Family bonding time with Christel's aunt and little brother!
LOCATION: WILSHIRE CENTER, KOREATOWN 3470 W 6TH ST., STE 7, LOS ANGELES, CA 90020
We let Christel's little brother Keith pick the place because he's currently at USC and is pretty social so he knows where the good spots are. He initially picked a cantonese restaurant but later confessed that he made up some excuses to go to Sun Nong Dan because he was craving Korean. Cantonese pushed to a later date, we set off for Koreatown.
Sun Nong Dan is a super busy restaurant in the middle of a tiny plaza so the line to get into the parking lot already wraps around the block but Christel made her little brother get out of the car and put our name down on the waiting list to get ahead of the crowd. It wasn't terribly long but maybe 5-10mins later we got to the valet and jumped out of the car. Luckily, Christel's aunt beat us to the restaurant and put her name down on the list before we even got close so while her brother's name was 18th on the list, aunt Natalie came in clutch at 4th and we were seated not too long after we parked. I feel a little bad for the other restaurants around because theres a huge crowd of people waiting for a table in front of Sun Nong Dan but the rest of the plaza is completely clear with no lines. Good signs for the food though.
We were seated at a table near the kitchen in a semi small space but food came out fast and they take your order while you're still outside so by the time you sit it's just about ready.
Keith has been here before and says he and his friends always get the Galbi Jjim with Cheese so that's what we got this time around too. Galbi Jjim is just a braised beef short rib and it comes with rice cakes, potatoes, carrots, onions and a bunch of other stuff all cooked together. The exciting part was that they place this dish on your table and then proceed to light the thing on fire with a hand torch to melt the cheese. I can honestly say, that was the best way to start the meal; who doesn't like fire and melted cheese?
This is the first time I've had galbi and it was really good. I'm not sure what heat level Keith ordered but it was spicy in such a good way. The braised beef was a little chewy and could've been better texture wise but flavor wise everything was great. I had enough rice and loved the potatoes and carrots in the dish. This place was packed and the line outside never seemed to die down but I totally understand the hype because it was pretty good.