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  • Hae Woon Dae [closed]

    Post #1 - February 20th, 2005, 8:47 pm
    Post #1 - February 20th, 2005, 8:47 pm Post #1 - February 20th, 2005, 8:47 pm
    Hae Woon Dae

    I had a family member die recently, and last Friday night, The Widow wanted to eat somewhere her deceased husband would never go like a Korean restaurant.

    So The Widow, The Wife, Two Daughters and I went to Hae Woon Dae, which has been posted about before, but never by me.

    I like Korean a lot, but I don't know much about it. Here's what I know about Hae Woon Dae.

    We ordered BBQ for 4 ($80), and it was (quite predictably) way more food than we could eat in one sitting, but the leftover chow turned out to be very good (veggies still crisp, flavors still fresh). We had three big bottles of Hite beer, which was pretty much just a mouth wash.

    The BBQ for 4 had 4 big platters of meat (Bulgogi, chicken, rib meat and pork, all marinated, and might tasty when grilled right there at the table), lots of sides: buckwheat noodles, glass noodles (made with, we were told, sweet potato, and which were an especially big hit with the young ladies), pickles of various sorts (kimchee, bean sprout, asparagus - I'm not sure this last is typical of Korean cuisine), potato salad, agar with pepper, jalapenos and garlic, thin cut and fried semi-tough tofu, a fluffy omelet, some salty fish (that I believe was mackerel but could not confirm), a nicely spiced squid, several platters of shredded scallion and peppered yam, and a whole bunch of other sides and panchan that I'm not remembering.

    What I like most about Korean food is that you can modify each mouthful with each of the many condiments and sides. In that regard, though, I did find a certain similarity of flavor between several of the dishes, but as I liked the flavor (moderate heat, fresh veg), that was okay. It was nice rolling bunches of meat and panchan in the abundant Romaine leaves presented to us.

    I would go to Hae Woon Dae again, and probably will. Two hints:

    The live coals fires in the small rooms make for a fun and festive dinner, but I'd recommend leaving your coat in the car. The rooms get so smoky; 48 hours later, my coat and hat still smell like Korean BBQ (not the worst smell in the world, but still).

    If you get a small room for grilling, I'd recommend getting a room with two grills in the table; that way, you can get the Korean bacon (which, we were told, requires a fire of its own, and so we had none.).

    Hae Woon Dae
    6240 N. California Ave.
    Chicago, IL 60659
    773-764-8018
    Last edited by David Hammond on February 21st, 2005, 7:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #2 - February 21st, 2005, 12:50 am
    Post #2 - February 21st, 2005, 12:50 am Post #2 - February 21st, 2005, 12:50 am
    I believe, for the sake of anyone else who may be seeking information about this restaurant, that it is also (more formally?) known as Hae Woon Dae.

    Sound good.

    Cheers,

    Aaron
  • Post #3 - February 21st, 2005, 7:31 am
    Post #3 - February 21st, 2005, 7:31 am Post #3 - February 21st, 2005, 7:31 am
    Aaron Deacon wrote:I believe, for the sake of anyone else who may be seeking information about this restaurant, that it is also (more formally?) known as Hae Woon Dae.

    Sound good.

    Cheers,

    Aaron


    Oops, you are right. I will re-edit my header to reflect that. Thanks for catching that Aaron (like I said, I don't know much about Korean food...or the names of Korean restaurants I've just eaten at :lol: ),

    Hammond
    "Don't you ever underestimate the power of a female." Bootsy Collins
  • Post #4 - July 2nd, 2006, 9:57 pm
    Post #4 - July 2nd, 2006, 9:57 pm Post #4 - July 2nd, 2006, 9:57 pm
    Boy, I really wanted to visit and comment on Hae Woon Dae before the topic was locked, but I missed out by a day. I knew this was not a place to solo dine (at least not for BBQ), and I couldn't manage any company. I should have just posted a request for some dining companions.

    As it may be, the stars aligned last night and I got my wish. I met my wife and my little one at the non-descript street mall location at 6:00. I was nervous that Ramonita would be put off by the foreign foods and smells -- she being a remarkably unadventorous eater (how can this be? product of my genes?).

