Hae Woon DaeI 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.
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