisine of the Korean royal court of the Joseon dynasty. He also told them that he brings his own modern twist to that, using Japanese and French cooking techniques.

Korean-American dining is gaining a lot of traction these days in NYC with the notable success of Atomix and Jungsik  (Both are 2 Michelin starred venues). Therefore, many Korean Chefs who have worked in reputed restaurants of NYC are now opening their own eatery, and I have recently tried some of those (see my reviews of  Oiji and Jeju ).

The venue did offer solely a 9 course tasting menu when I dropped by. Most of the food items are served as skewers, the restaurant advertising its offering  as ”’Modern Korean Skewer Tasting””.

1-Tarakjuk, A vichyssoise like soup (“potage” would be more accurate) with Pine Nuts and Potatoes served with a corn Fritter. Tarakjuk is a Korean porridge made with milk and rice. The Chef inspiring himself from it in order to deliver a creation of his own that did consist in blending French (The use of potatoes in the Vichyssoise-inspired portion of this dish – ) and Korean (although the traditional inclusion of pre-soaked glutinous rice to make this dish is omitted here) influences in this dish and adding a touch of creativity with the pine nuts and corn fritter. I did pay a supplement for the fine quality caviar that you see on the picture. This is in line with contemporary Korean-North American dining (as well as all sorts of contemporary cuisines) in that the labour-intensive and time consuming techniques of old world cooking (as an example, pre-soaking then using a millstone to grind the rice, in the traditional prep of this specific dish) are replaced by a more simple/straightforward execution (but as you will see in the full account of this repast, their Chef does also invest lots of time in the preparation of other food items). This featured a flavour profile that was more “International” and “French” than Korean, but again, it is a Korean-inspired cuisine that clearly advertised itself as using French technique, Japanese ingredients, etc. Therefore we are at a Korean-inspired restaurant with International accents and this “soup” testified to that. Vibrant flavours, great textures and a remarkably enjoyable hot and cold juxtaposition of temperatures. The fritter not greasy at all and packed with enticing fresh corn flavours. Excellent. 9/10

2.Mul-Hwe, Raw Scallops and Fluke, Perilla Leaf Salad, Tiger’s Milk. Hwe (the Korean take on fish “sashimi”, so to speak, as there are some slight differences between Korean Vs Japanese “sashimi”) is traditionally served spicy (not in this case ). Following the contemporary trend of making Korean-inspired food light, they did a light version of it. And exactly as advertised by the restaurant, they did extend their creativity to other corners of the globe, with here the inclusion of their own re-interpretation of the Peruvian Ceviche’s Tiger Milk aka “leche de tigre” ( here, made of celery/onion/ginger/garlic and that they did ferment) which is a logical « international » twist to the Korean Hwe, obviously. The seafood was of fine quality but there was a bitter taste in this particular incarnation of the tiger milk as well as the seasoning in general that, for me, diminished the enjoyment of the dish. That said, it was easy to see what the kitchen wanted to do: replacing  the expected ‘citrusy’ taste of the  classic Latin american “leche de tigre” by  bitter  tones, which  are  indeed present in Korean cuisine. I respect the idea as bitterness can add “punch” to certain dishes, indeed, but I have yet experienced with a case where it managed to elevate the taste of seafood. Furthermore, in Korean cuisine,  bitterness is balanced  with other tones for flavour complexity  whereas here, it was the sole taste sensation.  6/10

3- Yachae-Twigim, which, usually,  is  battered and deep fried vegetables. In this case,  a piece of asparagus was covered with a sort of “creamy “ coating, served with a ”ricotta” of  doenjang (soy bean paste)  and soy onion glaze. Their take on the  “ricotta“’ (so, not the exact taste and feel of the Italian ricotta) had a fine flavour. The idea makes sense: you take  a piece of asparagus and you dip it in some sort of  creamy concoction.  Here, instead of dipping it in the concoction, you have the concoction atop the vegetable. Understood, but that did not translate well in reality, at least  not for me: the overall dish was unimpressive as the “creamy ”’coating  on the asparagus did nothing for me. It certainly did add nothing to the enjoyment of the asparagus.  Perhaps putting a proper coating of batter on that asparagus and deep frying  it as a tempura would have been more eventful. It is hard, for a restaurant, to try to make an impression with a solitary asparagus (unless the asparagus is of the exceptional sort, obviously, but that was not the case here). A food item that should have never left the kitchen. 4/10