    As soon as Ramonita walked through the door she declared that the place smelled "wonderful." She was very excited to sit in one of the semi-private dining rooms, on cushions, on the floor, like in the Japanese cartoons that she loves so.

    My experience with Korean food was sadly limited by only an irrational fear of kimchi dating back to my college days.

    Our server spoke no English and we were lost as we ordered lightly seasoned steak and pork in spicy sauce from the BBQ menu as well as a noodle dish. Mrs Ramon was concerned over what we ordered and what came with it. I told her that that’s the nature of the beast and we were going to eat it.

    First we were brought out some dipping sauces, one a kind of thin sweet and sour, one a kind of spicy peanut sauce, as well as a basket of lettuce (Romaine it appeared). Then the excitement began as the burning brazier of flaming lump hard wood charcoal was brought to the table along with two generous platters of marinated flesh. Ramonita quickly grabbed a piece of steak with tongs and threw it on the fire, a look of impish glee lighting her with the red glow of the hot embers. The excitement grew even higher as dish after dish of panchan were placed on the table. We felt like kings. Ramonita grabbed a still rare slice of steak off the grill and declared it the best steak ever. The steak was excellent, the pork divine, with just the right amount of heat for my palette. The noodle dish reminded me of Philipino pancit, Ramonita perfected her one chop stick method of eating it with measured enthusiasm, I thought it good but unexciting.

    I remembered in some past post somewhere regarding a different Korean BBQ joint that they ran out of charcoal before they had cooked all their meat. They had a hard time getting more charcoal. I urged our party to cook fast, and apparently caused too much smoke, for they changed out the grill top a bit bruskly. There was no need for our haste, we slowed down, and still had plenty of fire left when it was taken away.

    It was heaven to sit there with my family, my chop sticks deftly flipping a piece of searing meat, then grabbing at one of the twelve panchan on the table. The flavor combinations were infinite. I believe we received a unique panchan that resembled (and tasted) like a sliced Oscar Meyer hotdog. Ramonita first thought the idea of cold hotdog wrong and threw some pieces on the coals. Later she decided that Korean hotdog tastes best cold. I was shocked, pleased, and proud of the number of panchan that she tried and her willingness to explore this foreign cuisine.

    As we were reaching the satiation point we were bonused by a dish of scallion pancakes and bacon pancakes that were gobbled despite bursting waist lines. Then they brought in rice and a miso-based soup. Ahh, too much of anything is just enough.

    In the end Mrs Ramon thought the food great, disliked about half the panchan due to vinegar flavor, and wouldn't eat the soup because it was so salty. Ramonita lay on the floor, in bliss, laughing, laughing, laughing. I could have sat there for another hour or more and continued to nibble, but really, the kid's laughing was nearing the edge of hysteria. Just in time a plate of water melon was added to the serious scene of destruction that was our table. This gained me enough time to snarf a little bit more, box up the good stuff, and pay the bill.

    This was the family dining experience of the year, easily. And while I still do not love kimchi, my fear has faded to respect. And that’s all that anyone can ask for.

    -ramon
  • Post #5 - July 21st, 2006, 10:13 pm
    Post #5 - July 21st, 2006, 10:13 pm Post #5 - July 21st, 2006, 10:13 pm
    Ramon wrote:This was the family dining experience of the year, easily.

    12 of us descended on Hae Woon Dae this evening and, if it was not the family event of the year, it was right up there.

    Two set dinners for 5 proved to be an overabundance of food, all wonderful, though we still saved just a bit of room for The Chocolate Shoppe. :)

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #6 - March 13th, 2008, 6:13 am
    Post #6 - March 13th, 2008, 6:13 am Post #6 - March 13th, 2008, 6:13 am
    LTHForum,

    Last nights dinner at Hae Woon Dae a treat, plentiful panchan, stellar steamed eggs, elemental Yook Hwe, scrumptious seafood pancake and glorious grilled beef.

