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What to do when you're unimpressed with standard Korean BBQ and the man in your life is a carnivorous crazy?
Opt for Feng Mao instead. Not only is the food better, but they've eliminated some of my least favorite things about K BBQ: too much smoke, scary looking meat platters, and brash service.
The menu offers some great dishes, as well as some slightly scary (to me, at least) choices, too. If you're feeling frisky, you can grill up some chicken heart or pig intestine; if you're more of a run-of-the-mill meat eater like me, stick to the lamb, which is fabulous. Dip it in your dish of spices and it'll blow all the K BBQ you've eaten out of the water.
Also, I suggest you try their:
- Green onion pancakes
- Steamed dumplings (they come with this amazing soy sauce-ish dipping sauce that you'll practically want to drink).
Wow, great find in ktown! I've always driven by it and wanted to try it. So went on a Saturday afternoon. Not too many ppl there. Wow, really good lamb skewers, just like in China! We got the combo that comes with 10 skewers, warm noodles, a stir fry dish of your choice and a bottle of soju!
Skewers - you grill them yourself at the table. and they have this dipping powder. Best of the meal!
Warm noodles - basically noodles with gochujang (chili paste). Not sure why, but it was delish!
Pork dish - was jus ok, will try a different one next time
the combo for 2 ppl was 29.99. Good deal!
Kebab, how I covet thee. It's been how many years since Beijing, but the longing for the delightful skewers ceases to subside. So I had high hopes for Feng Mao, a pseudo-Chinese/Korean establishment that feels like another world where "chuanr"--as it it's affectionately known in Beijing--is consumed regularly.
We're seated immediately, giddy from the excitement of reliving our time abroad. The heat from the charcoal burning is warming, and the smell of mutton cooking is intoxicating. Of course, we sampled the lamb kebab, as well as the squid, and they come with about 10 skewers each. We begin to cook like newbies when our hostess pities us and lends a helping hand. In short, the lamb was juicy, marbled with thin layers of fat, and bursting with flavor when dipped in the provided mix of tangy spices. Damn, we should've ordered another set of mutton kebabs!
The squid variety was enjoyable as well: chewey in texture but charred to add bite, it's pretty good and you can soak it in sauce if you want. But if you don't like squid to begin with, you won't like it here.
My hands-down favorite was the eggplant in brown sauce (an entree, no grilling required). I haven't had it this good than in Asia. Firm but still fleshy, most places wreck this dish, but Feng Mao definitely set the new standard.
Your meal comes with your typical Korean plate of appetizing dishes: kimchi, peanuts, and pickled stuff (please excuse my memory) all help to supplement the delicious marathon of juicy meat. All in all, a nice throwback to my experience abroad, reminiscing about my more adventurous days. Definitely come to Feng Mao for some good greasy food with a side of nostalgia!
Lamb skewers, 10 for $12.99. Great service, they asked if we wanted help cooking the skewers and they happily helped. There's a basket of shallots and garlic that you can skewer and roast over the fire. It's not as daunting as it seems...if you cook it for the right amount of time, the garlic cloves easily slip out, so you don't have fidget and peel. We also ordered an entree - pork with cilantro. I'm generally not a fan of cilantro sauteed in my food, but this entree was tasty. Give it a whirl!
On the weekend I was looking forward to eating something unique, therefore I was searching all over Hollywood and the West Side for something special. However, my friend found a truly bizarre place, a Korean/ Chinese Kebab place in Ktwon. At first that didn't sound appealing to me because the location was situated in Korea town. However, I decided to go check it out.
Upon arriving to the restaurant, I was not excited to enter the building because from the outside it looked pretty worn down and the area wasn't that great either. As you enter, its a cozy place with a bar-b-q grill with charcoal.
I order the combo for 2 for $29.99 which comes with:
1) 10 sticks of raw Lamb
2) Warm spicy noodles
3) Choose any order from the entree menu which they cook for you. I chose the garlic shredded pork.
4) Soju
5) Clam Soup
6) Korean small dishes.
Personally I really don't care for kebabs because they are dry and tasteless to me, however at Feng Mao they have the best tasting kebab I have ever eaten hands down. This is what I call Fusion, add in some Asian flavor to middle eastern food and you got an awesome dish! The Charcoal flavor makes it taste even better! I am going to go back to try their other kebabs :)
If you want an alternative to Korean BBQ try Feng Mao and eat their Kebabs!
Btw: They have really bizzare stuff like Bull Penis and Fake Dog Meat..
Not too many things make my man as happy as the delicious smells of meat cooked over charcoal, so for this Friday night, we headed to Feng Mao. Walking up to the place, I was about to gnaw my own arm off when I smelled the meat cooking just steps away. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait and were seated immediately, my arm still intact.
