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Dae Bok Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
12 reviews for Dae Bok Restaurant
Fugu. Blowfish. Pufferfish. By any other name a poisonous fish. The poison, tetrodoxin (TTX), that's contained in the organs and skin, causes muscle paralysis and can eventually cause death.
As is usual at Korean restaurants, the night started with some banchans.
Don't be fooled, though. Not all of them are mere banchans. They include a dish of blowfish skin salad!
I did just say the skin is where the poison is. But apparently if you take out all the spikes then you can eat the skin. So we took a bite.
This chewy skin salad was perhaps my favorite blowfish dish of the night.
Each table got a blowfish jjim, a steamed fish dish with bean sprouts in chili paste.
So, yes, the blowfish. It was meaty. A real meaty white fish. Other than that it doesn't have a distinct taste. Most of the flavors of the dish comes from the chili paste. The meat's pretty tough in this jjim so we didn't eat too much of it, especially with something else cooking in front of us.
The main attraction of the night, however, was the spicy blowfish stew or mehwoontang (you can order it non-spicy, aka jiri). Prepared on the stove on your table, the blowfish is cooked with beansprouts and minari.
Spicy, garlicky, fish broth. Talk about flavorful! The fish was also much more tender in this preparation. Definitely a win over the jjim.
After you're done with your blowfish and veggies, they'll come add some dumpling-like dough into the boiling pot.
Chewy dough that are flavorful after cooking it in the fiery broth. Delish! Al Dente or not though depends on when you take it out yourself ;)
It still doesn't stop there. After making sure that we were done with the dough and most of the soup, they came bearing rice and beans and veggies.
Yep, it's time for the fried rice!
All these + oil are mixed in together with a bit of that fiery blowfish soup. I got excited just watching her stir it in the pot!
Wait a bit until the bottom and sides are crispy. Yum yum.
Crispy fried rice filled with the flavors of that spicy fish stew. A great way to end it!
We washed down our meal with some shikhae (cold rice drink)
Photos: http://tinyurl.com/dlhd6y
At this point, there aren't too many types of food I haven't at least tried one time or another but Fugu was still on my list of things to try. It turns out, Fugu (or blowfish) is actually quite difficult to find in Los Angeles. Apparently Urusawa used to serve a sashimi version until they got fined by the city, and truthfully that is the way I would most like to try it, but after much searching it became apparant that Dae Bok was probably my only chance here.
Like most delicacies the end result is more interesting than delicious, although a few of the plates were really quite good. Overall the experience here is quite like any Korean bbq restaurant, with the meat replaced by the bok (fugu). We started with blowfish skin salad and it turns out this was by far the most tasty of the variations we chose. The skin is chewy, which will seperate those who like it and those who don't, but the salad is spicy and wildly flavorful which mixes nicely with the almost bland flavor of the fish. It seems that the skin is where the poison of the fish is, so one hopes the packets of it are successfully removed in the kitchen. Since I'm still here to write, the kitchen did a wonderful job of that. Also, because the poison is insanely potent you know immediately after a bite whether or not it's all going to go very wrong.
After the strong start with the salad, we moved on to the second version which was simply a steamed version of the fish. The meat is thick and actually quite bland and you have to pull it off the large bone in the center. It's not bad, but it felt like an uninteresting cousin of halibut.
Lastly, we ordered the Mehwoontang stew in a moderately spicy version. As is often the case, Korean versions of moderately spicy are hotter than you would expect. Because the fish is cooked at the table, and in a broth it is much more tender than the other incarnations and the with loads of garlic it has a nice flavor to is. With the additional rice and dough the servers bring out to dip into and to the broth, the stew is a pretty decent dish.
Mostly this isn't somewhere I would eat often or even likely again, the fun lay more in the unique experience than in the actual food but I would return once in a blue moon for the Fugu skin salad which was just a good and unique plate that can't be had many places.
The house soju here is about as close to paint thinner as you can get, make sure you wash it down with something. Prices were good and the hostess and waitresses were sweet and helpful.
Mostly though I'd still like to have a go at Fugu sashimi. Who wouldn't want to try a fish that makes your lips and gums go numb?
