On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Mon-Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Loading...
The best sam-gyup-sal (grilled korean pork bellies) I've ever had in the US, and it ties to my fav. sam-gyup-sal place i had in Korea as well! this place is sooo good! I was worried at first cuz I took my korean friend w/me who's a foodie. Well, after the first bite, those worries were gone. The word from my korean friend was "even in Korea, it's hard to find a sam-gyup-sal at this level! This is by far the best korean I had since I came to the US." Do I need to explain more?
The ssam gyup sal experience we had at this place was fantastic -- the only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is because I thought that the pork meat could have been a bit more tender. If a place is specializing in pork belly, shouldn't they have the absolute best meat possible?
I found the place to be really friendly and laid back, like the other reviewers have said. If you're not familiar with the whole ssam gyup sal process, this place is really great. The lady who runs the place basically circles around and puts stuff on the grill for you, but she doesn't micromanage in the way some places do.
After you're finished eating the pork, for just a dollar or two more, you can order bibimbap and put it on the grill. We saw other tables doing that & it looked deeelicous -- the only thing was, we were too full to order it! Sad!
One thing that's nice is they didn't avoid putting the kimchi and garlic on the grill, just because there was a white person at the table. They threw it all on, which is how it should be. Pork fat makes everything taste good.
They didn't give us a little dish of sesame oil with salt in it -- just the soybean paste. I missed that -- but maybe it's not standard?
That said, I suspect that if you have your first ssam gyup sal experience here, every other place in nyc will disappoint you.
I gave one star because the food wasn't bad tasting but I did not feel this place as special as everyone says it is here. I've eaten at other Korean BBQ places where it taste the same and they don't charge extra for making the rice. Here they charge $1.99 so it's not part of the service.
So as i said, nothing special about this place, the place is small and uncomfortable and it was so hot inside that i couldn't enjoy the food as much. Well we ate the pork and also had the tripe. When I got home after about an hour I was so gassy that I thought I was going to die. I took an Alika seltzer than a gas x and after about 2 hours i was finally able to fall asleep but still very uncomfortably. Now I'm writing this review and I'm not feeling well this morning. I feel sort of like vomiting right now and i feel like somebody is yanking at my insides right now.
I don't think I'll go back here ever and for those of you who like pork you should try Ham ji bat. I think they are a thousand times better and definitely fresher. I always thought that i had a stomach of steel since my taste buds are eclectic and i could just about eat anything and I've never gotten food poisoning and I don't think i got food poisoning but did I have a miserable night and the feeling is still lingering as we speak.
I really didn't want to write a review, but I need to complain. Don't get me wrong, the pork is ridiculously good, definately to my liking. BUT... here's the story.
I figure I try this place out because I'm always next door drinking $2.99 soju. I'm not a flushing person (grew up here, but never move back), and it's because of these places I refrain from dining in FLushing. I begged my mom to come with me, but now I regret it. It was just the two of us in the restaurant, but the man in the front didn't even acknowledge us. I know the Korean way is to barge in and sit at any table without saying anything, but I have a little more respect. I asked him if lunch was still going on and he didn't even answer. We ordered one pork, and one duck. My mom has a crazy sharp nose and she said the pork smelled a little weird, so I ate most of the pork while she ate the duck.
Yesterday: I was FB-ing and then all of a sudden, my body started to itch like crazy with some burning sensation! My arms, my legs, and my belly. As I am getting older, I feel as if my body is telling me not to eat certain foods and that I was allergic to something I ate. But I ate another meal after flushing, so thought it was from that place and the itching went away after a couple of hours.