We ordered a variety of items for the grill including lamb, chicken hearts, chicken wings, enoki mushrooms, and followed that up with a cooked dish of shredded pork with chili and cilantro. The service here was great, you don't have to lift a finger to cook your own food, although I have to admit that the regular hands-on part of Korean bbq is half of the fun. Our server cooked all of the meats at once, and so unfortunately, those that were cooked first and then placed on the upper rack continued to cook past the point of being tender and juicy. I would have much preferred for the server to cook the meat in batches so that this wouldn't happen.
The lamb kebabs were succulent and worthy of a deep mmmmmm, however, they did fall prey to the overcooking after resting on the grill for a while. The rest of the meats were good, but not as inspiring as the lamb. The meats come with a plate of chili and cumin powder for dipping which adds a little heat, although I would prefer fresher chilis be used that can tingle my taste buds. My boyfriend thinks I've lost all sensitivity to spice and he may be right - although he also found the heat level lacking. The shredded pork was a little spicier, with a healthy dose of bird chilis dispersed throughout the dish. This dish was tasty with a pronounced cilantro flavor but due to no fault of its own, we were already stuffed with the rest of the meat and not as hungry. As they say, hunger is the best spice, and at this point we had no more hunger...
I just came back from Beijing last week and went straight for this place as soon as I discovered it. If you ask me, the "yang rou chuan" (lamb kebabs) at this place is even better than the ones in Beijing. Blasphemy, I know, but the meat here is chunky, meaty, fatty, and dripping with seasoned goodness. Normally, at a "chuan" place in Beijing, I eat about 30-40 of them. Here, I was really stuffed after 10. So, you know. You also get your own charcoal grill for the table, which means you can cook the meat as you eat along and keep them warm on the upper rack of the grill.
We happened to stumble in on their one-year anniversary. Which meant free beer (I ran over a curb on the way home), free cake, and a bottle of free hand cream for everybody (yeah. maybe they saw my peeling cuticles from across the room). After really going all out, the 3 of us racked up a bill of $70. Too bad I don't live in LA anymore, otherwise this would be a weekly thing.
Review #100 - awarded to a restaurant that has grown near and dear to my heart!
The "chuanr" is no ordinary kebab. Served from the night markets of Beijing to the bazaars of Urumqi, it is a ubiquitous street snack as well as edible proof of China's cultural diversity. The mere mention of chuanr is enough to cause both travelers to China and natives alike to salivate as they longing reminisce about all those tender, juicy morsels of lamb on a stick. Chuanr is so good, you can't have just one- while I was in China, locals would inform me that it was normal to eat 20 skewers at one sitting!
Don't pussy-foot around... JUST GET AS MANY LAMB SKEWERS AS YOU CAN EAT- that is, unless you have a strange craving for bull penis (it's on the menu)! The menu makes it easy because there are A, B, and C set combos... which are sadly listed only in Korean. However, it's fairly easy to figure out, following this trusty guide I typed up:
Combo A: 20 lamb skewers, 1 panbroiled dish, 1 bottle of soju
Combo B: 30 lamb skewers, 1 panbroiled dish, 1 bottle of soju
Combo C: 50 lamb skewers, 1 panbroiled dish, 1 bottle of soju
I believe you can also interchange the bottle of soju with bekseju, which is a fragrant rice wine that goes well with the meat. The panbroiled dishes are all generally simple- various stir-fried vegetables, stir-fried tofu skin, etc. But seriously, what are you doing at this place if you're not here for chuanr?!
Still, some members of our party were overwhelmed by the meat-fest, so we ordered a few other dishes. Steamed dumplings (unmemorable... I don't even remember the filling) and green onion pancakes! The pancakes hit the spot... Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside- just like how mama makes it!
In all, we had a party of 9 people for dinner and paid around $20 each for 50 lamb skewers, two orders of onion pancake, two orders of dumplings, two bottles of soju, a bottle of bekseju, a can of coke, and a large bottle of Hite beer for soju bombs... Not bad! Even better, the laoban niang (owner-lady) personally cooked our chuanr for us, so we didn't overcook our meal- very kind of her!
What more is there to say about this place? An authentic experience straight out of China from the first whiff of cumin and pepper roasting on lamb the minute you step in... Amazing!
As a native Northern Chinese, I have to say this is the best Kebab place in LA, probably even in the entire US. It reminds me of home.
I know most of you are used to Korean BBQ and the traditional kebab skewer, so you might be a bit surprised if it's your first time eating here since it's not the ordinary kebab.
The lamb skewer is their signature dish and is very authentic and tasty. It is originated from Northern China and you find them everywhere if you visit Northern China, even on the streets. The meat is very juicy and tender; you definitely need to add the seasoning, which includes cumin, chili powder and salt.
