Korean BBQ in LA

[The grill set up at Kang Hodong's]

Before the weekend, my favorite Korean BBQ place was Road to Seoul. It's an all you can eat place that's clean and they don't serve Grade F-- meat. After this weekend, I think I have a new favorite!

On Friday we ate dinner at Ham Ji Park. They're on restaurant.com if you want to get a grab a good deal. Their specialty is Pork Galbi, which is marinated. It's DELISH. We also tried their marinated beef, which was okay. I appreciated the onions they included with the meat.

Usually the wait for Ham Ji Park is ridiculous, at least 30 minutes. For dinner, I recommend arriving around 6, which we did, and we were able to beat the crowd. Don't think that going later will be any better, bc we've tried to go around 8:30 and the line is even longer then. Their squid/noodle dish is even approved by my mom. Their side dishes are not that great though.

On Saturday night, we tried the hottest new Korean BBQ place in town. Kang Hodong Baekjeong's specialty is their pork neck? but we ordered some sort of combo so we could try all their different meats. Food was SO. GOOD. They serve two kinds of salads - one spicy green onion salad, and one garlic. Their sides weren't many or all too fancy, but I especially approved on the built-in egg steamer section, onion cooking section, and kimchee cooking section - all part of the grill that goes over the fire.

[Spicy green onion in the foreground]

Also, their service was great - very atypical of Korean BBQ restaurants. Multiple waiters checked in on us and provided refills promptly. Even at 6 PM on a Saturday, we had to wait a short time while the crowds outside grew progressively louder. According to the waiter, they've been open for about a month. I don't think it's the hype of a new restaurant - the lines are a good reflection of their deliciousness of the food! I now pronounce you my new favorite Korean BBQ restaurant!

Another weekend of eating too much...