Today: My dad calls and asks me if I ate with mom a couple of days ago. She had to rush to the hospital today from the same symptoms, but more severe with a stomachache. So, instead of calling the health department like a normal human being, I had someone call the restaurant for me because my korean isn't that great. I was told the woman on the phone didn't really apologize and kept arguing that they use the freshest meat out there. She also thought it was a prank call. I have a life! I don't go around prank calling korean restaurants. She just kept saying they use the best meat so there is no way we could've gotten sick. Lady, it wasn't even just one person, it happened to both of us. I can't believe I didn't even get a proper apology. I've worked in restaurant so I felt I had at least the slightest decency to call them and let them know instead of calling the health department. All I wanted was to let them know, but all I got was "but our meat is fresh". You might think you get fresh meat, but sometimes vendors are the ones that screw up.
Thank goodness my mom is safely back home with some medication. This is one in many reasons why I hate dining in flushing k-town. Such a different world from manhattan. and $18.95 is a tad bit expensive for flushing bbq, for only 2 strips. for just $2 more, i get another strip of pork in manhattan. I hope they fix their attitude towards customers complaints and make sure they really get their meat from licensed vendors. I don't want anything like this happen to anyone else.... STAY AWAY FROM THE DUCK!!!
took my korean wife and son there last night after reading reviews on yelp. Have been eating Korean food in flushing, manhattan and home, miller place LI out past Port Jefferson for the last 20 years. One of the other reviews stated that it was a GEM! I agree!!! Anthony Bordain should go there for a meal. It was GREAT and just what I had hoped for. The Pork grilled on the domed cooker was grilled to perfection and OH SO GOOD! Add in the Kimchi large slices of garlic, bean sprouts, radish on the side with dipping sauces for the wraps that you make are just TOO YUMMY! Don,t forget the soju. For many years my favorite was the Spicy Squid, O Jing O Bokum, forgive the spelling, but after last night I now have 2 favorites. The fact that they serve up the rice cooked on the grill with pork juice, kimchi and what ever is left over and then sprinkle crushed seaweed over it is such a great end to the meal. Did I mention the SOJU? I really like the idea of a very small speciality resteraunt, spartan to be sure, but that is an indication that the focus in on the food and there is no dissapointment there. We were there around 530pm and were the only customers. The service was excellent, and yes, the Mexicans waitstaff there (2) spoke fluent Korean. My wife who left Korea when she was 30 has not had it so good in the 27 years here in US. It is fair to say that after eating at likely no less than 3 dozen Korean Resteraunts in the tri-state area, this was hands down the best Korean food we have had the pleasure of sinking our teeth into. Our bi-weekly trips to flushing to shop for Korean food etc for O-MAH which ALLWAYS included eating out will now have a new stop, and it is right down the street from the market. Very highly recommend this Resteraunt, no dissapointments!!
It is a pork orgy! Pork intestines! Pork belly! Kimchi cooked in pork! Rice cooked in pork!
Well, go if you REALLY like pork because you won't find anything else on the limited menu.
The waitstaff is extraordinarily friendly. The ladies there really try to make you feel welcome and at home. This is one of my favorite spots in all of NYC.
It is a bit out of the way but, its also directly off the train platform so, not too difficult either. Alternately, 7 train to Q28 is pretty convenient too.
Okay, $40 bucks, you get four strips of thick pork belly. I can't stress this fact about the prices of Korean BBQ. I mean it's pricey generally, but if you're looking for cheap Korean BBQ, you won't find the quality.
This place specializes in pork belly. They can advertise how they want on how they differ from the rest because they use fermented soybean paste as marinade, but personally, I don't taste the difference.
BUT!
This place has simplicity. They don't have fancy, tacky decor of any kind. They don't sell any beef. They sell pork and they do it with much simplicity and offer a lot of stuff for $40 bucks. They're open late, and they offer alcohol. The best part? Korean speaking Latinas!!!
I recommend: Sesame oil sauce. I hate the new styles they come up with i.e. special sauce or other variants to eat Korean BBQ. Stick to the sesame oil sauce.
Cons: Not kosher.