    Kalbi
    Image

    Just as we were winding down our meal the waitresses, who, next time there is a best waitress in Chicago contest I will nominate, added rice cake to the grill.

    Mixing Yook Hwe (raw beef)
    Image

    Rice Cake
    Image

    Blistered, lightly charred, crisp outside, chewy starchy volcanically hot interior, delicious, much to my taste. Was similar, if not exact, to Japanese mochi toasted under a broiler or over flame.

    Rice Cake
    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary

    Hae Woon Dae
    6240 N. California Ave
    Chicago, IL 60659
    773-764-8018
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #7 - March 16th, 2008, 9:32 pm
    Post #7 - March 16th, 2008, 9:32 pm Post #7 - March 16th, 2008, 9:32 pm
    I have been driving by this place for years and just never stopped in.Our default Korean for years was the eponymous Korean Restaurant, the 24 hour place on Lawrence around Rockwell or thereabouts. Torn down a couple years back and replaced by condos, we never found a good replacement. Solga is good but expensive, I found Crystal Korean severely lacking, and the one experience I had at San Soo Gab San was so dreadful I'll never go back. But here I think we've found a winner.Coming back from the movies at Old Orchard we were headed towards the Walgreen's at Lawrence and Western so we schleped down California (past the Kollel Center For Torah Studies where I played about twelve consecutive Purim parties until the guy I worked for moved to Israel) and stopped at Hae Woon Dae for lunch about 4:00 p.m. Place was deserted, we were the only ones there. Two different boom boxes had Korean rap fighting it out with norteno Mexican music. A very friendly (if only intermittently visible) waitress served us after an inexplicable wait. But once things got rolling it was terrific.Just some bulgogi and seafood pancake, with some sake,an OB beer and a gaggle of panchan. Everything was very tasty.The kimchee was about the best I ever had, not overpoweringly hot but very flavorful, very fermented with a great kick. We ordered more which seemed to make our waitress very happy. The GNR award was prominently displayed right inside the front door. And the price was very reasonable. We'll definitely be going back.

    Again I have to offer thanks to this list for providing me with another winner, in the short time I have been here I've gotten several really great recommendations that have significantly improved my local restaurant experiences. Sometime I'd like to meet some of you guys, you sound like a a convivial bunch, so let me know if ever there are any outings planned on the north side in my neck of the woods (Edgewater and enviorns).
    trpt2345
  • Post #8 - April 6th, 2008, 10:48 am
    Post #8 - April 6th, 2008, 10:48 am Post #8 - April 6th, 2008, 10:48 am
    Last Sunday, we were frantically ending our Spring-Break-In-Town-With-Dad-Working. Dinner was in order and Hai Woon Dae always makes my family very happy. We seem to laugh more than we usually do. Everyone gets involved in the grilling and sharing of somewhat-expertly charred bits of animal flesh while passing and encouraging others to try the various panchan.
    Image

    We like the private rooms, sitting on the floor, even if I get the occasional painful leg cramp. We’ve learned how to handle or ignore the sometimes-almost-difficult staff and even win them over to our side.

    We usually order two meats to grill and a noodle dish, which is plenty for the four of us. We never remember, from time to time, which noodle dish we order, and this time was no exception.

    Short ribs and chicken:
    Image
    Image

    I usually skip the lettuce, because, as I say, lettuce is for losers. But this time, the lettuce was particularly attractive.
    Image

    I usually find the miso soup way too salty at HWD. This time though it was well enhanced with a little tomato and lots of tofu and veg.
    Image

    Of course, it never hurts to drink plenty of mammoth bottles of Korean beer. We choose Hite because it’s made “from naturally fresh water.”
    Image

    It is worth noting that the hours have changed again.
    Image

    -ramon
  • Post #9 - April 15th, 2008, 4:44 am
    Post #9 - April 15th, 2008, 4:44 am Post #9 - April 15th, 2008, 4:44 am
    LTH,

    Had a heck of a Hae Woon Dae full-on experience Sunday, Korean BBQ was dead-on, raw crab marinated in chili sauce a treat, panchan plentiful, with the supporting cast of pajun, seafood soup, chapchae, hitting high notes on their own.

