Korean Fried Chicken, Oakland style

Mmh, fried chicken. Not just any fried chicken. Korean fried chicken.

Imagine my excitement after reading one Yelper's claim that this Oakland chicken joint put Kyochon to shame? That's bordering on KFC blasphemy, but I do give OB Chicken Town a thumbs up for their frosty cold beer paired with boneless soy-garlic "well-being" fried chicken (...because deep frying it in olive oil makes it healthy?)



The corn cheese could use a little work, as could their slightly limp mu. But I'd probably come back again if I were in the neighborhood.

6101 Telegraph Ave (between 61st St & 62nd St)
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 595-5338

Weekend trip to Korea...er Los Angeles

Took a weekend-ish trip to Korea(ntown) and here are the quick highlights, drumroll please!

#6. Holly's Coffee. A trip down Sentimental Lane. I <3 you, sweet potato latte.


#5. Cafe on 8th and Hobart (I don't recall the name). A bit pricey, but I've been told that any cafe in K-town is pricey. The outdoor deck is charming, and I can imagine it'd be really romantic at night.


#4. Chosun Kalbi. Can you believe I forgot to take out my camera?! The mul naengmyeon was one of the best I've ever had, and Sam and Carol seemed to like the kalbi, too. I think you pay for the upscale ambiance here.

#3. Mapo Dak Kalbi. This hole in the wall will set you back about $40 for two, but it's the only dak kalbi place I've come across stateside. There are no menus, and they didn't give us any banchan (or water!) until we asked in Korean. Once they found out the hapa could speak in mother tongue (gasp!), service took a dramatic turn for the better... in fact, they were downright friendly.




#2. Gaam. Introducing fruit soju and the concept of anju to friends is quite entertaining. As is walking into this place in general... it's what Tao might look like if you stepped into Korea. Ok, maybe not, but I kinda like this place - it's clean, modern, filled with good looking people, and heck, isn't corn cheese reason enough? The only downside? Cigarettes!

Before: OMG, we just ate dinner and we're stuffed, how are you expecting us to eat that? Can't we just drink?


After: Anything's possible.


#1. Ssa Rit Gol. The service kinda stinks, but the ono eats make up for it.




Thanks to Janice and Nhu for resisting the urge to knock me over the head in the midst of my giddy K-town excitement, Anna for being just as excited if not more, Sam and Carol for introducing me to the yummy spots, and 성희언니 for making me feel like I was in Korea again...

It's been a while

So I've received a few random emails and Facebook messages that have kindly demanded requested that I update my blog. Apparently the subject of "tofu hell" was starting to get a little tired and old. I've got so much to update (slowly but surely), but every time I think about the backlog, I push it aside even more... well, no more! I intend to take full advantage of tonight's minor case of insomnia to help the blog cause. So where do I begin?

Well, for starters, I had a pretty awesome Korean meal at Pyung Chang Tofu House in Oakland last night. Ok, it wasn't really "awesome" by Korea standards, but it was pretty darn satisfying. That bowl of 동태찌개 (spicy pollack soup) pictured below was licked clean, along with the banchan.





The service 아줌마 was... um... interesting. ^^ Let's just say this establishment prefers cash to credit cards and is even willing to promise free 순대 if you oblige and return.

So Oakland... this brings me to Point B. I'm currently in the SF Bay Area, California. While I'd much rather be freezing my butt off in Seoul, it looks like I'll be stateside for a while. But I'm homeward bound in TWO DAYS for a nice little vacation, good eats, and family/friend time, so I've definitely got something to look forward to. Homemade 닭도리탕 has been requested. ^^

Where NOT to go for soondubu: Tofu House in Palo Alto, CA

Don't believe the Yelpers! True, my soondubu standards have been raised since moving to Seoul, but there's just no excuse for going to So Gong Dong Tofu House (소공동 순두부) in Palo Alto, CA unless you're really desperate, i.e. starving Cast Away style, meaning you've been stuck on an island for weeks having nearly eaten a volleyball named Wilson. I can't believe it got FOUR stars on Yelp. I must have went on a bad night? A really bad night where the cooks forgot to come to work? Let's see shall we.

Unless you're a fan of eating glue, I suggest you not order the haemuljeon. They've yet to perfect the egg-flour-water ratio.



The banchan selection? Cheap and bland. I'll let the japchae photo speak for itself.



And in a restaurant named after its supposed specialty, well, you'd think they'd try a bit harder than overboiling last night's leftover veggies in hot water.



Needless to say, we were really hungry after dinner, and thankfully, Red Mango saved the day.



Although I like Korea's version of the yogurt better, you can't beat FRESH California fruit.