Hip Korean "Street" Food at Take31

Although NYC's Koreatown is technically only a block long on 32nd St., there are some other lesser-known Korean restaurants scattered throughout the neighborhood. One such restaurant is Take 31, which stands for...

Take your time, enjoy the atmosphere that is take31, and have fun!

Appease your appetite for Korean food and brew.

Keep a lookout for art exhibitions and events that are often held in take31

Eat take31's unique monthly dish, developed with a fresh recipe.

31 The only tasty fun you'll find on 31st street!

Not gonna lie that it's a little cheesy...

To start off, my group ordered the Danhobak Galbi Jjim ($19.95), which is marinated beef short-rib with slices of sweet pumpkin and potatoes.

It came in a pot that resembles a bowl that you use to wash your face in traditional Korean villages.

The braised beef was quite jerky and fatty. I had difficult time looking for pieces that were actual meat rather than just chunks of fat. I really liked the squash pieces (what can I say...I love squash!), but they would have been so much tastier if the slices were larger. As of now, they seemed more like garnishes rather than a complement to the beef. I also don't see the need to sweetened them.

I was a big fan of the spicy and slightly sweet red sauce. It tasted especially good when mixed in with rice. Nonetheless, I probably wouldn't order this dish again because it was way overpriced for what you get.

We also got a complimentary bowl of ttopoki, which is spicy red cake dish. Unfortunately, the sauce was extremely bland and the rice cake was not chewy at all. Oh well, it was free anyways.

We ordered an Altang ($17.95) to share. This soup had cod eggs and cod bowels with radish, onion scallion, hot pepper, and hot pepper flake. It sounds disgusting, but the cod eggs and bowels are actually quite delicious! The bowels just taste like chewy pasta, while the eggs have a texture similar to foie gras. Once again, though, the dish was way overpriced for the amount you get.

This is Dosirak ($5.50), Korean old school style lunch bow with rice, sunny side up egg, sausage, and sauteed kimchi. When you get this dish, you have to put on the lid and shake it so that all the ingredients are mixed. I don't eat sausage so I don't know what this dish tasted like. I probably won't be back here again though.

Grilling On Crystal Belly Grill at Kristalbelli in NYC

New York City is the mecca of fine dining experience. It is also a place where the world's top chefs (as well as young, up-and-coming chefs) gather to explore their culinary endeavors.

Kristalbelli, a relatively new Korean fusion restaurant in Midtown West, is owned by JYP, an entertainment guru in South Korea. According to its website, the restaurant prides in its use of the finest ingredients to showcase "the full range of authentic and robust Korean flavors and also to spotlight the delicate aspects of forward Korean cooking.." The restaurant's menu features modern twist to traditional Korean dishes.

The restaurant gets its name from the crystal belly-shaped grill that is at the center of each table. Apparently, they are personally designed by JYP at a cost of $30,000 each! Some of the advantages of crystal grills include...
1. Infrared-ray, which allows the meat to cook inside and outside simultaneously, therefore keeping the juice within.
2. Cooks 2 to 3 times faster compared to traditional stainless or metal grills
3. Prevents smoke, therefore keeping the grilling experience clean

The chef brought us complementary appetizer. The triangular plate had pieces of kimchi kimbop (rice, kimchi, and beef rolled in seaweed), lightly battered and fried. The dish was accompanied by rolled-up spicy noodles and refreshing salad.

I am not a fan of fried food, but the kimbob tempura wasn't too heavy. Too be honest, the restaurant was dark and I didn't realize it was fried before I took a bite of it. The crunchy texture on the outside complemented the savory beef, spicy kimchi, and seasoned rice.

What a great way to start a meal. The noodle was too spicy for my liking, but the fresh greens balanced it well.

Gamja Jeon ($14) is a shredded potatoes and jalapeno pancake. It was really greasy at the bottom, even after dabbing it with napkin. The slightly burnt, crunchy potatoes gave it a similar feel as French fries. The pancake tastes a bit bland without the soy sauce that came with the dish.

Chadol Bap ($12), or thinly sliced beef brisket with rice. I guess this is sort of a fusion on Japanese nigiri. The waiter had really tough time separating the thin slices on the grill. The meat was really fatty. The square sushi rice was topped with jalapeno, wasabi, and some sort of red pepper flakes.

After our appetizers, the waiters came by to set up our table for the main meal. Rather than having one sets of banchans (side dishes) that everyone share, we got individual plates of side dishes. All I could think was, "There are lots of dishes to be washed tonight!"

Filet Mignon ($55/person). Once the crystal grill was hot enough, the waiter brought four chunks of filet mignon. Judging by the color of the meat, I could tell how juicy and savory they will be!

I prefer my steak rare because if it's cooked well, the meat loses its tenderness. The waiter cut the meat for us, and then they will be up for grabs.

Pink meat, just the way I love it! Despite not having much fat, the filet mignon was amazingly tender and juicy. I didn't fully grasp the meaning of "melt in your mouth" until I had this.

Next on the grill were two pieces of NY Strip ($49). These were fattier than the filet mignon.

The crystal grill sucked all the smokes in the vent, so my clothes did not smell like grilled BBQ afterward.

We wrapped up the meal with Korean fusion desserts. Even though we only ordered one dessert, the chef brought us complementary desserts...aka all the desserts on the menu!Goguma Cake($10): Sweet Potato cake with candied sweet potato and sweet potato ice cream. The cake was a bit dry, but I really loved the sweet potato puree/cream swirled within the cake. The ice cream just tasted vanilla to me.

Sesame ice cream ($10). An interesting flavor.

Chaps! by B E S F R E N ($10): Handmade Gluten-free Korean Rice Cake Blended w/ Artistic Flavors including chocolate caramel chips, cheese cream oreo, and vanilla blackcurrant berry. The mochi that I ate had oreo bits. I prefer traditional mochi with red bean fillings.

Ho-Tteok ($10): House made rice cake with vanilla ice cream. Unlike traditional ho-tteok that you can get from street vendors in Korea, this ho-tteok wasn't drenched in oil. Inside the glutenous, chewy rice cake was sweet honey jam fillings.

Back to the Root: Korean Food at Koreana

There is one cuisine that I never get sick of, no matter how much I eat it: Korean. I grew up eating Korean food and it's the food I eat at home. Now that I am a college student living thousands of miles away from home and home-cooked meals, I am beginning to appreciate Korean food even more. I was really craving dolsot bibimbop so I decided to go to the Koreana Restaurant in Kendall Square.

One key thing about Korea cuisine is its generosity. Whatever you order, you get many different varieties of banchans, or little side dishes, including kimchi, flattened fish cake, pickled seaweed, spinach, and bean sprout. These banchans also make a great appetizer.

My entree, kimchi dolsot bibimbop, came in a sizzling hot pot. Smells so good! When I was in Korea this winter, I would ask my mom to make me dolsot bibimbop every single day, every meal. No exaggeration. This dolsot bibimbop had a generous portion of summer squash, bean sprout, mushroom, carrots, spinach and kimchi. Because of the sauce from the kimchi, I didn't even have to add that much chili paste.

All mixed up and ready to be gobbled :) I much prefer the bibimbop in a dolsot because it keeps the food warm (or, rather, hot!) the entire way through. My favorite part is the crackled rice at the bottom. It is like discovering tootsie roll in the center of the tootsie roll lolli pop.

My friend got a serving of galbi. It was sprinkled with scallions, and carrots & broccoli on the side.

With the brown rice in the back...I don't think char-grilled galbi does justice to Korean BBQ because the legit version has to be grilled right in front of you! Although one negative part about that is that your clothes stain afterward.