    It was Jazzfoods last meal in Chicago for a couple of months, I hope it holds him in good stead.

    Jazzfood, Theresa

    Image

    Then again, how could we have a bad meal under the watchful eye of Steve D.

    Lucas (son of Ronnie_Suburban), Steve D

    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #10 - April 15th, 2009, 9:29 am
    Post #10 - April 15th, 2009, 9:29 am Post #10 - April 15th, 2009, 9:29 am
    Once again...a big thank you to the LTE forum. MrCM2772 and I went to Hai Woon Dae for dinner last night. We are newbies to Korean BBQ and MrCM2772 declared that this rates as one of the best meals that he has had in awhile (Sun Wah Peking Duck being the other). With the kids out of town with the grandparents we opted to try something different and Korean BBQ it was.

    We ordered the $54 BBQ for 2 and while this was more than enough for 3, even 4 people...we ate it all. I believe that we had the waitress pictured above, and she was very helpful--pouring our wine, changing the grills etc. We also were seated in one of the private/elevated rooms which made our first experience even more enjoyable.

    A few questions:

    Are we supposed to cook one meat at a time on the grill and then wait for the changing of the grill in order to put on a new meat/grilling item. MrCM2772 was the grill master and he put on the short rib and beef at the same time. And we used this same grill for some of the pork before she switched it out.

    Is the sauce provided with the lettuce leaves peanut-based? I asked the waitress and she didn't understand what I was asking so I let it go. The reason I ask is because I would love to bring my children next time, but my son is allergic to peanuts.

    Now...where to go for dinner tonight...thinking that I may have to bring him to experience a cemita with me...:)
  • Post #11 - April 15th, 2009, 9:35 am
    Post #11 - April 15th, 2009, 9:35 am Post #11 - April 15th, 2009, 9:35 am
    CM2772 wrote:Are we supposed to cook one meat at a time on the grill and then wait for the changing of the grill in order to put on a new meat/grilling item. MrCM2772 was the grill master and he put on the short rib and beef at the same time. And we used this same grill for some of the pork before she switched it out.

    They switch out the grills when they get too dirty with residue from the meats. It can happen they don't switch them at all. It seems to be at the wim of the server.

    Is the sauce provided with the lettuce leaves peanut-based? I asked the waitress and she didn't understand what I was asking so I let it go. The reason I ask is because I would love to bring my children next time, but my son is allergic to peanuts.


    It is soy based paste called doenjang.

    Regards,
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #12 - April 15th, 2009, 10:29 am
    Post #12 - April 15th, 2009, 10:29 am Post #12 - April 15th, 2009, 10:29 am
    CM2772 wrote:Once again...a big thank you to the LTE forum.


    Time for this week's round of the 30 second improv game:

    Like to Eat
    Licks the Edamame
    Liquids, Terrines, and Emulsions
    Lambasts the E-marketers
    Lessons to Escargot
    Loves to Enumerate
    Loukaniko, Thuringer, and Embutido
    Leave the Eclairs
  • Post #13 - April 15th, 2009, 10:31 am
    Post #13 - April 15th, 2009, 10:31 am Post #13 - April 15th, 2009, 10:31 am
    Is the sauce provided with the lettuce leaves peanut-based? I asked the waitress and she didn't understand what I was asking so I let it go. The reason I ask is because I would love to bring my children next time, but my son is allergic to peanuts.

    Cathy2 wrote:It is soy based paste called doenjang.

    It may also have been a sauce of toasted sesame oil, salt and pepper. Doenjang, fermented soybeans, is brown, gochujang, fermented soybeans, glutinious rice and chile poswer, is red. Might have been any of the three.
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #14 - April 15th, 2009, 4:55 pm
    Post #14 - April 15th, 2009, 4:55 pm Post #14 - April 15th, 2009, 4:55 pm
    Gah. Sorry about the LTE/LTH typo. I have LTE on the brain as my company is working with this technology and I just attended CTIA and shot videos regarding LTE technology.
  • Post #15 - May 27th, 2009, 7:10 am
    Post #15 - May 27th, 2009, 7:10 am Post #15 - May 27th, 2009, 7:10 am
    Enjoyed a leisurely 2 hour meal @ Hae Woon Dae last night with some out of town guests. 5 adults(3 light eating ladies, and 2 meat loving guys), and my daughter who was disinterested in sitting still. We were seated in one of the rooms which was a ncie setting.