4- Saengseon-Gui. Binchotan Grilled Mackerel, Soy Eggplant, Makguli Vierge. Gui is a grilled dish, Saengseon stands for fresh fish, here featuring a well sourced piece of mackerel (a common fish in Korean home-style cooking) freshly grilled, lightly seasoned with salt. The sauce vierge  was  reinterpreted by the Chef, as in this case, it included sake/honey/rice vinegar and the korean fermented rice wine makguli. Both the fresh fish and the sauce dazzled. 9/10

5-Andong Jjimdak (dak for chicken / Jjim for steamed/stewed or braised in a sauce) is a Korean braised chicken dish from the city of Andong. On the menu, the restaurant claims that it required a four-day preparation, which I found interesting as this is a dish that you can cook quickly on high heat. So the intent here was, obviously, to infuse as much flavour in the meat as it is possible, which is the point of Korean cooking: flavors, flavors and more flavors. The other intent was, of course, the tenderness as indeed, superbly tender it was. The slow cooked chicken (the chicken marinated in soy sauce, as it is traditionally required —- to which they did add pear juice) which was, in this case, steamed then grilled, had great taste. Aged Shiitake Mushroom did accompany the protein. Superb piece of quality chicken with a first-rate broth that had heat, sweetness and saltiness mingling excitingly well together. 9/10

6- Eo-Jeon, Branzino, pickled daikon, hazelnut Ssam-Jang. Tasty quality fish. The pickling of the daikon was technically fine, for sure, but the korean flavour profile was not expressed in the pickled daikon. And in this case, that was the right thing to do as to avoid aggressing the flavor of the delicate fish.  Making a Ssam-Jang of hazelnut was thoughtful as it  matched  the flavour of the fish.  It is not a spectacular nibble, but one that  is well designed and that is tasty 7/10

7-Tteok-Galbi, originally cooked for the korean royal family in their days, but now a mainstream dish, are usually grilled short-rib patties. In this instance, it is charcoal grilled Beef Rib eye Patty, stuffed with sweet rice cake and topped with pear and chestnut chutney. The beef is soaked in a marinade of soy sauce at some point in the prep. In every cuisine, even in your very own one, there are dishes that you tend to like less than others. Despite my decades of carefully studying and appreciating all sorts of dishes from all around the world, for what they are, and not what I want them to be , grilled patties have always been among my least favourite, although, I can perfectly appreciate some of its renditions (such as, of course, the one to be found in a burger). That aside, what matters here is that this featured some fine quality meat, with a fine balance of seasonings, precisely and freshly grilled, packed with enticing grilling flavours. To tradition (the meat prepared in traditional fashion), the Chef paired innovation (addition of a well made pear/chestnut chutney, stuffing the meat with sweet rice cake). Very good 8/10

8-Myungran Bibimbap. Bibimbap is mixed rice. Mentaiko (pollock roe)  brown soy butter rice, in this case, that came with salmon-jang (salmon tartare),  some candied anchovy, toasted seaweed puree and sesame chili oil. The Chef trained in some of the elite kitchens of this globe (3 star Michelin Per se and Le Bernardin), and he was there, cooking in his kitchen, as opposed to lying down at home on his sofa while serving as a name bearer for a kitchen brigade that works for him (a common modus operandi at plenty of restaurants), so that did reflect in the assured preparations (technique of the tempura, timing, pickling technique, etc) on display. The rice was  tasty (the taste of butter flavoured rice), somehow reminiscent of a some sort of ”risotto  of quinoa” but you had rice in place of quinoa — somehow I wrote, the salmon tartare competently executed (fine balance of seasoning, quality fish that was freshly  hand-chopped). I did pay a supplement for the superb sea urchin that you see on that picture) . 7/10

