If you are in the L.A. area and are tired of eating the same Galbi and Samgyupsal at all the Korean restaurants, I have a treat in store for you.

SEOULTOWN TAPAS is a limited engagement event at BreadBar.

From Wednesday, February 24 – Saturday, May 1, 2010, BREADBAR, known for its artisanal hand-crafted breads and pastries, and luminary Chef Debbie Lee, a finalist on Food Network’s “The Next Food Network Star,” announce the debut of a new limited engagement guest chef event—“SeoulTown Tapas,” a modern take on Korean pub grub—exclusively at BREADBAR | West Third Street.

Pulling inspiration from her own heritage and Korean pop culture, Lee who was the opening guest chef of BREADBAR’s popular monthly Hatchi Guest Chef Series in June 2009, will tantalize tastebuds with a unique amalgam of “sool-jeep” (Korean drinking house or pub) small plates (starting at $8) soon to debut at her own forthcoming restaurant concept—a Korean-inspired pub—slated to open later this year in Los Angeles.

Christina Lee (of “Hi Krista”) and I (of Thursday Beauty Segments) were able to try out many of Debbie’s delicious dishes.

Christina had been on a fast and I had not eaten all day…. so please don’t judge us on the amount of food we ate.  We did it for all you Korean Beacon readers out there! 

Small Dishes: $4

* Korean Rice Cylinders, Maple Smoked Bacon, Jalapeno Ponzu:
This was one of my favorites. Take Dduk (Rice Cake), Wrap in Bacon, and Dip in sauce. 3 of my favorite things in one small dish.

* Chips and Dip, Curry Bean Hummus, Wonton Crostini: Much better than the typical Chips and Dip, the Curry Bean Hummus has tastes of Dwen Jang (Bean Paste) with a slight curry flavor mixed in.

Medium Dishes: $8
* Sesame Flatbread, Soy Braised Pork, Perilla Pesto, Chile Tomatoes:
This was a favorite of Christina’s and mine. A Korean pizza-like dish, the Perilla Pesto is actually pureed Kket Neep (Leaf ) with sweet pork and tomoatoes. We were impressed with the creative use of the Kket Neep and the flavors created a great combo of sweet, strong, and mild… all at the same time.
* Modern Mandu, Pork Rillette filling, King Oyster Jus:
These mandus were delicious. The King Oyster Jus added a special touch to the familiar taste of dumplings.

Large: $12
* Mama Lee’s Meatloaf, Ground Rib Eye, Soy Onion Demi, Crispy Shitake Mushrooms:
This was one of Christina’s favorite dishes. The Meat loaf reminded us of the Ddong Goo Lang Ddengs (Mini Korean Hamburger patties) with a mix of American style Meat Loaf.

X-Large: $16
* Slow Cooked Cod, Chile Scallion Sauce, Roasted Daikon, Mountain Rice:
Soft Cod with Ja Ggok Bap (Rice with Beans) and very soft Moo (Daikon Radish)

Dessert: $8
* Sesame Doughnuts, Chestnut Glaze:
This was a really interesting twist on a Korean dessert. The taste surprisingly reminded us of the Korean honey cookies (shaped like flowers) with a mix of Chestnut and Korean Rice Cake Filling (the grainy kind)
* Debbie’s signature Bacon Shortbread cookies, served with Pine Nut Pralines, Honey Tuiles, and Magnolia Pear Tea:
Small Bacon bits in a cookie? Sold. Christina loved the sweet and flavorful Magnolia Tea with small bits of Korean pear.

I would say that the best way to describe the menu for Seoul Tapas is the familiar tastes of Korean food you’ve grown up with, with an American twist.

I find that Debbie was successful at taking tastes that you’re familiar with, and using them in surprising, delicious, and innovative ways that will leave you with a full belly and a smile on your face.

Some of the dishes change every week, so make sure to take a look at the online menu and pop in before you miss out on the chance to taste some delicious Korean Food… with a twist.

* Chef’s Recommendations include Curry Bean Hummus, Mama Lee’s Meatloaf, Modern Mandu, and the Fried Chicken.

And when you stop by, tell them Irene and Christina sent you! =)

*~ Bon Appetit! ~*

-iRene

If you don’t know about the Kogi truck, then you’ve been living under a rock. Roy Choi and buds started humbly with a truck and an idea to cook and sell kogi tacos on the streets of LA. It’s taken the country by storm and it seems like everyone is trying to start-up a truck. Who would’ve thought that truck food could be so popular. It caused such a craze that now food trucks are covered for the first time by the new Zagat guide for 2010. We covered these guys back in January and who would’ve thought they would explode onto the food scene like they have. Walk down memory lane with a video from the Kogi guys on how it all started.

Starting today is the Los Angeles Korean Food Festival.  The sizzling sounds of bulgogi and kalbi are as sweet to the ears as they are to the senses, the smell of smoke and meat unmercifully drenching every strand of hair, article of clothing and inch of skin it touches. If you’re in the mood for a kimchi overdose, check out the 36th annual Los Angeles Korean Festival, a four-day event with more than 200 food booths, traditional performances, a wrestling contest, a photo exhibit, a crafts market and talent shows with special performances. Bring a Seoul-sized appetite and don’t forget extra money for banchan. Seoul International Park, 3250 San Marino St., L.A. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Thu. to Sun. Free. (213) 487-9696, www.lakoreanfestival.com.

K-Town Hotties is a funny video that was recently produced by Arowana Films and stars Danny Cho.  So what’s it like dating in LA’s K-town?  What do the girls look like?  Check it out below.  For more on Danny Cho, check out our interview from a few months ago at this link.

