Seongbukdong, Los Angeles
This place is a find. This is probably one of the better Korean meals, I have had in awhile. Seongbukdong is known for having excellent Korean comfort food. Perhaps known for the simplicity of the dishes, they make them very well. These dishes – the Galbi Jjim(braised short ribs), Kimchi Chigae(stewed kimchi), Braised Mackerel(sorry, forgot the Korean name), and Galbi Tang(short rib in soup) are the headliners at Seongbukdong.
But the Galbi Jjim is what will keep you begging for more. Large enough for two people, the beef is braised so long that the meat literally falls off the bone effortlessly. The sauce is not too thick nor to condensed in flavor which makes it go well with steamed white rice. They also off a soft of fried rice with bean sprouts, kinda like a Bibim-bap, but we didn’t order that. The beef cut with scissors in larger than bite size chucks was quickly gobbled up by our party of 5. As I scanned the dining room, with less than 9 tables, I saw almost everyone had the familiar over-sized white bowl of goodness.
It seems Seongbukdong attracts both young and older Koreans with comfort food, just as do Americans like mac’n cheese and fried chicken. in my humble opinion, the Galbi Tang – the short rib in soup was the 2nd best dish on our table. With the same meat, this hearty soup with glass noodles, was served in its milky white broth. You can tell it has been cooking for a long time since the bone marrow is starting to breakdown to give this milky white color.
The braised mackerel and the kimchi chigae were also exceptional as well. Not all too spicy, yet with the right amount of kick, these two dishes, along with the other two, was enough for the 5 of us. The mackerel with the large fish chunks and the kimchi chigae, though had similar flavoring with the broiled kimchi, which was my only issue.