The FOOD:
THEY SERVE NAENG-MYUN IN A BOWL MADE FROM A HUGE CHUNK OF ICE!!!!! SO COOL!!!! I am Korean, and I have been to Korea, and I've never heard of such a thing before my friend told me about this place.
Samgyupsal is VERY GOOD!
People come here for these two things: the samgyupsal and the naengmyun.
The Decor/Ambiance:
Layout is COOL... feel like I'm back in KOREA!!!
The Service:
Service is half self-serve like in Korea.
So, the hispanic waitress who speaks korean some-what fluently and very little english that someone wrote about... TRUE STORY.
Miscellaneous:
So, I read in one of the reviews, the author put it under the "Bad" category, that they don't serve rice! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Are you serious? Samgyupsal Restaurant that doesn't serve rice???? There even is a picture uploaded that visibly shows rice.
* * * * *
ONLY COMPLAINT is that the place is on the small side. What's going to happen when this place becomes really famous and popular? UGHHH... don't even want to think about it.
My boyfriend was craving Korean BBQ and I'd never had it before so we turned to Yelp and then trekked all the way out to Depot Street. Thanks so much to the Yelpers who provided the correct directions, otherwise we would have never found it.
Boy and I both felt like $18 was a bit over priced, but he loved the food and I liked it. I found watching them cook everything on the table really interesting, though initially I turned to my guy and said, "You brought me out for a dinner of bacon? Seriously?"
Korean BBQ isn't going to wind up on my top ten list but it was a tasty new treat.
Hilariously enough, my Spanish fluency served us quite well, and the Mexican waitress was very sweet.
One interesting note: it seems like the menu in Korean is much longer than the one in English. What are they hiding? I love a good mystery...
Very very surprised to see a yelp sticker in the window! hahah
Actually, I'm very surprised the very very korean place has been discovered at all..
Amazing sangyupsal~ Probably the best I've had outside of a home~
Cool service, particularly entertaining is the latin-american waitress there who speaks fluent korean but little-to-no english
And this is a rare place that has got better with time~
Highly recommended!
the bad - the neng myun is terrible, although it comes in an ice bowl (i'm pretty grossed out thinking they most likely re use them and can't really wash them with dish washing soap).
the worse - the mexican women who work here who speak korean to me while i speak spanish to them. it just doesn't work out. stop talking to me in korean! my spanish is better than your korean!
the ugly - tables are WAY too small. i always lack room when coming here with people and have to put my cup of water and sahm on the side small table/chair. it is annoying.
the reason i still come here - hands down the best sam gyub sal in flushing. also the fried rice they make at the end with the kimchi. omg to die for. that's it i'm going this weekend!!!
Wonderful samgyupsal (Korean grilled bacon) done right! The key is the dome shaped grill. Your juicy slices of bacon are placed at the top, and then kimchi, beansprouts, and garlic are placed along the sides. As the bacon gets hot, the delicious, delicious bacon juices starts to flow out and into all of the vegetables, infusing them with deliciousness as well.
Better yet, it's located right next to the Broadway LIRR station, so if you're hardcore about your Korean food, you can take the LIRR straight here from Manhattan.
MJ's Star : 3
Price : Samgyusal(Korean grilled pork) $18.99
I will absolutely 110% marry a Korean lady.
Amazing SAMGYUP SAL (3 layered Pork) prepared by the owner lady.
Thanks goes to Jen, Euge and Chris H (NY) for their reviews of this place, we were not let down. It was worth the drive to this place and worth every penny spent. We spent $76 for 3 (tax and tip included, 18.99 each before t/t) and I cannot remember the last time I was in Korean Heaven (I lied, I can recall ;-)
The owner lady was too nice, she was just glad to see a Korean man with a Turban. She cooked the Sam Gyup Sal and showed us how to eat it the right way. They replenished everything on the table and we enjoyed every minute of the whole experience. The wait staff was very helpful and they even got me a bunch of Ice after I burned 3 of my fingers (my fault, I was distracted by the food).
