Hwang Hae Do, Koreatown
Not your typical Korean BBQ restaurant, Hwang Hae Do (HHD) specializes in boiled beef cooked in a mixed broth. Sundays were a ritual for a few of us to try different Korean restaurants. Rather than having regular Korean BBQ, I persuaded Miss C to pick something different and out of the ordinary. HHD was a treat!
Yook Soo Bulgogi is thinly marinated beef that is present raw. There’s a stainless steel recessed cooking “bowl” in the center of our table. Vegetables, garlic, and broth is quickly brought to a boiling simmer. Then we proceed to handle the raw meats, with the help of a server – who thought we were too slow, to quickly cook. The thinness of the beef allowed the us to eat within quick cooking seconds. Very similar to the shabu shabu style, Yook Soo Bulgogi, in my humble opinion, has more savory flavors. The obvious difference is in the broth, with the Japanese Shabu Shabu clear and consumate like, and the Korean Yook Soo with loads of garlic and vegetables.
Another note, they were also cooking mandoo in another spicy broth on another table for us. The mandoo was quite tasty, as well. Mandoo are Korean style dumplings, usually boiled.
What to Order: Yook Soo Bulgogi special, Mandoo What not to Order:
Rating 2 Pigs $$