The service is fantastic. In China, you don't have to grill them yourself so I am still a bit slow in terms of cooking my kebab. The ladies at the restaurant help me cook every time I go. They are very nice and patient. They let me know if they are too raw to eat and they remind me not to let them be overcook.
The cold noodle dish is also a 5 star. It's different from the ones they serve at other Korean restaurants here since this is more tailored to Northern taste. The side dishes are delicious; my favorite includes the shredded potato and pancake. While you enjoy the lamb skewer, don't forget to order chicken wings and mushrooms.
The bill could come pricy if you order a lot of food, but it's totally worth it.
Penis Penis Penis
Yes, penis yakitori!
So for those of you holding out for the right person or simply those that haven't gotten your share of Penis, this is a good place to find it.
This place was recommended by a good Korean friend of mine. He is actually a sushi chef at Crazy Tokyo Sushi.
Well, we were in the mood of having something simple and not go to one of our fancy hang outs. So I looked at my restaurants "to do" list and when I mentioned the Penis, Lilo's mouth watered.
Couldn't change the place after that...
Si I called, made arrangements and we arrived.
I ordered a Korean beer and soju.
I ordered a variety of skewers, Bull Penis, quail, heart, wings, kidneys and garlic...
Tons of garlic!!!
Oh yeea!
You can cook it on the table yourself, but the lady there wanted to do it for us. I think she overcooked one or two things but its cool.
It was good and I really enjoyed the simple experience of a small mom/pop type place.
Oh yea,
The bathrooms were clean.
Ill return Pho sure....
Gl3
Recommended: Lamb Skewers (make it a COMBO!!)
I got the lamb skewers and made it a combo and it was too much food for two. It was delicious too!! they have this soup that comes with it that is soo delicious that i crave it. they also give you this bamboo chicken plate that tastes sooo good even the day after. the meat was the right amount and you can cook it on these little charcoal "grills" that are pretty neat.. it is almost like making smores. but anyways, the people there was nice also. it is a nice cozy little restaurant that makes you feel like you are in Asia. Love it love it love it!! i will go back again and order a different type of meat, and I am sure, i will give it a 5 star rating after that.
Enjoy! And you will see why Chinese-Korean food is bomb!
Feng Mao Mutton Kebab is for lovers. Lovers of meat.
At Feng Mao, order batches of shish kebabs, then cook them yourself[1] at tableside charcoal grills. Pork and chicken kebabs are popular, but their headliner is the yang rou chuan - that is, mutton skewers - seasoned with a mix of Chinese and Korean spices. For those who need more heat, plates of chili powder are provided. Skewers are reasonably priced: five beef intestine kebabs cost $7, and ten pork ones go for $12. Servings are decent; you won't leave hungry.
Bull penis (#6 on the menu) commands the most shock value of Feng Mao's offerings. Feeling brave? Try it, a stick goes for $2! Sure, it's a bit gristly, but you can brag about having it afterward.
Aside from kebabs and banchan (light variety, nothing notable), we shared an incredible array of plates, including dumplings, a soothing noodle soup (which broke up the meal nicely), chicken hearts, and a stir-fried cilantro with pork dish that was easily my favorite. Don't know exactly what we ordered, as Bora K. did the honor (and in Korean!), but I can say for sure that everything I had was scrumptious. Soju enhanced the meal, and friendly strangers even bought us a second bottle when they noticed us celebrating a birthday!
If you decide to visit, try street parking, or the bank lot across the street - off-hours, of course. Feng Mao's easy to spot, at the corner of Olympic and 5th. They're not huge, but they can handle most parties - twelve of us fit after combining a few tables, not a problem on a weeknight.
Thanks Bora for organizing and prodding me to finish this review, and props to everyone who attended, and ultra props to Tara C. for helping me navigate to Feng Mao, otherwise I'd still be on the 10.
[1] or have their great service do it
take note: (not a fan of lamb)
But hey at least I tried it.
I liked the chicken the best (haha whats new)...they have all sorts of different meats as others have mentioned....(if you're into that stuff this place would be heaven for you all).
The service was good and friendly. They cooked a lot of the meat for us. While we were watching the baseball game they even gave us complimentary sodas.
Don't wear your sunday best...as the mesquite smoke will soak into it...although that does make things taste better.
Both times I have visited Harbin, China, the majority of my trip has been spent eating lamb skewers. These things are unavoidable in Harbin and, quite frankly, why would you want to avoid them? They're sold on the street, in the markets, out of tiny hole-in-the-walls, and even out of a massive four-story restaurant dedicated to food on skewers. They're sold at places where you can grill them yourself, places where they grill them for you, and places where you can call out of an apartment window and some guy will run a handful of skewers over. The point is I have eaten a lot of lamb skewers and Feng Mao sells the real deal.