Recommend: Yea
Romantic: Yea
Will I go back: Hell Yea
Kimchi: 5 STARS
This is a hidden GEM in flushing......had I bought the Co-op down the street on 168th......I would have been eating here free for LIFE!!!
HOW ????????????
Gur E. would have married the lady serving us and I GUESS she owns the joint... That's how...
Anyways I have eaten my fair share of korean food... and by far this was one of the best experiences I have had...
NO FUCKING MENU !!!!
Korean lady after seating asks us "PORK?"
Gur E.: yes...
Thats it....we ate and ate and ate ... felt like a never ending meal... and it was good...funny thing we had no clue how much this whole meal would cost cause we never asked nor did she mention .. All sorts of ideas/scenarios were coming in our head...I was like what if she gave us a bill for $300 bucks...( good time) anyways the tab was $70 and change for 3.. money well spent...I will definitely go back again...
BHABHIJI here I come !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I came here after reading the ecstatic reviews on yelp, and I wasn't disappointed. The food is good, albeit a little pricey.
Neither my dinner partner nor I are Korean, but we managed to order the right thing without too much trouble (me: can we get the um.. *vague hand gestures* waitress: ohh pork? me: yes yes!) It was definitely an adventure eating here (I had the sizzling oil treatment!) A lot of fun. Probably more fun with a group..
I have no idea how Korean women manage to eat sam gyup sal elegantly.. I'm a huge pansy so taking STILL SIZZLING pork off the grill and wrapping it in lettuce to immediately shove in my mouth is PAINFUL and involves lots of stupid facial expressions!! But yes, I am a pansy and even kimchi hurts me :(
If you're in the neighborhood and looking for a different and tasty experience, try it!!
oh and definitely get the rice at the end. it's only $2 more and soooo good
Compelled by Jen D's and Euge L's reviews, two Manhattanites journeyed to this dining destination, despite the numerous distractions in Flushing. Flushing, God Bless it, does an amazing job of keeping it real. Restaurants tend to focus on one thing, whether it be mondoo, hand cut noodles or in this case, pork belly, and they do it well. Tong Sam Gyup Goo ee, at first glance, is a fairly innocuous looking restaurant, in a neighborhood full of similar restaurants.
The dining room is completely plain Jane, simple, unadorned and exists simply for the utility of serving food. However, sit down at one of the 9 or 10 circular tables, each completed with a simple conical flame fed metal grill, and you're in for a completely new epicurean adventure.
I must admit, the cheery looking cartoon pig which adorns the front signage of the restaurant, reminiscent of a certain Warner Brothers character is off-putting at first. I had a internal moral struggle of eating the cartoon proprietor of the restaurant. This was quickly settled by the delicious smell of frying pork fat, and an internal dialogue that went something like this:
Chris 1: "Dude, that pig looks like, so happy to be alive. We can't possibly eat him..."
Chris 2: "Don't be a frickin' granola head, it's a cartoon character; completely fictional. Anyways that's like shedding a tear over Bambi's Mom. She had it coming to her... Darwin failed her survival instincts."
The other struggle, was with communication with the restaurant staff. Despite being Korean, my command of the language is seriously lacking. There was no English menu, and the wait staff did not understand but the simplest English words. Heck, our pidgin Spanish skills served us better than our non-existant Korean lingual abilities.
After pointing at a neighbor's table, a pleading look, and a Neanderthal like grunt, the waitress understood our plea. Our tenacity was rewarded with a variety of items on the conical metal grill in front of us; 4 HUGE thick cut slabs of pork belly, kimchi, garlic cloves and bean sprouts. Each of these items are grilled to perfection, and then placed inside a pocket (Ssams) of lettuce, topped with sesame oil, kimchi'd garlic sprouts, marinated hot peppers, miso paste and a single pepper corn. Each ssam was just fucking perfect. Words can't even describe.