The Far East Movement is moving on up and getting even more mainstream.  They’ll be joining the king of hip hop, Jay-Z and many other hip hop artists on stage at the Honda Center in Anaheim for the Powerhouse 09 concert this Saturday night (August 8th).  We know what you’re thinking: a hip hop concert in Orange County?  You know the burbs love hip hop.  More importantly, it’s very cool that the Far East Movement, which is a Korean-American hip hop group is one of the featured acts alongside Flo Rida, Lil’ Jon, Sean Paul and other big names of hip hop.  Step by step, the Korean musicians are making it happen.  Is this as impressive as the Wonder Girls touring with the Jonas Brothers?  Check’em out this Saturday if you’re in the OC!

Source: Ningin

A lot of buzz this week about Saturday’s Korean BBQ Cook Off in Los Angeles.  If you live in Southern California, check out the first ever Korean BBQ competition.  You’ll get a chance to eat Korean BBQ from the best BBQ restaurants of K-Town.  Entrance is free and there will be various parking lots near the summit.

WHAT: Los Angeles’s first Korean BBQ Cook-off will showcase some of the best dishes by top Korean BBQ restaurants. Presented by the Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles (KAC), in partnership with Yelp, the Cook-off will be judged by distinguished judges who will present the prize for best the BBQ dish on Saturday, August 8, 2009.
• 5,000 participants expected for the event
• Ten restaurants are participating in the competition including Beverly Soon Tofu, Byul Dae Po (Star BBQ), Ham Ji Park, Jinju Galbi, Mu Dae Po, Park’s BBQ, So Hyang, and Soowon Galbi.

JUDGES:
• Jonathan Gold is a well-respected and longtime food critic for L.A. Weekly and Gourmet Magazine. In 2007, he became the first food critic to win the Pulitizer Prize.
• Russ Parsons is the Los Angeles Times food editor and columnist. He has been writing about food for 25 years and is the author of the cookbooks “How to Read a French Fry” and “How to Pick a Peach.”
• Evan Kleiman has been the host of Good Food on KCRW since 1998. A longtime restaurateur and owner of Angeli Caffe on Melrose, she was also the founder of Slow Food, Los Angeles.
• Emile Mack is the Administrative Operations Chief Deputy of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD).
• Jim McDonnell is the First Assistant Chief with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
• The Honorable Michelle Park Steel is a member of the California Board of Equalization.
• The Honorable Herb J. Wesson, Jr. serves as Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 10th District, which includes parts of Koreatown.

WHEN: Saturday, August 8, 2009 from 12:00 pm – 8:00 pm
• 2:00 pm – Eating contest with mystery ingredient
• 3:30 pm – Cooking demonstration “How to marinate Korean BBQ” by Monica Yang, resident chef at Good Samaritan Hospital
• 5:00 pm – Cook-off competition
• 6:30 pm – Awards ceremony

WHERE: Parking lot of the Summit on Sixth Building, 3223 W. Sixth St., Los Angeles 90010. The event is accessible through the Walgreens parking lot off of Vermont Ave. or Sixth St., as well as off of New Hampshire Ave.

EVENT DETAILS:
• The restaurants will sell dishes for $10-15/plate. (It’ll be worth it….it’ll be good quality meat)
• Other food booths will include (tentative list): shaved ice, drinks, grilled corn, and more.
• Barbecue categories will include LA galbi (marinated bone-in beef ribs), galbi (marinated boned-out beef ribs), pork ribs, bulgogi (marinated sliced sirloin), and grilled intestine barbecue.

SPONSORS: Yelp, AllKPop.com, California Country Club, the U.S. Census Bureau, The Chadwick Apartment Homes, The Mercury, Coors Brewing Co., Blue Moon Brewery Company, and the Good Samaritan Hospital.

About Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles (KAC)
The Korean American Coalition – Los Angeles (KAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1983 to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Korean American community. KAC endeavors to achieve these goals through education, community organizing, leadership development, and coalition-building with diverse communities.

About Yelp
Yelp (yelp.com) is a site that connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Yelp.com drew an audience of more than 22 million unique visitors in June 2009. Yelpers have written more than 6 million local reviews, making Yelp the fastest growing and deepest local source for real word of mouth info on everything from boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Small business owners can set up their free Yelp business account at http://biz.yelp.com.

Follow Korean Beacon on Facebook or Twitter.

Those guys at Kollaboration sure know how to have fun.  They not only know how to put on a show, but PK knows how to freestyle a bit.  Check him out and the others beatboxing and freestylin’.

What are you doing on the 4th of July?  If you’re in LA, you can go hear the pop sounds of fire crackers or you can go hear some Kpop at the Ford Theater with a special appearance by Shin Hae Chul and N.E.X.T.  For those infatuated with Se7en, SNSD and the Wonder Girls, Shin Hae Chul was Kpop before a lot of these current artists.

“It’s in Koreatown.  And these amazingly strong Korean women, scrub you down.”  Eva Mendes was on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and she revealed one of her favorite spots to go in LA and that’s to a spa in Koreatown.  Really?!  The way Eva described it was so heavenly to her and very cleansing.  Perhaps even cathartic.  It was obvious that Ms. Mendes loves this place because she couldn’t stop talking about it with Conan O’Brien. Where is this place in Koreatown?  If anyone knows, please send us the info so we can take the staff down to Koreatown for a nice scrub down.

Freeze!  Put your hands up!  How many Korean-American women are both a cop and a veteran of the Iraq war?  Don’t know exactly the number but there’s Julie Sohn who’s an officer of the LAPD.   What’s strange is that she grew up in the white suburbs of Orange County and is now patroling the streets of Koreatown in Los Angeles.  She certainly pursued the road less traveled, especially for a Korean-American female from the ‘burbs.  NPR found her story to be fascinating that they did a quick feature on her non-traditional path for an immigrant child.  For the full story, go to NPR>