Food - B
Ambience - C
Service - A
Value - B+
it was a friends birthday - who suggested blowfish as a dinner option. when i got there i expected a daring experience with a variety of different blowfish dishes.
first off - the menu was very vague and unclear - they have these combo items that consisted of raw fish. but the only fresh fish i saw in the tanks were halibut. regardless - we ordered a buncha different items a la carte.. the blowfish skin salad being one of them. and the agu jjim being second (i dont know what agu is in english, but its not blowfish) and we blow fish jjigae... which was good.
the jjigae was good. the cooked blowfish is very dense. almost chicken like. even the grilled blowfish we ordered tasted similar.
the service was fantastic - we were a pretty large group and they paid attention to us fairly often.ONE piece of beef i had was since it was a birthday, i left the cake with the waitress at the front and when we asked for it - instead of bringing it in presentation, all i got was the box handed to me, cake in it and all... hm...... i mean a lil effort wouldve been nice.
all in all.. some soju, good company, and old school korean food always equals a good time.
This restaurant's all about danger.
The building's located in a sketchy part of town and surrounded by a fortress-like wall complete with barbed wire. Their most famous ingredient is the lethal blowfish. And their waitresses will not hesitate to throat punch you if you ask for too many water refills. I witnessed a balding dentist die in this manner.
You can have the blowfish barbequed or in a spicy soup. Blowfish itself is more about the satisfying texture than the somewhat weak taste, which is why barbequed blowfish is slathered in a tasty, spicy sauce, and the soup comes with a delicious dipping sauce for the fish.
The great part about the soup is that they make a rice dish out of the remnants at the end, which may be the best part of the meal for some people - that is if they live to see the end of the meal.
not sure if the pufferfish that they serve carry the neurotoxin since not all pufferfish are poisonous.
but their dishes are good.
the meh eun tang (spicy fish stew for $14.99) is good. they make it in front of you. tastes very clean. it wasn't spicy enough so we asked them to add more of that spicy paste. i dont like minaree so i took it out after it soaked in there for a while (for its flavor).
the spicy jjim ($21.99) with bean sprouts is good too. i wish the fish was a tad softer. but the flavor was good.
the fried rice needs work. it's bland.
their service is very friendly, which i can't say often of korean establishments.
fear not, I did not single handedly attempt to (and more importantly was not successful at) wiping out 50% of la's food blogging community in one evening.
It started in november when I first read jonathan gold's absolutely amazing review on dae bok restaurant that got me intrigued about trying korean style "bok" (blowfish). dangerous? maybe. delicious? sounds most definitely.
fast foward to febuary's gold standard event where matthew and I got a golden opportunity to chat it up with this grand gourmand. so I had to inquire about this restaurant once again. sure enough, even in person he waxed poetically about this amazing and underrated restaurant in the seedier part of koreatown.
ok, no more wasting time, I wanted to set up a dinner here STAT. invites were emailed within days and come saturday, march 21st, 17 fearless eaters arrived at dae bok restaurant, ready for some blowfish lovin'. 3 tables with 3 bloggers at each (totally not planned when setting up seat placement), we had the bases (and cameras) covered.
now onto the menu... there's 10 (yes, count 'em TEN) ways this sucker is served. blowfish 10 ways:
mehwoontang (spicy fish stew) $14.99
jiri (non-spicy fish stew) $14.99
soo-yook (steamed fish w/ soybean sprouts) $17.99
jjim (spicy, stirfried with sprouts, etc) $21.99
bulgogi (bok bbq) $17.99
tempura w/ sweet potato $17.99
tangsooyuk (fried sweet and sour bok) $18.99
bok-katsu $14.99
fish skin w/ spicy sauce/vegetable (cold salad) $16.99
shabu shabu $34.99
WOW. ok but with each table being about 6 people, we consulted with the waitresses and 2 servings of the stew plus 1 or 2 dishes more would be plenty for each table. most popular being the stew and the jjim, each table got these plus one more somethin' somethin'
first up, banchan. not too shabby. the standout was definitely the gummy blowfish skin moochim (kinda like salad) tossed with a vinegarette and a korean herb, minari (refreshing and love the bite of the minari). the rest, u've got ur run of the mill kimchi, mook (think korean jello), marinated cold seaweed, potato in mayo (not exactly potato salad but seriously whats up with koreans so obsessed with mayo banchan??), and pickled daikon.
next, the long awaited bok- jjim. sprouty and garlicky galore. blowfish stir-fried with tons of sprouts and chili paste. this was our first taste of the actual blowfish and it was surprisingly very mild in flavor. however, with the garlic and chili paste, there was plenty of punch in this dish (our pulses still going strong)
next, our table ordered the bok-tangsuyok (think chinese style sweet and sour fish) it was aiiiite. nothing too crazy or mind blowing here but we figured it would be a nice textual contrast. well battered and fried with a good sweet and sour sauce, this tasted just as expected.
one of the tables ordered the bok bulgogi. think blowfish barbeque. they ordered it spicy with gochujang (spicy bean paste). although I didn't get to actually taste this dish, the consensus from that table was that it was very good. with the firm texture and mild flavor of the blowfish I could definitely see how this fish could stand up to some bbq-in' and slatherin' in gochujang.