9-Black Sesame Ice Cream Pop with crispy rice for dessert. The black sesame taste present, as it should, on the palate. I find crispy rice to be sometimes misused (a good example of that was the crispy rice served with bone marrow that I had the other day at Oiji), but here’s an example of its judicious inclusion in a food item. With this restaurant being in its early weeks, its Chef seems very inspired and that was evident with  this dessert. “Another black sesame ice cream? Nah! Lemme think outside of the box”, and that gave an ice cream popsicle (the logical form you can imagine an ice-cream based creation wouldn take to match this Chef’s trademark skewered food items) to which he did add an extra dimension of crunch in the form of the crispy rice. This was pleasant rather than eventful.

Portions are tiny, which you kinda expect from a tasting menu, but the quality of the ingredients is there. The better items were classy food items and revealed how skilled they can be at their best. As for the lower rated items, they  did serve as a reminder that this is a young restaurant, consequently  it is normal that you will stumble upon kinks they will have  to iron out.

On the evening of my visit, the Korean flavour profile portion of the meal was generally not expressive/bold, the accent being on International cuisine, but again, that was on the day of my visit and since this is a tasting menu that changes regularly, the next tasting menu may feature boldly flavoured Korean food items. Or not. Time will tell.

Pros:  The better food items will be remembered for a while.

Cons: I understand that it was a tasting menu, but I still found the portions of  food to be small.

Service was lovely and the restaurant, although small, is elegant.

Bottom line: Korean-American contemporary food is the trending cuisine these days in NYC. Korean-inspired food, in general, is implementing itself at all levels of the dining spectrum (fast food items in the form of korean fried chicken, hot dogs, fine dining, casual dining, etc). Of course, you need to understand the basics of the science of food in that it is virtually impossible for the same dish to taste exactly the same several continents and oceans away. What should be realistically expected from any korean-inspired food item, in America, though, is to have the kitchen brigade maintaining the korean flavour profile of the dish as close to its original version as it is possible to do, since the food is advertised as being korean-influenced, in the first place, and that is what I wish they would have put the emphasis on, a bit more during this meal. A promising table, in spite of that. Overall rating: 7/10 (food), 8/10 (service) Kochi Addr: 652 10th Avenue New York, New York 100036 ; Phone: +1 646-478-7308; URL: http://kochinyc.com

Oiji, New York, NY

Restaurant Oiji is one of the latest /current ‘rock stars’ of NYC’s dining scene. In a world class dining destination like NYC, it’s hard to stand out, but that is exactly what Oiji has been doing since it opened.

Foodies and  food journalists have long praised Oiji:    celebrity NYC’s food journalist Pete Wells rating it with a whooping 2 stars (the exact same rating he did assign to 3 star Michelin Per Se, therefore not a light score). Oiji has a score of 4.8 /5  on Open Table at the time of writing, a perfect score of 5/5 as/per TimeOut, a near to perfect 8.5/10 on the  Infatuation.

Oiji is a contemporary Korean-styled bistrot opened by two Korean Chefs who have honed their skills at NYC’s celebrated restaurants Bouley and Gramercy Tavern. They do add international accents / their own twist to their Korean-inspired cuisine, hence the Korean-fusion qualification that seems to be attached to the eatery, their cuisine perfectly in sync with North American palates, which is their market, obviously. But the Korean spirit is never too far, meaning the array of korean cooking techniques and flavours are there.

As it is now common in NYC, at most of their popular casual eateries, the portions are tapas-alike.