    Went a-la-cart, but started with a couple bottles of OB(only 2 of us were driniking and we had a total of 4), to relax after the drive north from Burr Ridge. Foodwise the first dish was HaeMool PaJun(Korean pancake with seafood), really good, and lots of flavors, I also liked the dipping sauce it was served with. Next was the BiBim Naeng Myun, a cold noodle dish that was pretty good as well. Also Dol Sot Bi Bim Bab, a rice dish served with beef mushrooms, an egg, and served in a hot stone bowl that crisped up the rice on the bottom nicely, served with what they called a spicy sauce that wasnt very spicy, but good. So Go Gi Bok Um Bob( beef fried rice), a decent version of this basic dish. The grilled mests were KalBi, and the Bul Go Gi, both very good, and a large portion of each . No raw crab panchan though..

    Pics of dinner to follow, I didnt have time last night to dowload etc.

    Overall a very good meal $102 before tip.

    I prefer Hae Woon Dae to SSGS based on the dishes we have had at both, the flavor of the meats, the service, and overall visit.
  • Post #16 - May 30th, 2009, 9:12 am
    Post #16 - May 30th, 2009, 9:12 am Post #16 - May 30th, 2009, 9:12 am
    pics finally downloaded of my enjoyable visit to hae Woon Dae(some didnt come out good darn beer)

    sipping some OB:
    Image

    Kalbi:
    Image

    seafood Korean pancake:
    Image


    BiBin Naeng Myun:
    Image

    grilling meats:
    Image
  • Post #17 - November 26th, 2009, 12:06 pm
    Post #17 - November 26th, 2009, 12:06 pm Post #17 - November 26th, 2009, 12:06 pm
    Had a great dinner at Hae Woon Dae last night with family from out-of-town. We ordered the BBQ special and got the beef, short ribs, pork and squid along with a beef noodle dish recommended to us by our waitress, baby octupus, shrimp, seafood pancake and pan-fried dumplings.

    Our extended family is from central Iowa and were very appreciative of being able to have a dining experience unlike anything offered in their area. We enjoyed everything, with the exception of the octopus...it was quite rubbery and very difficult to eat, although the sauce was very tasty.

    The panchan was also tasty with a few new items that we didn't get the last time--sliced potato, lightly fried and served cold, a jello-like rice cake (?), sliced like a crimped french fry,in a spicy sesame dipping-like sauce that many people at our table enjoyed.

    My niece wasn't terribly fond of the food and we got her an order of fried rice, which overall was a dud. With rice that looked like it came from Uncle Ben's and tossed with a handful of baby canned shrimp. I wouldn't recommend the fried rice dishes to others in the future.
  • Post #18 - May 13th, 2010, 8:06 pm
    Post #18 - May 13th, 2010, 8:06 pm Post #18 - May 13th, 2010, 8:06 pm
    I hate to say anything bad about this place, but we have had several less than satisfactory carry out experiences recently. Hae Woon Dae became one of our go-to places for a quick carry out dinner on those nights when we are on our way home and realize there is nothing in the fridge. Two orders of bi bim bap, under $20, ready in 10 minutes, fabulous. Originally (18 months ago?) it would come with two bowls of soup and a styrofoam clamshell of various panchan. Perfect. Then the soup was often missing --okay, we hadn't counted on the soup anyway. Then the panchan went missing, or was just a small container of the inexplicable (and need I say, not the panchan we were looking for) potato salad. Now in the last couple of months we've gone less often, less than once a month, and the last three times, no rice. Well you can't eat bi bim bap without rice! The first two times, I said a few choice words and cooked rice at home. Tonight I thought the bags were light, inspected them in the car, and went back in and asked for the rice.