Groaning from the sheer volume of delicious food and soju, we were greeted at the end of the meal with a generous spoonful of sesame oil doused rice, which was placed on top of the still hot metal cone. Dressed with strips of nori, it soaked up the rest of the pork fat, and turned into a crispy, savory night cap. Utterly and completely delicious.
I take pride in my food snobbery. I love my foie gras, my uni, my truffles, and my beluga caviar. But I can say without a shred of doubt that this meal, low brow, unpretentious and utterly gourmand, was one of the best I'll ever have.
**Note - I previously posted this review under Myung Sam, which i learned was the wrong restaurant. This is the proper restaurant***
***
(\____/)
/ @__@ \
( (oo) )
` - . ~~ .- '
/ \
@/ \_
(/ / \ \)
WW`----'WW
i was a Sam Gyup Sal virgin before coming to this place. i didn't even really like pork all that much until I ate here... upon entering, you see about 8 round metal tables with grills in the middle and stools set around... on the walls are menu items written in korean on strips of paper...
you are greeted by very smiley, plump korean ahjoomahs and are ushered to a table.. you are given a menu written competely in korean... what's on the menu?? various forms of sam gyup sal and some soups. *note - they do not have an English menu*
what's sam gyup sal you ask? well, it's about the best fuckin piece of pork you'll ever put in your mouth. basically, it's the korean version of bacon, but much, much thicker...
so we ordered a few orders of sam gyup sal and a few bottles of soju... the smiling ahjoomah brings out this grill that is shaped kinda like a cone and turns on the heat... shortly after, the panchan and bottles of soju arrive... two hits of the bottom of the soju bottle to my elbow and *crrrrraaaaaccccckkkk* goes the lid... shots are poured.... shots are consumed... little did I know that pure edible bliss was on its way to our table...
a few minutes later smiling ahjoomah is back with a huge plate of thick slices of samgyupsal.... she throws them on the cone shaped grill and *tssssSssssSSSsss*... ah... the sizzling sound of meat on the grill.... she grills the huge slices of meat, cuts them up into pieces and distributes them among me and my friends... a little dip into the sesame oil with salt an pepper and pop it in my mouth... she also puts kimchi, bean sprouts and huge slices of garlic on the grill... drooool...
what is this sensation?? this juicy... morsel that i taste... it's unbelieveable... it's fuckin delicious... FULICIOUS..... my tastebuds are dancing... they are humping each other... oh glorious day...
so my friends and i kill that platter of samgyupsal and a bowl of dwenjang jjigae... plenty of soju... the little bits of leftover pork and pork fat are sitting on the grill and the grill is covered in grease... we just sitting there... feelin fuckin nice.... smiling ahjoomah comes over with a big plate of rice and kimchi... i ask my friend.. what she doin? we all stare in amazement...
she comes... dumps the rice and cut up kimchi on the grill... turns up the heat and starts to mix it up.... mixing the rice with the leftover pork bits and fat and the kimchi.... again... staring... amazement...
i couldn't hold it in any longer.... i yell out to ahjoomah... AHJOOMAH!!! SA RANG HAE YO!!! while making fobby heart signs with my hands....
she walks away giggling... then... AHJOOMAH!! SOJU HANA JOO SEH YO!!!
that's right... this fuckin roundeye likes samgyupsal... and this fuckin roundeye likes soju...
i will never be the same after this experience...
***Edit***
I came here again recently. The food was still soooooooo good and the ahjoomah was so nice. Seriously, I wanted to bring her home with me. AND, she made my first ssam (lettuce with stuff in the middle) at the beginning of dinner. My dining companion was happier than a fat kid in a candy store. Great dinner indeed.
have not been yet but went onto google maps to locate this sucker and found it below... it's literally in front of the train station... now the only thing left to do is go and load up on some sam gyub sal goodness...
http://tiny.cc/E3PtH
When I first read reviews of "Tong Sam Gyup Goo Ee" I was so excited, that I had to try it. It took me 3 attempts to find it.