I ordered two of their most popular dishes:
– Oxtail / Glass Noodle, Root Vegetables. Slow cooked oxtail with root vegetables and glass noodles. The minimum to expect from an oxtail stew is that it is  packed with rich/ hearty meaty flavours. That was the case, here. With  the noticeable difference that it was a bit more sweet than your average oxtail-based preparations. Again, normal, as it is a proper korean flavour profile. But then, you look at the price. It comes with an ambitious price tag, as if I was in a fine dining Korean restaurant or as if I am being served some of the top Korean-inspired slow cooked oxtail stews to be found out there. A great Korean-inspired stew does exist at plenty of restaurants, but what I was having was just a generic / normal oxtail stew.  And that is where I failed to understand the raves about  this stew. Yes it was an Ok stew. But for that kind of  price, ‘Ok’ is not an option.  I can find plenty  of Ok Korean-styled slow cooked oxtail stews of this level at a fraction of the price of this stew 5/10

–Bone Marrow / Short Rib, Maitake, Crispy Rice Cracker.  The fine taste of the  marrow was marred by a topping that was, to put it politely….a confusing accumulation of ingredients. This had the taste of absolutely nothing. That was the effect, in mouth, that I was having.  Which is a shame as bone marrow  can be delicious, indeed. An off night…???…Mind you, this was more about a cook who has no palate, rather than a cook who was going through  on an off-night (whoever has cooked this dish has zero palate…I mean, let’s be upfront here: who, in his right mind, would have served  that mish-mash found  atop that bone marrow?? Unless he has no palate…). And do not get me started on  the commercial  crispy rice chip that came with the bone marrow as if it makes sense to pair the fat of a bone marrow with that. Talking about a cook who has no palate, no sense of flavor combinations…   0/10

Overall rating: 2.5/10 (food) – Egads! …..ages have passed since the last time I had such  a disappointing  restaurant meal — and I dine out a lot, all levels of dining taken into account. In the case of NYC, I am very familiar with its  dining scene and this has got to be the weakest restaurant meal I ever had there. Given the widely  spread online raves, I went there to like this eatery. But my reaction, when I left, was something as simple as “Wow…for real?? “. I know that sometimes  if the food is affordable that is also one thing that makes a restaurant popular, but those two dishes had a price tag that pertains to an ambitious table. I hope … for them… that it was an off night (mind you, at those prices, that is hardly an excuse) as the service was great (save for one dude at the bar — an asian male — which service was  as awkward as it gets) . The ambience festive, etc. I still left with the impression that this is perhaps a kitchen brigade  that got caught up in its own hype. Oiji Addr: 119 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10003; Phone: 646-767-9050 URL: http://www.oijinyc.com

JeJu Noodle Bar, New York

JeJu Noodle Bar, New York
Type of food: Korean Noodle
Addr: 679 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10014, United States
Phone number (646) 666-0947
URL: http://jejunoodlebar.com/

Many hard-to-please and knowledgeable Korean gastronomes seem to have been pleasantly surprised by JJNB.
It serves Korean noodle soup  , primarily (the famous instant noodles that the Koreans are familiar with, since their tender childhood, but here it is  of the  ”freshly made” type that they get specially made for them and that they  do elevate into refined dishes of their own inspiration) . Their Head Chef/owner, Chef Douglas Kim,   told the medias that he never made noodle soup before. Instead, he has enjoyed an enviable career at celebrated restaurants such as Per Se, Bouley, Nobu and Zuma before stepping out to helm his own Noodle restaurant. The Chef said to the medias that he , I quote —”’  gains  inspiration from Korean dishes but that he is doing his own interpretations of them ” – . He could not have been more explicit.