    And if that isn't bad enough, I also wanted to be sure we got panchan, so I asked (when I first went in) if there was kim chee in the bag-- no, but the lady was happy to add a small container of kim chee. When I went back about the rice, she gave me another panchan -- the omelet-like things, also not really a favorite.

    I guess I feel like I am getting bad service because I'm not Asian? They think I don't want the real panchan, just the eggs and potatoes? The rice seems like carelessness -- but after three episodes, it's wearing. The food is great, but the aggravation is, well, aggravating.

    Do I need to learn the names of my favorite panchan and ask for them specifically? It seems offensive to say, "don't forget the rice" but I guess I can try to remember to check before I leave the parking lot. Should I switch to a different restaurant?
  • Post #19 - May 13th, 2010, 9:34 pm
    Post #19 - May 13th, 2010, 9:34 pm Post #19 - May 13th, 2010, 9:34 pm
    Judy H wrote:I guess I feel like I am getting bad service because I'm not Asian?

    Is there something specific that makes you feel this way? It's an awfully bold assertion, which is why I'm asking.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #20 - May 14th, 2010, 12:43 am
    Post #20 - May 14th, 2010, 12:43 am Post #20 - May 14th, 2010, 12:43 am
    I go every few months, and I'm guessing they can figure out I'm not Asian, either. But I've always eaten in. Could it be they're just not especially well set up for takeout? I'm having trouble picturing how they might pack up all those little bowls of panchan for someone to carry home.
  • Post #21 - May 14th, 2010, 8:38 am
    Post #21 - May 14th, 2010, 8:38 am Post #21 - May 14th, 2010, 8:38 am
    That was my thought. I don't think discriminating between take out and eating in customers violates Title VII.
    "By the fig, the olive..." Surat Al-Teen, Mecca 95:1"
  • Post #22 - May 15th, 2010, 3:04 pm
    Post #22 - May 15th, 2010, 3:04 pm Post #22 - May 15th, 2010, 3:04 pm
    Nope, it is not the difference between eat-in and carry-out, or if it is, it is a recent innovation. They used to provide a full range of panchan, arranged in a small styrofoam clamshell -- generally, let's say, five varieties, maybe not as much as you would get eating in, but certainly a good assortment. If there was no panchan with carry out, that would be reasonable (it might limit my desire for carry out, but that would be my choice). They seem well set up for carry out, with various size containers and so on. (I know it may not be the ideal way to eat their food-- if I wanted a great dinner, I would eat there; when I do carry out what I want is a quick cheap delicious meal on a work night.)

    I'm not meaning anything horrible by saying I think I might just get the potato salad because I am a gringa -- same way you sometimes have to persuade a waiter that you really want something spicy, they are perhaps just assuming I don't want the assorted panchan, just the most tourist friendly potato salad.

    What is the name for the pickled shredded white radish, the one that is very slightly sweet? That is my favorite, and I guess if I go back, I will just ask for that and for kim chee. And check for the rice.

    (Not sure what title vii is, but I wasn't accusing anyone of violating anything, I just want the dinner I used to get a year ago, because it was very delicious and satisfying...)
  • Post #23 - August 4th, 2010, 7:18 am
    Post #23 - August 4th, 2010, 7:18 am Post #23 - August 4th, 2010, 7:18 am
    LTH,

    Hae Woon Dae remains my favorite Korean BBQ, selection/combination A. for $99, plus a couple of add-ons, enough for 8-people with leftovers. Pan Jun, included with A., particularly good, crisp slightly more eggy than usual.

    Pan Jun/Seafood Pancake

    Image

    Steamed egg, though not universally loved, remains a favorite of the bride. Slightly salty, served hot as hades in a stone bowl which toasts the bottom for textural counterpoint.

    Steamed Egg

    Image

    Combination of steamed cabbage, radish, pork and oyster with a fish flavored gochujang, included with A., is not my favorite eaten as separate components, though when combined in the Crazy C, who I had the pleasure of dining with, recommended fashion, is quite tasty.

