soon dubu (silken tofu stew)
ggo joo jang ji geh (red pepper stew)
pa jun (green onion pancake)
Sam and I went out for Korean food today. Well, wait, first let me tell you a story. The first time I introduced friends to Korean food it was in first grade and I brought some roasted seaweed to school. For whatever reason we were treating the whole experience like we were sneaking contraband and decided to eat in the girl's bathroom, which is gross in retrospect, but that's besides the point. We were in the large stall and my two friends took a piece each. One of my friends made an awful face, like she had just tasted death or something. The other friend threw up. It was not pleasant and I felt simultaneously annoyed, insulted, and guilty.
So here is the point, I am grateful for friends who do not throw up when trying new things. Because, truly, that piece of roasted seaweed was really tasty and that throwing up was more psychological than anything, I'm sure. Or maybe this is a big assumption but still, she only took a bite and the throwing up was a bit dramatic. And I'm not even sure why, but I feel really great when my friends like Korean food. This does not make any sense to me and I don't know why I should take any sort of ownership of Korean cuisine in general and maybe I'm even a little embarrassed that I'm pleased when people are pleased with Korean food.
Once I went to BCD Tofu with Nancy and she was really amused by the raw egg that she got to crack into her soup. I hadn't really considered the egg as anything special before then but it made me really happy that Nancy found it so great.
Okay, so back to the beginning. Sam and I went to Park Dae Gam. She ordered the soon dubu. I don't think I've ever tried their soon dubu but it looked pretty good. The egg came pre-cracked and I think Sam was a little startled to discover a "liquid inside of a liquid", which I thought was a great way of wording it. I ordered the ggoh joo jang ji geh, which is probably one of the easiest Korean dishes to make. Park Dae Gam puts rice cake in theirs, which is exciting.
We also ordered a pa jun, sans the shrimp. It was $17, which is confusing because the ingredients are green onions, flour, and eggs. It was good though, and it was a very large portion. I suppose I could be upset about the $17 but really, all my money goes to food anyhow and I'm more likely to be upset about paying $5 for parking than any amount of money for good food. As far as I'm concerned, money for food is money well spent.
All in all, a very lovely evening.
Park Dae Gam
955 S Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, 90006
213.380.1717