I ordered some of their most popular dishes:

–So Ramyun , made of veal broth (that is blanched, then boiled throughout an entire day ) , garnished with “Soo Yuk” brisket (brined for several days before it is cooked), scallion, pickled garlic and garlic oil.   Koreans do have a cuisine that is  rich and complex in its nuances. As an example, take their soups . Studying their soups is like discovering an exciting library of information on its own. Therefore, it is interesting to see a Chef who focuses on one specific aspect of  this  complex cuisine (if you think that  Korean cuisine is simple, then it is obvious that you are limiting your assessment of this cuisine to the meat that you went  grilling at a Kbbq and  have not cooked it yourself). With this ramyun, most South Koreans will  feel in   familiar territory with a flavor profile that will remind them of a more concentrated and refined  version of their beloved seolleongtang, an  ox bone soup  very popular in South Korea. Here, the veal replacing the ox, obviously. This Chef seems to insist on a  flavour profile that is as genuine as it gets 11,046 km away from the motherland. As genuine as it is possible to be, of course, as anyone who is truly knowledgeable about food would know that water, soil, the geographical area are just a fraction of the factors that can’t make the same dish tasting …..the same in two countries that are that distant geographically. 8/10

 

–Toro Ssam Bap featured super fresh tasting Toro (fatty part of the tuna, found in the belly portion of the fish) , scrambled egg, tobiko rice, that you wrap in toasted seaweed roll, the seaweed replacing, here, the traditional leafy vegetables that Korean would use to wrap (Ssam) a piece of meat  or other filling. Combining rice and proteins rarely fails to be enjoyable and this was no exception, but what did interest me here was the different techniques involved and how successful they were (the perfect texture of the scambled eggs, the judicious seasoning, the precise cooking of the rice, etc). A distracted eye and palate would look at a dish like this and would hastily suggest that “”bah..it is just rice and raw fish”, but there was way more than that.  This came  with pickled daikon that revealed some serious pickling technique. The rice was deliciously seasoned to perfectly match  the tuna, and the scrambled eggs. I did also order some extra sea urchin that were of top quality and was another logical add-on to the dish. This was  well thought and tasted great. 8/10

 

–Wagyu ramyun came with raw A4 grade miyazaki wagyu (which is 100% purebred Japanese Wagyu) that is sliced thinly, brisket, kikurage mushrooms,  enoki, chives, Baek-Kimchi (white kimchi), chared scallion oil, sesame oil and sesame. As you would have guessed it, from  its collection of ingredients, this was rich in flavor. Impressive genuine taste coming from the white kimchi element. I have been a passionate fan of Korean flavors for over 2 decades, by now, and it makes me upset  when Koreans try to please western palates by altering the genuine flavor profile of such jewel of International  cooking like the Kimchi. I was therefore impressed to see that this Chef  is  keeping the core flavors of South Korean cuisine alive. The white kimchi bringing necessary acidity, the earthy dimension coming from the mushrooms, the sesame’s toasty aroma  as well as the rich meat flavor were all nicely balanced. A contemporary and luxurious take on the Korean Ramyun  that refused to leave the core Korean flavours at bay. 8/10

–Mul Hwe  –  Basically,  Hwe is  sashimi (fresh raw fish or meat sliced thinly)  —here, using 4 different types of seasonal raw fishes –  that the Koreans serve with side dishes such as pickles, tempura, etc. Here, in the kitchen, they did assemble all of those elements into one ‘salad’ if you will, made it lighter than the traditional version and elevated it with  a splash of citrus, combining ingredients such as perilla, fresno chili, red onion. 8/10

 

–Gochujang Bokum – served with marinated ragu Beef, Iceberg lettuce, Nori, Pickled mustard and rice – I am a huge fan of the Gochujang, one of the core ingredients of Korean cooking. It is red chile paste made of fermented soybeans, glutinous rice, salt, and sometimes sweeteners.  The kitchen using it to make their beef ragu in this instance. 8/10

Prices are steep but the quality is  good and the portion sizes of the soups are sufficient.

Bottom line: The Chef/owner  is obviously proud of the genuine flavours of his motherland and I appreciate that. His kitchen brigade  was also successful at  using  plenty  of ingredients that always  felt complementary (something that even the most ambitious tables do not always achieve well).   The Noodles are freshly made (the instant noodle texture is preserved) , cooked to proper soft and chewy consistency, the flavours enjoyable and delicately balanced, the creativity is there and it is true that they are doing things their own way –as an example, the kimchi is traditionally fermented, but here, they do brine it instead —  but never at the expense of the traditional Korean flavours where and when need be. Overall rating (Category: Korean Noodle in NYC), 8/10 for the food, 8/10 for the service. To top it off, you have the pretty Hudson river nearby. What’s not to like?