    Image

    The Perfect Bite as recommended by Crazy C - spoon, steamed cabbage, oyster, pork, dip in gochujang.

    Image

    My favorite part of Korean BBQ, the bones. :)

    Image

    Enjoy,
    Gary
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #24 - August 4th, 2010, 8:53 am
    Post #24 - August 4th, 2010, 8:53 am Post #24 - August 4th, 2010, 8:53 am
    Dinner was good but felt the panchan selection was a bit anemic. All things being equal and using that as the deciding factor, I can only say San Soo Gap San, "count me a fan".
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #25 - August 4th, 2010, 9:17 am
    Post #25 - August 4th, 2010, 9:17 am Post #25 - August 4th, 2010, 9:17 am
    Jazzfood wrote:Dinner was good but felt the panchan selection was a bit anemic. All things being equal and using that as the deciding factor, I can only say San Soo Gap San, "count me a fan".

    I am also a fan of San Soo Gap San, not only for the panchan, but also for the way they fling the many plastic bowls at the table, like Vegas card dealers. I love the look on first timers' faces when the panchan starts flying. I know some people find the service at SSGS to be rude, but I just find it to be brutally efficient (to the point of entertaining). However, I am kind of partial to the way Hae Woon Dae slices the meat a little thicker, so it doesn't tear apart as easily when it is stuck to the grill. It seems that the grills themselves at Hae Woon Dae are kept in better shape also.

    On a totally unrelated subject, why do the coals at Korean restaurants always photograph bright purple?
  • Post #26 - August 4th, 2010, 9:38 am
    Post #26 - August 4th, 2010, 9:38 am Post #26 - August 4th, 2010, 9:38 am
    Jazzfood wrote:Dinner was good but felt the panchan selection was a bit anemic. All things being equal and using that as the deciding factor, I can only say San Soo Gap San, "count me a fan".
    Panchan was a little weak last night, but they did include the elusive raw blue crab. I also thought the mackerel dead-on as well as the meats. Panchan paucity or not my consistent pick is Hae Woon Dae over San Soo Gap San, which is not to say I don't like SSGS, 'cause I most certainly do.

    Raw Blue Crab

    Image
    Hold my beer . . .

    Low & Slow
  • Post #27 - August 4th, 2010, 11:22 am
    Post #27 - August 4th, 2010, 11:22 am Post #27 - August 4th, 2010, 11:22 am
    Agree, the crab was stunning. My favorite bite of the nite. For me though the rest was equal outside of the panchan, so... gotta go w/ssgs. And, it's closer (for me).
    "In pursuit of joys untasted"
    from Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata
  • Post #28 - August 4th, 2010, 12:15 pm
    Post #28 - August 4th, 2010, 12:15 pm Post #28 - August 4th, 2010, 12:15 pm
    G Wiv wrote:Panchan was a little weak last night, but they did include the elusive raw blue crab.
    I had raw blue crab panchan for the first time this Spring. I was diligently picking away at the meat with chop sticks when I looked up and saw my Korean guests pop the legs in to their mouths whole, chew, and then politely spit out shards of shell.

    -Dan
  • Post #29 - August 4th, 2010, 12:19 pm
    Post #29 - August 4th, 2010, 12:19 pm Post #29 - August 4th, 2010, 12:19 pm
    dansch wrote:
    G Wiv wrote:Panchan was a little weak last night, but they did include the elusive raw blue crab.
    I had raw blue crab panchan for the first time this Spring. I was diligently picking away at the meat with chop sticks when I looked up and saw my Korean guests pop the legs in to their mouths whole, chew, and then politely spit out shards of shell.

    I suffered my way through many a quartered crab in China before I started watching what everybody else was doing and figured this one out.
    Dominic Armato
    Dining Critic
    The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com
  • Post #30 - April 9th, 2013, 5:07 am
    Post #30 - April 9th, 2013, 5:07 am Post #30 - April 9th, 2013, 5:07 am
    According to a property manager I met inside the vacant space, Hae Woon Dae permenantly closed about 45 days ago.

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