Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ- 8 Flavors of Pork Belly

A group of us came here over the holidays to try the famous 8 flavors of pork belly. Not really being a fan of pork, I agreed to join because I've heard that even non-pork lovers like this place. 

We had a party of 6 with no reservations so we ended up waiting an hour! Yeah, we should have called. Ooops. The host gave us a coupon for a free pork belly which was nice of him. I think if the people who were just sitting at the table occupying space for 30 minutes AFTER they were done eating had left, we probably would have waited less than an hour. What is up with that? They weren't even talking, just sitting there. Did they not see the hordes of people waiting outside?!

Anyways, when we finally got seated, we put our purses and jackets inside the stools to avoid the smell of meat. Pretty clever idea! 

menu

We ordered the 8 flavors, some spicy seafood stew and cold noodle soup.

kimchee + bean sprouts 

spicy seafood stew

veggies

The presentation of the pork belly is pretty incredible. Eight different rolled up fatty pork, just waiting to be devoured. I liked that the servers cooked it for us and even cut it up! I was wondering how we were supposed to eat the huge slices.

8 flavors of pork belly

grillin

The banchan was just some kimchee and bean sprouts thrown on the grill. But, it's not really about the banchan here, so don't expect tons of dishes.

I liked the spicy seafood stew which came with my favorite- baby octopus! The cold noodle soup that we ordered at the end was just okay.

cold noodle soup

Oh.. the pork belly? Yeah, it was pretty damn good. My favorite flavor was miso, with wine being a close second. I didn't like the curry at all. It was really weird.

All this food cost $20 each for our party of 6. Not bad!

I'd go back, but with a smaller group.

Parking is available in the lot, but you might have to circle a bit if it's during peak dining hours.

4****


Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ
863 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 365-1750

Hwang Jang Korean BBQ Restaurant - $10 AYCE

The saying "You get what you pay for" really applies to this place. We were actually across the street at Castle BBQ, but the wait was too long so we came to Hwang Jang. We were seated right away and then left alone without service.

Finally she came back and asked us what we wanted. We said AYCE please and about 5 minutes later a huge plate of brisket, pork belly, chicken and bulgogi arrived. The brisket wasn't very good, too chewy and thick. Pork belly was meh, chicken was tasteless and the bulgogi surprisingly was the best. 

Banchan was decent and we even got the coveted steamed egg. Service was pretty bad, but whatevers. I guess you can't expect much for $10 a person.

We didn't like the meat that much so ended up not really eating a lot. You know it's not good AYCE when you leave and you can STILL eat.

I would pass on this place.


2**


Hwang Jang KBBQ
480 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 465-6707

Creamy Avocado Pasta

We picked up some avocados from Ralph's for 47 cents each so I looked up some recipes online and came across this one: Creamy Avocado Pasta from Two Peas and Their Pod. It looked simple and tasty so I whipped up a variation for dinner.

I substituted with egg noodles and didn't use any cilantro, but it still came out delish. Make sure you add tons of garlic cause it really brings out the flavor. 

Ingredients

8 oz of pasta, spaghetti or linguine are best
2 medium ripe Avocados, pitted and peel removed
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add salt and olive oil to the water, put in pasta and bring to boil. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by placing the avocado, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place pasta back into the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss until pasta is well coated. Add more salt, pepper and lime if desired. 

Enjoy!

The Misfit - Not For The Faint of Heart

Very cool restaurant and atmosphere. We were looking for a place to eat on a weekend day and decided to give The Misfit a try.

We sat down by the window and proceeded to order. My friend had mentioned that the oysters here were yummy, but I wasn't in the mood for oysters.

However, it was happy hour and they had sangrias for $3.50 a glass. BTW, HH is 12-7 pm every day, so indulge! I only had one since it was the middle of the day.

What we ordered:

Ahi tuna burger, pan seared medium rare, meyer lemon aioli, avocado: Pretty damn tasty! I would have liked it if they didn't toast the bread. Toast and my mouth don't get along. Too hard for me. Other than that, good solid dish. ($12)

Baked mac + cheese, green chile, brown rice pasta + chorizo: Good lord, this was a dish to behold! It was super heavy, but delish. I found it a bit greasy for my taste, but then again, I kept eating it. Definitely a dish to share, as I don't forsee anyone eating this by themselves. ($14)

Prime rib french dip sliders, seasoned + sliced to order, homemade au jus: Yum! Another great dish, 2 sliders per dish. i liked the au jus which added flavor without being salty. ($13)

Fried chicken: 2 pieces of fried goodness. I loved the crispy skin and sweet mustard dipping sauce. You need to try this if you're a fan of fried chicken. Sure beats KFC by a mile!

The service was good and attentive. Music was way too loud. I would prefer to be able to hear my companions in the middle of the day, but loud music is fine at night.

I'd definitely come back. They also have bottomless mimosas!

4****

The Misfit 
 225 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 656-9800