Dae Sung Oak--post reading dinner

fish in red pepper with radishes, potatoes, and tofu
the communal pot of vegetables and beef--this will eventually be made into a porridge when the broth is all cooked down
mung bean pancakes
the spread
pork belly that you wrap in cabbage with kimchi and an oyster

After the Out of Nothing reading I went out to dinner with my family with Nancy and Lan. Predictably we got Korean food. Saeyoung and I had this discussion afterwards about how Korean food is just not conducive to conversation. There is nothing leisurely about it. The server is constantly bringing food-small side dishes, checking on the meat, bringing rice. It feels something like an attack of food actually. Korean food is aggressive. Are we an aggressive people?

And the other problem is that the table gets so full with food that there isn't even room to put your elbows down (that's bad manners anyhow, but still). My brain kind of stops working when i'm overwhelmed with food in this way.

We went to Dae Sung Oak which specializes in a Korean shabu-shabu type dish. A boiling pot of broth is set in the middle of the table and vegetables are added (mushrooms, cabbage, seaweed, sweet potatoes, peppers, etc). When the broth looks like it's at a scalding level, thin raw almost carpaccio like slices of beef are added. When the meat is cooked through we dip it in a sweet soy sauce. When the broth is all cooked down an thickened, they add rice and make it into a porridge. It's quite gluttonous, also glutinous. haha.

Dae Sung Oak

2585 West Olympic Blvd

Los Angeles, Ca 90006

213.386.1600

Park Dae Gam

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

Wien Bakery

filled with  chestnuts, red bean, and other beans of a sweet variety

some sort of melted sugar, honey, pull-apart loaf (this was my favorite)

I have fond memories of visiting Seoul in the Summer and going to Wien Bakery with my aunt and eating one of their coffee flavored ice cream bars.  I've recently discovered that there is a Wien in Koreatown, and the space is actually very nice with an outdoor patio and garden party decor.  Thomas and I sat outside and had our morning coffee, sampling our various purchases.  There were several small birds around and the ground was still wet from the rain.  The whole thing was actually very sweet.  

They have a lot of Asian-European breads and pastries, decent coffee, and some sandwiches (usually slathered in mayo-think tuna salad, egg salad).  What I find interesting about Korean bakeries is their use of rice flour, usually in conjunction with red bean.  Very good.  Is it even a pastry anymore if you're substituting the flour for rice?  In any case, the results are a mochi-like chewiness, but heartier.  I think I'm going to make a habit of going there every Friday on the way to my internship.  

3035 W Olympic Blvd

Los Angeles, 90026