As others have noted, you grill your own at Feng Mao but every time I go the ladies working there always grill them for me. The lamb itself is juicy and tender, well-seasoned and only slightly gamey. The seasoning is a mix of cumin, chili powder, cumin, some other things, and more cumin. Feel free to pour it straight into your mouth because it is delicious.
There's also banchan, a variety of other skewered meats/animal parts, and some cooked dishes as well. You can read about those in the other reviews, just keep scrolling. The point is get the lamb. My buddy, who I traveled to Harbin with, is stuck living in DC and cannot get a decent lamb skewer to save his life. LA is blessed, you are blessed, enjoy the lamb.
If I can't convince you to go...Maybe he can?
http://www.latimes.com...
10 Fabulous Things about Feng Mao Mutton Kebab
1. The lamb kebobs are fantastic- sizzling, tender,…
Read more »
A real deal. Taste just like ones I had in Beijing. Can't get better.
I highly recommend this place.
- Lamb skewers: good, no lamb smell, enough spices with full flavor.
- Condiments: charcoaled garlic and onion to complement. Very good.
- Potato pancake: with a touch of soy sauce it tastes just like when you cook at home.
- Soju: they had a label of soju I never seen around US, I think it was called "Cham Soju". It has a different aftertaste, like some herb. Makes you drink like water with these bbqed lambs.
I had no idea that kabob was a Northern Chinese and Korean dish. I suppose that one can learn something new from dining out in Los Angeles. I had no idea what to expect but was impressed. Took a while to find this place (it's close to Olympic and Crenshaw), but once we did, it was worth it. The waitstaff are trilingual and speak Korean, Mandarin, and English.
We ordered and shared the beef and lamb kabobs. Simply put, they were fantastic. I could have kept eating them all night. They're cooked over a charcoal grill right on the table and you can season them to your tasting. The waitstaff was very helpful and pretty much cooked the meal for you.
The space is relatively small so probably not the place for huge groups but could definitely fit 6-8 people in a group.
I'll be going back. It's definitely a good place to impress your friends with your savvy in finding a cuisine that's pretty hard to find.
The kebabs are just mouth-watering. Very tender chunks of meat grilled over a charcoal flame on the table, marinated in their special cumin-based seasoning. A real treasure! The servers were friendly and helpful. A nice place for birthday dinners if you have a crowd of eight or less.
Like all Korean BBQ restaurants, expect to leave with your clothes smelling like BBQ smoke.
Try the $1.99 mushrooms! My favorites are the shallots and garlic roasted in their own shells. Mmmm....
i'm reading a book from a friend called "Garlic And Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise" where the author implies that the editors at the LA Times control where the writers go and what ratings they give.
Recently Yosuke found an article in the LA TImes and was excited to go to this joint called Feng Mao. Sounded good. Chinese it is definitely not. Mongolian/Korean? Maybe. Definitely Korean influenced and Korean-owned. "Are you Korean?" the waitress asks. Yosuke replies, "I'm Japanese." (uh oh: enemy). I say, "English, please." She smiles and walks away.
We scanned the menu and Yosuke was curious about the 3 items that have no English or simplified-Chinese translations. They were the combos. We were able to compare the sticks and circles with what IS translated, and were able to pick out Combo 1 = Mutton and the Bekseju (white soju) and we were lost for the third. Turns out it's "anything from the Panbroiled section."
Anything except the $15.99 mutton, and anything over $11.99. So doing the math, basically you're really just getting the soju for free. Except they jipped us and gave us a cheap green bottle, not the Bekseju. The waitress opened the bottle in front of us and by then I was like, forget it
The mutton (10 skewers for $13) have 3 cubes of mutton the size of dice each. Each cube of mutton is flanked by a small blob of solid fat. Maybe this helps to keep the meat juicy. They are burned just enough with meat flavor that you could eat it if you really want. But i wouldn't. So $13 doesn't buy you much meat. In this case an AYCE kbbq would be better.
We had shrimp in brown sauce and shredded pork in garlic sauce. Nothing special about either. A real Chinese or Thai place would have made it better. It was just meh. There weren't much shredded pork as bamboo julienne and bean sprouts.
We didn't get any automatic water refills. They jipped us on the wrong soju. The service that I did appreciate was the waitress cooking our food for us (cuz we didn't know how). Ignorance pays off every time in situations like this.