The Good:
+ Ssam gyup sal. Pork belly. This may be the mecca in terms of size and quality of the slabs. It is delicious. See photos!
+ the table grill. It is perfect for cooking the pork because it is angled for the grease to drip down.
+ The crowd. Don't be surprised if you see locals. Or if everyone is Korean. This is a good sign.
+ When the restaurant is empty, the 'ajumah' (aka your server) will teach you how to build a ssam. Hell, she might even make it for you. Lettuce, pork, bean sprouts, garlic, kimchi, peppers, bean paste. It's a New Year's Eve party in your mouth.
+ Naeng Myun. Wow it's delicious. I will even say "YUMMO" and risk being slapped by Rachael Ray and all of her 3 fans.
+ Fried bibimbap at the end (ask for it) is a nice treat. Make sure to get the seaweed sprinkled on top.
+ The diminutive Mexican lady who speaks Korean is the cutest thing ever.
The Bad:
- It's a small shop, with 10 tables, yet I don't ever see more than 8 tables used/served.
- Limited beer selection. At times, Coors Light only. Thank goodness they have soju too.
- Parking can be painful to find in that area.
- Menu is limited, located on the wall and is transcribed only in Korean. I wanted a kimchi jigae, but they only serve that at lunch.
- Since I am the seasoned BBQ eater, it is weird not eating the pork with rice. They don't give you rice (at the time of the pork being cooked) and it is weird to get adjusted.
- When crowded expect spotty service. I had to get drinks (the fridge in the front) by myself, which is a little annoying. There is a resource/staffing issue I guess (not operating efficiently).
- The dining experience gives off a fast food feeling.
The Ugly:
-- the google masher map on Yelp does not locate the restaurant accurately. It is on Depot Road, in between 163rd Street and 164th Street across the street from the LIRR Broadway stop.
-- fair warning: If you are a practicing Muslim or vegetarian do not come here. You can't be satisfied here. If there was a sitcom to describe "Tong Sam Gyup Goo Ee" it would be "Everybody Loves Pork."
Overall it is a great niche restaurant and a must try for pork lovers. I will go again.
Here is your Moment of Zen: Do the three little pigs miss the big bad wolf now?
Dinner
time! Ooh, I found myself a trough right
Hop in front of me. nom, nom, nom.
on the | I should have
grill ^oo^ , ------. gone on a diet.
boys! ! ( . . ) ) )& |
| ^++^, ---------` . ` | ) ( ) |
0__, .O. ( . . ) ) )&( ^ . . ^ , --------.
| . ' ' . ` -- ' . | ) _ ( ) ( . . ) ) )&
| . ' ' . | ( ) ) ` -- ' | ) _ ( )
[ _____________ ] | ( ) )
IFHTP 3+
first off thanks so much for the people who gave us the correct directions to this place as we would have never found it otherwise... fyi its on depot street between 162 and 163 NOT 159 as the yelp google map shows!!!
so yeah no sign in english watsoever... only clue this place is right is indeed the porky pig pictures in front!
come on in, sit down and begin the feast... look around you its all grown up koreans drinking soju and loud and happily talking over this dome grill... i'm used to flat grills at huge slices of pork belly but this one was diff...
yes first the lady owner comes out and asks pork? 2? but we wanted to be adventurous and said 1 pork 1 intestines! they misunderstood us at first thinkin we only wanted intestines but i quickly told the hispanic lady who also spoke korean that we wanted pork too! so in the went to get the grill! and out came the slabs of pork belly... 2 slabs of pork belly for 20 bucks... a tad pricey i think... but it was an experience... so they grill, then they throw on there bean sprouts, then kim chi, and then u enjoy!