 

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Restaurant Petit Seoul, Montreal

 

Restaurant Petit Seoul opened in December 2017 to wide acclaim from the local food critics and it quickly turned into a very popular restaurant.

There’s no doubt that the kitchen brigade can cook genuine South Korean food as evidenced by a successful haemulgeon — 1st picture above – (seafood pancake with spring onion, carrot, onion and sweet potato) , but they seem to want to please the local crowd a bit too much: the dolsot bibimbap (2nd picture above) was adapted to local palates, meaning that is was not as genuinely flavored as I came to expect from the finer  dolsot bibimbap I had elsewhere, even here in Montreal.  I was missing a bap (rice) that stands out (it was fine, especially for Montreal, but the bap needed to impress more — obviously — for a dish that relies heavily on rice. I was missing morsels of meat that can delight. The beefy flavor that I came to expect from my bibimbap‘s meat happened to be a wish, here, not a feature.  Korean chili paste flavor is one of the most fascinating flavors out there, the art of seasoning, marinating and pickling  are Korean’s specialities, and a superior bibimbap is THE opportunity to showcase the vast array of cooking techniques of the Koreans (there is a reason why the bibimbap is considered by many to be one of world’s  most popular dishes…), but all of that was toned down and you can thank our local diners for this: they want Korean food but the way they want it, not the way Koreans are supposed to do it.  Petit Seoul is a business, therefore you can’t blame them to adapt to their clientele! But I was certainly not floored by that. Petit Seoul  Addr: 5245 Boulevard Saint-Laurent Montreal, Quebec H2T 1S4 Phone: (514) 379-4929 URL: https://www.facebook.com/restaurantpetitseoul/

Dons Bogam BBQ & Wine Bar, New York, NY (April 2017)

Dons Bogam BBQ & Wine Bar (17 E 32nd St, New York, Phone: 212-683-2200, http://www.donsbogam.com) is considered a  top tier Korean bbq restaurant of New York city. Given the important community of Koreans in the city and the fierce competition between local Korean restaurants , it is easy to imagine the efforts that a top tier Korean bbq eatery is forced to  deploy: here, at Dons Bogam, the bulgogi is not prepared in advance in the kitchen. They cook it from scratch at your table. The quality of the cooking and the ingredients is also superior to what you will find at most Korean bbqs in NYC. Dons Bogam is a perfectly legit/genuine Korean bbq restaurant, except than it is a bit more upscale (prettier interior, better choices of wines, etc) that most of its  peers in New York.

For the barbecued meats, we chose the marinated jumbo shrimps (the marinade was not spicy, its intent was not to overwhelm the flavor of the shrimp but to  help the quality shrimp to speak for itself and that worked well), quality is also the main feature of the prime Jumulleok meat (marinated rib eye), which marinade paled a bit compared to how some other kbbq spots have marinated theirs in NYC (less flavorful, the sweetness standing as a distraction, not an enhancement, to the flavor of the beef, whereas sweet marinades of this sort went well with rib eye at other kbbq spots in nyc ), but the spicy short ribs (Maeun Galbi) managed to put a smile on the faces  of both the Missus and myself because it managed to be what it had to, meaning tasting delicious, meatily delicious ;). Rib eye can and should be ..meatily delicious, too, that is why, as long as they do not change its marinade, I will not order that marinated prime Jumulleok again.  Dons use charcoal (though, you will not smell charcoal and there will not be smokes of charcoal to espy — it is the way the  table top grilling’ venting system is designed ) for his barbecue meats, which is my preference.