I think LA Times hyped this place up a bit (like they do with most places they feature).
see pics start from here: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
When most people think of kabobs, you think of the Mediterranean variety. Or maybe the bamboo skewers that Thais, Indonesians and Filipinos use for their barbecue. So when I received the invite for Chinese style kabobs from my Pleasure Palate group, my curiosity was piqued. Located in Koreatown, Feng Mao Mutton Kebab offers a slightly different take on kabob cuisine.
Just a few blocks away from the popular Manna, Feng Mao's store front sign sticks out in the street corner it occupies. Its easy to assume that its another Korean BBQ restaurant because you cook your own food, but the cuisine is a dead giveaway that this not Korean food. The far Western part of China is mostly desert, and their food has a Middle Eastern influence to it with the heavy use of lamb. They also like their food on the spicy side. I took pics of the menu and the food and posted them as a reference.
The 'ban chan' like appetizers are interesting. They consisted of pickled cucumbers, kimchi and boiled peanuts. The peanuts were served cold. I'm guessing the kimchi was there as a deference to all their customers of Korean descent. Out of the 3 appetizers, my group liked the peanuts the best. They also give you a bowl of whole unpeeled gloves of garlic. They told us they were meant to be skewered and cooked. My table didn't really bother with that - we thought it would still be too much work to peel the garlic afterward.
Our group ordered beef, lamb, chicken and mushrooms for our dinner. They give you dish small bowl filled with seeds, herbs and spices. It almost looks like paprika mixed with several other herbs. You basically season the meats before and/or after you cook them. The contents of the spice bowl have an almost crimson hue to it, but its surprisingly mild in terms of hot chili factor.
My group was very liberal in applying the spices to the meats. We could barely taste the difference between the beef and lamb kabobs. My group probably overcooked our first round of kabobs, because we had to get used to to cooking with our barbecue pit. If I had to choose between the two, I preferred the beef slightly more.
The chicken came in two types of cuts: wings and cubes. The wings were really a lot of work to prepare and eat. It doesn't lend itself to kabob style cooking, especially since you have to deal with the bones. The chicken cubes were much easier to prepare, but I didn't feel they were up to par with the beef.
If there was any meat that I enjoyed the most, it wasn't meat at all - I loved the Soungi mushrooms. They are like giant portabella mushrooms, but I liked their flavor better and they hold up better when they are grilled. They were also much cheaper compared to the meat dishes we ordered.
In addition to the kabobs, we ordered 2 noodle type of dishes: shredded pork with garlic sauce and a cold noodle dish. The shredded pork dish packs heat. Its deceptive at first because its so full of flavor but after a while the heat from the chili kicks in and your lips start to burn. Its a pity because if it wasn't so spicy, I would have eaten more of the dish.
The cold noodle dish had slices of beef, a hard boiled egg and glass noodles. I did not like this dish. I just can't get into eating cold noodles, especially cold glass noodles. I think i would have liked this dish better if it were served warm like sukiyaki.
I think one the things I really didn't like about this place was that they used real wood charcoal for the barbecue. One of the people in my group was crying because of the smoke that was not captured by the vent. They even opened the main door to better ventilate the place after most of the table booths were filled with patrons. This place seems popular with the locals.
When I got home, I realized that my clothes smelled like smoke and I had to air out my jacket and wool sweater for at least 2 days to get rid of the lingering BBQ smell.
The total damage came to around $25 per person for my table of 4. I thought that was a bit pricey. If I ever came back again, I'd just order the beef and mushroom kabobs and ask for the spicy noodle dish but with the heat level toned down so that it doesn't burn my lips.
The service is friendly. There is only street parking which isn't an issue since its the only restaurant in the block its located at.
Feng Mao Mutton Kebab is located in Korea town. But it's actually a Chinese restaurant. We got there around 2pm on a Saturday and the restaurant was quiet. The waitstaff speak both Mandarin and Korean. The menu also has Chinese, Korean and English.
We ordered $59.99 Combo B for 4 people. It has 30 pieces of mutton kebab, 1 choice of hot dish and 1 choice of alcoholic beverage.
3 kinds of banchan: Kimchi, radish and garlic. The kimchi was more of a Chinese style kimchi. The garlic was marinated in vinegar and tasted really sour.
For drink, we picked Bekseju. It's a ginseng rice wine. It was sweet, with a hint of ginseng taste. We all liked this wine.
Charcoal grill for the BBQ. They had this two tiers thing sitting above the grill. You cook the meat on the lower tier, then place the cooked meat on the top tier to keep warm.