on the same grill with the pork came the intestines... small tubular shape and all... try it if u dare... i thought this was more well flavored than the pork... i thought the pork was actually a lil lacking in flavor and weak in quality compared to ham ji bak... everything is wrappable in lettuce leaves with kimchi scallions, sour radishes, some diff sauces to choose from...
so yeah this place is good for groups on a lazy nite that just wanna come eat and drink and break lots of glasses but have it be ok cuz the owner is like a nice korean mom that enjoys it when her customers are having a good time!! don't expect to be able to order anything else but pork or intestines... there seems to be more options on the korean menu but unfortunatley i can't read korean... and cuz of the language barrier i didn't get to get my bibimbap!!! boooo
For what it is, this place is really great. Of course, you can only get one thing here, Pork!!!! At least thats what I think, as everything was written in Korean. But the cartoon pigs everywhere pretty much confirmed my thoughts. Nonetheless the authenticity, the great service and just the amazing bibimpappish concoction (the sweet waitress was nice enough to throw an egg in there for good measure) they throw on the cast iron plate after eating oodles of Sam Gyup Sal make this a great adventure out to Murray Hill. I will have to go back, perhaps the next time I head out to Shea........
it might be a little known secret, but euge likes to eat.
ask the people that see him in the day time (yes he is a day walker).
you see, the person, the euge, taken outside his natural environment of the local pub, bar, pochangmacha, whatever you would like to call it is a timid, shy, quiet creature.
he tends to find comfort in other things you normally would not see him enjoying in his natural environment, namely food.
apparently, sam gyup is his favorite alternative to drinking.
--------
ok fine, so sure this place doesnt serve kurobota pork belly this, not sure if the prok is sustainably raised or, shit i dont think there was even anything in english besides HITE and OB in this place, but everything is pretty authentic.... a korean sam gyup sal joint. thats its selling point. a genuine korean sam gyup sal place.
the lovely jen brought me here, man shes the smart, she knows what i like.
when i see oil drums converted into tables, im all smiles.
when i see that they use the kama sot lid to cook with? im about to marry this girl.
*kama sot is a traditional korean "pot" they tend to be HUGE. they were also the only cooking "pot" found in a traditional old school korean kitchen. these days you hardly see them used for cooking other than the lid to cook sam gyup sal. you might also see a smaller version to use counter top to cook rice. i actually have one to cook rice, but i digress*
yeah so im all in love now and the owner lady sits us down.
now this will only be funny if you met the lovely lady jen and the, well, the euge.
we are sitting down, the owner walks over. shes looking towards me, well cause men usually order *grunt scratch spit * and well, i look korean, jens a little bit korean.
im trying to read the menu on the wall......
deeaaaa deaaaaannnnng deanggg jjjaannn jjannnng
jen: its ok hunny, its says, deang jjang chigae, hook dwaegi sam gyup sal, ooh gyup sal.......
the owner : *eye open up big, makes a wtf face*
jen ; * continues to read the menu to me *
me : *in korean* yeah thats what we will have, some black pork belly, some soju and some beers!! *yep me man!!!!*
yes, im pretty illiterate, pretty sad considering im a decendant of the guy who invented the korean alphabet, but yeah whatever.
the food. OH GOD THE FOOD. i havent had sam gyup sal like this since i was in korea. in fact, this place BEATS many places i ate in korea.
i mean, the lady knows what shes doing. grilling kimchee..... making the sam gyup sal pieces just thick enough to make a carmelized crust but still nice a soft and juicy inside....
i had to call her on one thing. why is there whole peppercorns.... she said wait, she wraps up a perfectly cooked piece of pork belly heaven in some grilled kimchee, adds a dab of seasame oil and carefully places a "cooked" piece of peppercorn.....
wait for it.....sweet, meaty, fatty, savory.... and BOOM peppery oil on all this at once.
yum
thanks you lady for opening up THE BEST SAMGYUP SAL place i have ever tried in the united states. without a single doubt, i can say this.
thank you jen for bringing me here and reading the menu to me so i can order like a man.