The banchan (side dishes that come with your barbecued meat) comprised, on the evening I was there, of Potato salad/Pajeori (shredded green onion)/black beans/baechu kimchi (cabbage kimchi)/Kongnamul (cold bean sprouts in sesame oil)/marinated salad/tiny myeolchi bokkeum (dried tiny anchovies with rice syrup and garlic) / pickled daikon  radish, all made in the house and not just properly – but  well executed. That is a difference I always insist on, because whenever you see me writing ´properly’ without any extra mention, think of ‘ safe reproduction of a recipe, but nothing more’, which is not the case here. In this case, you get the taste of what real Chefs with genuine skills can do. There was not one single miss in the Marinade, the pickling  and the fermenting. There was crunch where it needs to be, and seasoning that is always well balanced. The genuine flavors of South Korea  (the sole compromise is that it is a refinement on rustic korean banchan with the flavors not too bold/not too spicy, but that took nothing away from the traditional  South korean flavors ) were always in evidence. That said, and this is not nitpicking for  the sake of nitpicking, perhaps the addition of some Musaengchae (sweet and sour radish salad) would have been a good idea as I was missing another banchan or two that it is practical/ fun to wrap with the meat in the lettuce leaf that is served for that purpose. Yes, the shredded green onions, the pickled radish were there for that purpose, but another banchan of the like of the Musaengchae would have been even better, and more importantly, necessary. Still, this was an array of flawlessly executed nibbles well deserving of an  8/10 , with condiments and sauces that are examples of what you should be looking for (the ssamjang, to take an example, is of top flight execution).

To continue to test the skills of the kitchen (obviously, it is not the bbq meat that will reveal anything about the skills of the kitchen), we ordered the fried dumplings. If you have any doubt about a cook and want him to get a taste of what a skilled Chef is capable of, bring that dude here and have him taste this fried airy delicious dumpling. A first-rate fried dumpling with texture and taste that is hard to improve upon. 9/10

The test of the kitchen could have stopped with that superb fried dumpling, but I went ahead testing a South Korean staple that I know well and do enjoy a lot, the Kimchi bulgogi (kimchi/ground beef/steamed rice/vegetables/onions) served in a hot stone pot. Again, the flavors, the seasoning, the rice, the red pepper paste that served as the condiment to the dish,  the quality of the ingredients, the precise timing of the grilling process of the meat, all were of a high level of technical  preparation and execution ( as everything that was cooked all along this meal) and quality and it was genuinely as South Korean as it can be miles away from the motherland, only it was more refined than your usual mom and pop beef kimchi bulgogi rice dish. 8/10

Pros: Indeed, a classy Kbbq with TRUE skilled Chefs, who are cooking for real, and not just “safely replicating recipes to make a buck”. It sounds funny to put it that way, alas there are so many fake kitchen brigades out there that it will become increasingly important to explicitly segregate the fake from the real. Also: One rare kbbq spot that takes reservations, avoiding the usual long wait you will have to cope with at the other kbbqs in nyc.

Cons: (1)It is not a technical flaw, just a matter of taste, but the marinade of the Prime Jumulleok (prime rib eye) needs to better enhance the flavor of the meat. (2)Dons is not a bustling place in a way that some of the korean kbbq places in nyc are bustling, and that is not a criticism (I chose Dons for that characteristic), but an observation I had to make in orger to get to my next point: since the fun here will not come from the ‘bustling ambience’ found elsewhere, Dons should break the rule and get the fun to come from something else. One way, for them, to achieve this, is by making the replenish of the bachan a “surprise”, meaning not the same side dishes served over and over again (they will break the rules by doing so, but this will be more fun).

Overall Food rating: 8/10 (Category: Top tier Korean bbq in North America) – As expected from a Kbbq spot of this reputation, in a TRUE world class foodie destination of the caliber of NYC, the technique is well mastered. If you find any technical flaw here, you either have no clue of what to expect from Korean cooking or you are trying to imagine Korean food the way you want it to be.That said, there have been 1 or 2 Korean Bbq spots in North America that had marinated their rib eye in a way that I found a tad more eventful, and that also had a more interesting variety of banchans. And in case you wonder, well…No, that did not happen in Mtl (the best Kbbq place in Mtl would not even get a chance to open its doors in NYC).