30 pieces of mutton kebab. Well, actually they gave us 31. Scored! haha.... The mutton meat was marinated with their special spices. I could taste chili, cumin, and sesame seeds. The waitress came over to show us how to cook the lamb. Afterward, Wen's hubby was the chef of the day. Each skewer of mutton only took about a minute to cook. Wen's hubby did a really good job. Everything was just cooked perfectly. The mutton was DELICIOUS! The meat was tender and we loved the seasoning. If you still don't think it has enough seasoning, you have your own plate of seasoning powder to dip. We asked the waitress if they made their own special seasoning mixture and if they sell it. She told us it was imported from China directly.
There was a basket full of garlic and shallot on the table. We grilled a few. The grilled garlic and shallot went really well with the mutton.
For our choice of hot dish, since we all like intestine, and it is the most expensive item on the menu, naturally that was what we picked. It wasn't really sauteed with sweet and sour sauce. It was just some kind of yummy brown sauce. It was pretty good. We ordered a few bowls of rice and chowed down with grilled mutton kebab and intestine.
After we finished everything, little Jonathan was still a little hungry. So we got chicken wing. The chicken wing wasn't seasoned at all, and you only get the middle section of the wing. To charge $1.99 a piece for that, I thought it was overpriced. Roll the cooked wing in the magic seasoning powder, the wing instantly transformed into super yummy wing. I really want to know where I can buy the seasoning. Maybe I'll try a Chinese supermarket.
The meal for 5 people was about $85. The combo actually wasn't such a good deal. I calculated the price of the food we ordered. It came to about $62. So we merely saved $2 by ordering the combo. And we picked the most expensive drink and the most expensive hot dish on the menu. If you don't pick the most expensive item, the combo might cause more than ordering individual dishes. The mutton kebab was really really good. I'd come back again for more mutton.
My first taste of korean/northern-chinese food. Loved it!. I got the lamb skewers, green beans, and pan fried steamed buns.
the item that stood out most for me on the menu was the bull penis. i didn't have the heart to try it though.
the mutton was good! and you gotta peel and grill your own garlic. i also had some black sausage. i guess it's pretty similar to dinuguan but i still like dinuguan better.
service was eh. it was like i wasn't even there.
lamb, chicken, chicken hearts, bull penis, intestine, cilantro chicken thing, bell pepper with meat something dish, noodle stuff, and other stuff night.
yum.
the bull penis was actually pretty decent. chewy. :|
shut up.
i think my fav of the meats were the chicken hearts and the lamb.
try all the dry seasoning things. i like the one that wasnt red the most. i forgot what it was. oh well.
btw they have a small LCD tv there where we watched the WBC final. So yeah if u made plans to come here and realized that it falls during the same time as like the NBA finals, you should be good to go.
Do-it-yourself dining? You be the judge.
Have you ever been in a situation that you thought was a cool idea and it seemed OK in the moment however once it was over you said to yourself "What the @#LL was that?" Well, that's how my dining experience was at Fen Mao Mutton Kebab. Each table of four is equipped with a charcoal grill. Upon arriving we immediately were served boiled peanuts, Kimchi and pickled cucumber. It started out as a good concept but it died pretty fast. The kebabs came out within minutes starting with the mutton which, I have to admit were good. Then the meat kebabs came out but as we were cooking both they seemed to have the same taste. After a few minutes I couldn't tell one from the other. Next were the chicken wings along with the chicken kebabs that had no seasoning. The only flavoring they provided was the petri dish of Fen Mao spices. The Soungi Mushroom were plain and when grilled became cardboard like. I suspect it was because there was no kind of lubrication brushed on. Before I got there I was excited to read that there would be a basket full of garlic and shallots but the shallots were nowhere to be seen. I was able to grill the garlic which was really good. This is a great novelty place and the concept seems unique but don't let that fool you. Our clothes and hair wound up smelling like smoke and our table was a mess. The metal skewers were never picked up and there was no place to put them so they kept cluttering the table. Also, we had a party of 8 but in order for everyone to experience the D.I.Y grilling we had to split up in two tables because one side of the table was not fitted with a grill. I totally understand the D.I.Y kebab concept but at the very least the service should be excellent because we are not only the customers but also the chefs as well. It's not as if they have to worry about a busy kitchen in the back. We had to keep flagging down our server to refill the water and provide more napkins. From now on, if I have to cook my own meals, I'll do it at home and save the gas and mileage on the car. When I had read a review about Fen Mao Mutton kebabs I was excited and eager to try because I had never experienced cuisine from Jilin Province which borders the north-eastern part of China with Korea to the south and the Soviet Union to the east. After, my meal I can't say that I experienced anything unique. It tasted like any other kabobs that I've had in the past which really made it disappointing
I'm proud to be able to say I have now tried Bull's Penis. Only $2 for that barbecued schlong goodness! I went here for dinner last Mon with a big group of people, organized by Bora K. and with my friend Dave H. from Philly. I'm not an expert on Korean BBQ but I am always up for foodie adventures and this place sounded like fun. I'm glad Bora speaks the language too.