now onto THE BEST part(s) of the meal, the blowfish stew.
u can order this spicy (mehwoontang) or non spicy (jiri). naturally, we opted for the spicy mehwoontang. this amazing dish has many glorious and delicious stages. the broth is nothing short of amazing. its packed with tons of flavorful with the fish, garlic, chili paste, and freshness from the greens. WOW. the pieces of blowfish in this were eaten dipped in a soy sauce ponzu with a dab of fiery mustard. delicious.
the fun and deliciousness don't stop here though. oh no, it just gets even better....next up, they put soojebi (shavings of dough) into the delicious broth. YUM!! perfectly al dente shavings of dough with a nice bite and slippery texture are delicious when cooked in the flavorful stew.
and everyone knows how much I love happy endings. rice, chopped vegetables and oil are added to the final ladles of soup and dregs left in the pot. when all mixed together and left to cook until there's a little bit of crispiness at the bottom is the most delicious bokkum-bap (fried rice)
even when ur busting at the seams, there's always room for bokkum-bap. just add a little bit more of the soup or some of the ponzu sauce, and this is a winning finish.
everything was washed down with a final serving of cold shikhae (korean rice drink). sweet and refreshing. the waitresses were generous enough to constantly refill our little cups with pitchers of endless shikae. mmmm lovely.
it was an amazing meal from start to finish. thankfully, everyone still had a pulse and was happy with filled and satiated bellies :)
Though fantastic in any season, this place is best on a rainy day. Ideally you want to smell the wet concrete as you leave your car and walk through the door.
Warning, once you step inside you're hit by a garlic tempest that follows you around for days.
A bottle of soju or the yummy blackberry wine called bokboonja is essential for a special meal like this one.
Start the eating extravaganza with Ago Chim, a butt kicking first course that consists of large fillets of monk fish smothered in a fiery Red Sea of chili pepper sauce, garlic, bean sprouts and yes, the eponymous daebok. Fortunately, the obnoxious puffer fish can easily be tossed aside.
Next, try a sizzling plate of grilled eel in a teriyaki sauce or the Korean version, which is superior if intense flavors are what you're after. The Korean style eel takes on a consistency similar to squid and is much spicier and more garlicky than the original, which is kinda like eating unagi.
The fish soup called jiri should come next. Daebok is big on bean sprouts and this soup is teeming with them and some tofu to boot.
You can get the soup with chili paste, maeoontang, which is more flavorful than it's milder sister, but after the previous mouth smoldering menace, I like the contrast of a soothing, if bland, fish broth. Besides, if you're still jonesing for something with a bite, the fish can be dipped in a soy sauce, green onion and hot mustard concoction.
Perhaps the best part of this dining experience is when the spunky spiked haired waitress comes over to your table and divvies up the remaining soup, dumps some cooked rice in the hot pot, adds onions, spices and sesame oil, creating a mildly delicious dish fried rice dish. Just add a little of the mustard-soy sauce mlange to taste and you're good to go.
Finally, attempt to cleanse your palate with a cold cup of shikae (sweet rice drink) brought at the meal's end.
God forbid, should I ever have to face execution, I would die happy if this were my last meal.
my sister loves this place. i myself don't. but that is more of a personal bias, as i can only eat so much fish. this place is strictly fish, no beef, pork, nada. all fish. fish steamed, stew, etc. but no sushi or sashimi either or any raw fish. not even like shell fish or octopus and squid. its a very traditional looking place. all wooden.
if you wanna try something different, something not korean bbq, and you love fish, this might be the spot. actually it's not bad when you are hung over. order one of the jjims or tangs. don't order a ddong jjim though!
Fish, fish and more fish... and a ton of sprouts. YES!
Keep it coming!
Steam it and throw it on some bean sprouts, saute it with spicy red pepper sauce, more sprouts and some "taste of the sea" things (more on that in a moment), and then... why not make a soup with more fish, sprouts, greens and as soon as you're done with that - here comes the rice. I could eat the rice dish everyday for the rest of my life!
It's always a hoot when I go to this place - it's like they've never seen a white girl before and are very skeptical about my ability to eat spicy food, but I prove I can eat and drink like any Korean. I may not be that helpful with exactly what we ate, but fortunately, you can just order for two and let the food happen. And if you can polish off everything that hits the table - call me, let's eat.