Bottom line: Regardless of the fact that I slightly preferred one or two of its local competitors, I still highly recommend Dons Bogam. It is a bit pricier than most of its local peers, but you pay for higher grade meat, a classier restaurant. Dons did, obviously, not forget that people come to eat Korean food as what I was eating was South Korean (not an idea/a take on it), deliciously so, even without the bold mom-and-pop flavors (a reminder that it is not the intensity of the flavor that defines a cuisine).

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, New York, NY

Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (1 East 32nd street, New York, NY 10016, Phone: 212-966-9839) is the most popular kbbq spot in NYC, with long waits,  although at lunch time on a weekday, you can get in easily. The popularity of Baekjeong is such that, when celebrities need their fix of Kbbq, in town, they eat here. Baekjeong and Dons Bogam were the only Kbbq restaurants that I have not visited yet in NYC, therefore I went trying both of them. My review of Dons Bogam can be found here.

For the bbq, I chose two  meats: their marinated short rib as well as the seasoned prime short rib. The marinade is good, but the quality of the beef was passable during my lunch, there.  Let’s politely put it this way:  what they call prime quality beef, is not what other kbbq eateries in NYC would call prime. Both the marinated short rib and seasoned prime short ribs did nothing for me, because quality meat was missing in action here, which was unfortunate because the marinade was fine.

Banchans (side dishes that are served with your bbq meats) came in the form of:

-Pickled radish: pleasant, but no more. The pickling lacking depth. This was a world away from the superbly well mastered pickling technique that can be found, right here in NYC, at other Korean restaurants. 5/10

-Marinated cucumber. the marinating technique coming with the same issues that came with the pickling of the radish. 5/10

-Kimchi cabbage: again, and again ordinary / not fully complex in flavors. Kimchi can be eventful, but you would never know that, had this kimchi been your sole reference. 5/10

-A piece of tofu, which nice custardy softness I enjoyed. 6/10

There was also some shredded scallions, some raw egg batter that slowly cooks as your meat is grilling (this is always a fun idea at a kbbq), as well as their secret sauce (I am not a fan) to be mixed with your pieces of barbecued meats in the relevant wrapping lettuce.

Remembering the superb fried dumplings at the nearby Dons Bogam, I ordered some, here, for the sake of comparison: These were tasty, and I loved their non-refined appearance, but they were not in the league of the fried dumplings of  Dons. 6/10

Pros: the energy of the place (Fun, fun fun!)
Cons: Most of the food (at the exception of the fluffy steamed egg and pleasant tofu) was forgettable. C’mon folks, at a Kbbq, the meat and the banchan need to leave an impression, …… obviously!!

 

Bottom line: Surprisingly (given the showers of praises, online, and its popularity) , this meal at Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong did not live up to the hype. It is a very popular location, and many celebrities are big fans of Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (they have several pics of celebrities in the restaurant), but that seems to be just an indication of how popular and fun the place  is. It is fun, indeed, the waitstaff super friendly, but … I need the food to be part of the party, too. Overall rating (Categ: Seafood ): Food (5/10 Culinary-wise, this got nowhere near the best Kbbqs I had in NYC…and the food at Baekjong was marginally cheaper, btw!), Service (9/10 Lovely service ), Ambience: 10/10 (Festive. I mean, if you are depressed, just   go to that place and  all your sorrows will be wiped from your mind. As fun as that! ). PS: That said KHDB is a place that I always recommend to friends, and I am someone who rarely recommends any restaurant, because it’s so fun to be there (you go out to have a great time, that is what matters), service is so great, and tastes are personal, which means that it is not because I did not find the food to dazzle that you won’t find it dazzling (Tbh, I actually went back after the current review, and I continue to go back because it is so fun to be there) . LATEST UPDATE (January 2024): This specific Baekjeong NYC is now permanently closed as per their Google profile.