To start, the place is quite small and we had a group of about 10 so we had to put 2 of the longest tables together against the far wall. They have a quartet of little appetizers on the table when you sit down (I think they call them banh mi? Or maybe I'm making that name up- sorry, I'm not Korean). These included kimchi, some sour pickled veggies, kimchi radish or daikon (I think?), and boiled peanuts. I thought the boiled peanuts were kinda gross- I even tried it twice to be sure, but it was a no-go for me. The kimchi was good. The other two were just ok. We ordered tons of food by getting 2 of the largest Combo sets and adding other individual items. Basically, the food just kept on coming and I had to ask Bora what many things were as they were handed to me. We had so many skewers, the owner lady was grilling more of our meat for us on the empty grill behind us! I really liked the mutton skewers. I'm a a big fan of lamb anyway. I also got chicken hearts, after trying them at a Japanese izakaya last year, and they were chewy deliciousness! A big NO on the intestine skewers. I loved the stir-fried pork with cilantro dish that came with the combo- and I don't even like cilantro! We also had pork dumplings and the sauce that came with those was so good, I kept it for myself after the dumplings were gone so I could dip my meats in it. I was kinda wishing they had more seasonings or sauces for the meats. They give everyone their own little dish of spices to use but I like more variety! As for the infamous bull's penis, they are very tiny (sorry Mr. Bull), white/gray pieces of tough cartilage-like gristle. The little taste they had seemed similar to that of pork rinds- not that I eat those very often. The last item I tried was Korean blood sausage, and I was barely able to swallow one small piece. It's lots of congealed, seasoned blood mixed with rice and encased in an intestine casing. I was so full at that point and this was so foreign to me that I'm proud of myself for at least tasting it. Through all of this, Dave was also forcing me to do shots of the shoju that comes with the combo (peer pressure BAD!).
I was so stuffed at the end, but satisfied. Most of the food was yummy and I just enjoyed trying all the new and unusual dishes. I was really surprised by the bill- for all of us eating til the point of exhaustion, and with alcohol and gratuity, it only came out to $26 for each of us! The staff was very nice as well and the little Korean family next to us even sent over an extra bottle of shoju for our birthday girl in the group. Everyone in the restaurant was also absorbed in watching the World Championship baseball game on the TV overhead. My funny moment of awkwardness: as we were about the leave, I realized that the game that had been on behind me ALL NIGHT was Korea vs..... Japan (the enemy). LOL, oh well, at least I wasn't cheering or anything...
i'm a glutton for mutton.
after sampling all the other odd bits and penis.. oops, i mean pieces, the lamb is definitely the star of the show and what i would come back for. alternating pieces of succulent, mouth-wateringly tender lamb and lamb fat. for those lamb-shy, i wouldn't say the meat was gamy, but you won't mistaken it for anything other than lamb. and the seasoning of fennel seeds, cumin seeds, gochutgaru (korean red chili powder), and sesame is utterly addicting and complements the grilled meats perfectly. if you love lamb, this place is a must try.
they still have a "grand opening sign"
that means the place is korean. its a korean, mongolian, chinese restaurant.
their specialty? mutton. who eats mutton? hobbits and me.
the mutton was good. i also ordered soondae. chinese blood sausage. it was huge, home made, and kind of too big to be good. the mutton was delicious though and so was the dipping sauces.
they have raw garlic cloves to cook and eat with your mutton. i asked them for their combo if i can replace soju with something else. they said no one ever asked them that. buahaha.
i came here after my work out bootcamp. what's better after a work out than mutton? but if you don't have korean dining partners. its no joke. the quality of service you get at a korean place will drop by 30%. even at 100% the service is not good to begin with, so that makes it even worse. which is the 3 star rating.
EPIC!
I've never given a 4 star to a restaurant that doesn't have the "Whole Package!" But I must say Feng Mao has just raised the bar!!!
This place is small. Really small. But don't let it fool you! The food here whacks a punch n then some!
Came here after going to The Chaya's opening of their downtown location. Needed some down home food.
After waiting 10 minutes, we were seated, and the service staff(the owner, and two gals) were right on top of things! They were so damn attentive and friendly, it scared me!
So after suggestions, we ordered: The mutton kabobs, chicken kabobs, some chicken(wing) kabobs, Quail, some spicy hot noodle soup, and some sauteed napa, mushroom and onion dish. All fantastic!
Mutton: Epic. Great flavor. The spice mix(see below) accentuates the flavor.
Chicken(wings): Amazingly plain, but damn good! The quality of the chicken itself was good. Great with that spice mix.