*grunt scratch spit*
Went there last night with a colleague. Got there before 7 and we were the only customers. Love the BBQ set up. Totally something you would find in Korea. Don't expect lots of banchan like other Korean restaurants. She and I got down to business and ate some sam gyup sal which was totally good. The owner was very nice and totally hooked me up with my take out for my hubby who missed out on the action. The fried rice at the end was nice as well. Try the nang myon. It's so damn good! I am still full from yesterday. It was a definitely worth while trip from the city. I am definitely going back with more friends so I can sit at the big table. You will see what I mean if you go there.
Based off a tip from chowhound, I decided to try "Tong Sam Gyup Gui" Restaurant (the name is only written in korean) and in english it says "N.Y. D.D.M. Migliore Restaurant" (i have no idea how they got that name).
The address is 162-23 Depot Rd. (Depot Rd. is on the left if you're heading north on Northern), the google map is wrong and it's actually off Northern on Depot Rd. between 162nd and 163rd not 159th. Luckily, it's literally directly next to the Broadway LIRR stop (very easy for Manhattan commuters).
Anyhow, it's a tiny restaurant with maybe 10 tables each of which have a half bubble shaped skillet type grill in the middle of each table. Not much decor wise, but was fine by me b/c i knew right when I walked in that I just found a gem. We walked in and weird as it may seem the waitress was mexican, who spoke korean!?!? Very weird, but i thought it was cool.
They've got a very short menu, which mainly consists of sam gyup sal (pork belly - house specialty), daeji bulgogi (spicy pork) and beef intestines in house special sauce. I think there is another small menu with a few chigaes and naeng myun on it. Any which way there was only one thing I planned on ordering...SAM GYUP SAL!! (I tried to get the beef intestines by my GF and friends vetoed me...aghh next time). I love specialist restaurants and this restaurant reminded me of korea where there are great specialist restaurants all over the place.
So onto the important thing. The food was awesome, here's what we ordered:
- Soup: they start you off with a delicious soup on the house, its slightly spicy, but not tangy like most korean soups and has kong na mul (bean sprouts) and pieces of radish in it. It's not too salty, has great flavor and is very tasty. Great start to the meal.
- Sam gyup sal: first they turn on the heat the grill then the waitress lays down the slices of pork belly vertically in a row on the grill (see the pic). She then puts down kimchi and kong na mul (bean sprouts) on the two sides where the pork isn't layed down. The grill is hottest at top and gets cooler on the sides. She then continues to rotate the pork from hottest to coolest until the pork is all cooked, then she cuts it up. You eat it with with the bean sprouts, kimchi and your choice of two sauces (one is sort of like tonkatsu sauce and the other is tenjang sauce). I put it in the lettuce to makes wraps (sooo good). They also give you a spicy green pepper panchan, which i ended up putting in the wrap as well (very good).
- Bi bim bap: at the end of the meal, they asked us if we wanted the bi bim bap for an add'l ($1.99). She then brings out a big bowl where they have already pre-mixed the bi bim bap, put it on the grill and mix it with the kong na mul (bean sprouts) and kimchi that are left over (make sure to leave some on the grill). This is delicious and tastes similar to dol sot bi bim bap (stone pot bi bim bap). Excellent.
Overall, we all loved it and plan on coming back very soon (very glad its next to the LIRR station). Next time, I plan on pretending to be one of the old korean ageshis (old men) sitting in the restaurant who hang out for a long time, eat delicious food and get drunk. Highly recommend, this is the by far the best sam gyup sal i have had in NY and one of the best korean finds I've been lucky enough to find in NY.
Neighborhood: Auburndale
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Murray Hill
Category: Korean
Neighborhood: Downtown Flushing
Category: Korean
Do as the Koreans! This is my list of my favorite…
My feeble attempt to make my verbose reviews more…
NY Mag, The New York Times and other major pub's…