Taste of the sea: In the spicy dish, there's these little quarter sized things in there that you pop in your mouth, bite down on and let the sea water squirt out only to spit it back out. Why would you do this? I don't know, cuz it fun... WHAT!? But the steamed fish in the spicy red pepper sauce (blow fish, monk fish, and/or anglerfish - I don't know/care- they're all good) is fantastic - as was the steamed fish over the bed of steamed sprouts and the boiled fish in the spicy soup and the harvest rice with the mounds of greens (dandelion?), dried seaweed and sesame oil added to the leftover soup to be sure that your hollow leg is completely full. I have no idea what fish was what, only that it was great and I'll be coming back for more.
"Just in....Another restaurant gets photo-raped by Baro's camera."
damn right....
Who in the world figured out a way to cut up a blowfish so that the rest of the human race would be able to eat it and not die? I don't know....But if that person were here, I'd gladly stick my tongue down his/her throat. haha. Just kidding......not.
All those pictures are mine, so let's just follow along with those. The signs blah blah....okay the menu, if you look at the picture, that's all you really need to choose from. The side dishes consist of tofu, mook(i don't know how to describe this in english), spinach?, seaweed, potato salad, mee nah ree w/ blowfish skin(this is bombbbb), cold radish soup?, and your dipping sauce for the blowfish which is made up of what tastes like a ponzu sauce, green onions, and korean mustard called "gyuh-jah". (Again, see beautiful pictures).
For the main dishes, actually the only two dishes you really need to choose is the Jiri and the Jjim(see pictures). The jiri comes out served in a hot pot with some blowfish chunks, bean sprouts, korean radishes, and a korean veggie called "mee nah ree". The Jjim comes out served on a plate pipin' hot in a thick spicy sauce with bean sprouts and that mee nah ree. When you're about done with your Jiri, the waitress will come around and mix up some rice with seaweed and more of that mee nah ree right into that jiri soup. The results are most heavenly (see pictures).
Our little family secret: What I like to do(and i got this from my dad) is...I like to let the fried rice sit there for just a couple minutes in the pot so that the bottom kind of crusts. Why? I like scraping it off the bottom of the pot because it creates a sort of noo-roong jee(basically like toasted rice) except it's flavored now!!!!!! So you got the crunchy side(bottom of rice that makes contact with pot) and the soft side(top of rice that doesn't make contact with pot)!!!!!! Hooooollllllyyyyyy Craaaaaaaap!!!
...................I'm a nerd...i know....leave me alone.
What's great about the blowfish is that there are no little bones that you have to pick out. Just eat off the sides of the main spine and that's it. Make sure you dip it in your dipping sauce. OOh!!! that blowfish skin side dish that i mentioned earlier.....the texture is kinda chewy, almost rubbery, but once you try it, you'll be asking for more.
This establishment has come a long way. If i knew of yelp before, i would've been the first to review it at the age of 12 or 13. haha. I remember when the menu was right on that paper where you place your plates on. Now they've got these buttons that call waitresses and their fancy menu books. Whatever, as long as their food tastes the same....And it does my friends. It does.
P.S. Almost forgot! Their soju is 11-12 bucks!! Quite expensive(although I really don't drink except in the comfort of my own room). Also, when you order the Jjim, make sure you ask for "Bok". Bok is blowfish in korean. You should specify because there are two types of Jjim: Bok and Ah-goo. So make sure you let them waitresses know.
Enjoy my fellow yelpers.
-baro
as long as i'm on the subject of "keepring it reer"
heres one more for you, but this time, korean style....
most people are fascinated by blow fish, essentially because it can fucking kill you... urusawa has/had it when in season (spring time-they've been having trouble getting it in because of post 9/11 customs). personally, i find it to be a moderately bland tasting white fish, but i've heard that blowfish liver is good. i have yet to try that.
at dae bok, you can rock some blowfish hotpot action. its your typical korean style stew. a briny stock with garlic, spicy or non. lots of veggies and then when you're done they will fry some stir fried rice action in there.
there is a side of cold blowfish skin which is a bit rubbery/gelatinous.
the other dish that is good is spicy monkfish bbq. they also have eel and catfish
the meal will run you about 15-20 bux a person. the dishes are generally big enough to share.
if this part of ktown is too sketchy for you, theres another newer one further west on 6th and western in the northwest corner with mr. coffee and the sun dae restaraunt (korean blood sausage - another opportunity to keep it reer!) the dishes are about a buck more at this location
I really love the fish soup! Also the spicy cod dish. So good. But yeah this place is only fish or seafood. Nothing else and now their portions got a lot smaller and the pricer higher hence why I go here once a year. They mix rice for you at the end and that is yummy too. I use the wasabi sauce to eat with the rice the stir fry for you and that tastes great with a little bit of the soup.