Quail: Good. Typical. Deep, gamey flavor.
Sauteed napa n mushrooms: A real hit. Really helped cleanse n refresh the palate between courses. A definite must.
Spicy noodle soup: Big winner. A great way to wash down the meal. Not overly spicy, just right. And the noodles were about somen size, but chewier!
Spice mix: Don't let the looks fool ya! It really enhances the meat, and it's NOToverpowering at all! It really complements the meats, in moderation of course.
Service: They're great at facilitating cooking the meat, then allowing you to determine how much more you want it cooked afterwards. The mutton is great medium rare/medium.
Onions n Shallots: A condiment on the side you can skewer n grill to serve as an accompaniment.
Service Staff: All speak Korean, English and Mandarin. But the guy speaks Japanese as well!
4 stars because of amazing food, and outstanding service. No decor at all, but the above makes an exception for everything else!
I will be back. Again. And again!!!
If you're looking for authentic chinese food, this is the place to go. And no, as much as you don't want to accept it....chow mein and orange chicken is not real chinese food *gasp*!
My husband is a native to the Jillin provence in China and absolutely loved dinner here. It made him nostalgic for foods he grew up on and have not been able to find...even in Alhambra/SGV/Monterey Park area.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of lamb, livers. kidneys and bull's penis (yea, I said bulls penis!), so I stuck to the safer "entrees". If you are an adventurous eater or looking for authentic ethnic foods (the fear factor meal, if you will), the quality and flavors are good (so i'm told). The kebabs are cooked table top, so I had fun cooking and the hubby had a feast.
There are also some outstanding ratings of this establishment on http://chowhound.chow....
Good luck!
Just awesome food! The kebabs are mouth watering, very well flavored and come with a sort of dipping powder for added flavor! The staff is fantastic and helps out with the grilling. Don't forget the whole garlics!
They have a lot to park in, although you don't realize it until after parking....there is a sign near the entrance directing you to park in the Bank of America lot. Its a small place, so be prepared to wait over the weekends. Also, if you have a group of larger than 8, this place might not be the best bet. We tried the chicken, beef and lamb kebabs as well as a few of their entrees. The entree's were excellent, out of the kebabs, the lamb and beef were just excellent, very tender and spiced just right. The chicken was just strictly ok. Everything is priced pretty decently. Would highly recommend this place.
mutton
1 [muht-n]
-noun
the flesh of sheep, esp. full-grown or more mature sheep, used as food.
Origin:
1250-1300; ME moton sheep OF Celtic; cf. MIr molt, Welshmollt, Breton maout wether
Wiki says:
Mutton -- a female (ewe) or castrated male (wether) sheep having more than two permanent incisors in wear.
Pretty good skewers. (Although it does taste Mediterranean.) The combo B comes with 30 skewers, 1 dish, warm "spicy" noodles (ohn myun) and a bottle of soju ($59.99). Its supposed to feed 4 people but I felt like it wasn't enough for 3 guys (2 of them eat a lot a LOT!) and 1 girl who eats a lot. had to order 2 extra sides of skewers.
With 8 beers, 3 sojus, 2 extra sides of skewers the total was 133$ without tax.
The place is small. Maybe 40 people max. all accommodate like 4 people with 2 tables for 8.
Soju is 8.99 here and beer 5.99! this place is Korean Chinese.
The bad thing about the combo is that the kebabs are all one kind, mutton. They are good but I'd rather have variety. For the dish, we ordered the sweet and spicy shrimp (kkam poong shrimp) which was good. It was real crispy. A tad sweet though but one of the better ones that I've had.
The banchan is minimal but good. I like the spicy radish w cilantro.
The beef kebab ($11.99) is actually not that great. Kinda tough.
But the chicken gizzard is delish.
Bull's penis for $2.
we ordered the 10 piece mutton special, 1 order of quail, 2 orders of chicken wings, 2 orders of mushrooms, and 1 order of cold noodle. i had no idea mutton = lamb. it's such a fun word to say. mutton. mut-ton. mu-on....
ok anyways, the lamb was pretty good, but i can't say i'm a huge fan of the small cubes of fat they alternate w/the meat on the small skewers. i'd rather have all meat than meat-fat-meat-fat. the quail was alright, and the chicken wings were undercooked. my favorite dish of all was the thick pieces of mushroom. it was hard to bite into those ginormous pieces so i just gulped each entire piece one by one. the cold noodle were too chewy for my taste. i still think the BEST cold noodles can be found at "the corner place." all in all, it was good to experience a new place and try something different BUT i doubt we'll be back here again. i just feel REALLY bad for the waiters/waitresses who have to lean into awkward positions the entire time to constantly turn our skewers.
Try our Noodle Soup!
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