ktowning w/ E2
march 12, 2005
in honor of celebrating my belated birthday, E invited me to dinner over in Ktown (korean bbq over charcoal grills of course) and then to do some drinking at Cafe Bleu afterwards. it's funny how Ktown always makes me feel young again. perhaps it's my association with this place during my formative (read: 20's) years that keeps me youthful whenever i visit. it's a throwback in time. of course the old places are no longer there but just being the area with the signs, the lights, the people - brings it all back. the best part about visiting Ktown now that i'm 35 is that i no longer have to go to those jam packed clubs and endure those things called "bookings" and the entire meat market vibe. instead, it's just time well spent with friends chatting and drinking and in our case tonight, playing texas hold 'em and big 2.
E introduced me to a couple of new friends as well, Joni & G and over a hot and spicy dish of na-bok-ki (ramen and rice cake) dish, we drank plenty of newcastles - which has got to be one of the best beers i've ever had. damn.
if this wasn't so flash burned, it would be a good ad for newcastle beer.
this was the first time i've ever played texas hold 'em and i think i know the concept now. it's the betting part that really throws me off. i also taught them how to play big 2 but that involves so much more strategy and thinking that with so many beers in us, it's easier to not deal with that.
E & G checking out the flop.
E and i shared a lot of discussions over kung fu tonight. since he knows wing chun, we were exchanging moves, our class curriculum and what we have learned so far. i only taught him one little thing from my JKD class and i also showed him some of the "weapons" i use in class for practice. we both agreed that there's just something about learning martial arts and the discipline in personality, body and mind that comes with it. and of course how much taller you end up walking because of the knowledge you have - and for my enormous 5' tall stature, that's a big thing. :p i'm glad i didn't piss E off tonight or else we would have had to take the duel out to the parking lot. i'm not laughing though as he would have kicked my ass really really badly.
Cafe Bleu
3470 west 6th street #88
los angeles, ca 90020
213.383.0180
^ address and phone # in photo (call me lazy)
i know i'm writing the course of this night's events backwards but we went to have dinner at Soowon Galbi on Vermont before heading to Cafe Bleu. we initially were planning to go to another charcoal BBQ place but the placed was closed! so he took me to his second choice, which was Soowon.
maybe it's just me but the food in Ktown is SOOOOOOO much better than any other korean place in LA. needless to say that everything is authentic but the big thing is that the kim chi and the panchan are amazing. you can tell so much about how the food is going to be by the taste of their kim chi & their panchan. if those two don't blow your mind, then don't expect the rest of their food to be anything good. but Soowon's kimchi rocked the house.
we went straight up for the good ole wang kalbi (marinated short ribs) and they were so tender and juicy after being cooked to perfection on the charcoal grill. i loved that this place also gave you the duk to wrap the meat in and after creating my own little wrapper of kalbi, jalapeno peppers, garlic and preserved daikon slices - i was in heaven.
E ordered this dish for me to try. it's my first time having this but i think this is going to be one of my favorite korean dishes from hereon. i, however, for the life of me cannot remember what it's called. i'm sure it's due to all the newcastles i've had tonight but that's besides the point. it's a stir fried pork dish with vegetables and slices of tofu on top. the dish looks really spicy in its reddish cautionary red color but the flavor was actually a bit sweet and a great balance between the tofu, meat and vegetables. can anyone tell me the name of this dish?
^ E is such a good sport for putting up with my paparazzi ways and for always
being so patient when i take my wacky food photos.
