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In this episode of “California Travel Tips,” Veronica visits Koreatown Los Angeles for a girls’ night out with Maangchi Kim (http://www.YouTube.com/Maangchi) and Hilah Johnson of Hilah Cooking (http://www.YouTube.com/HilahCooking).
Located at the intersections of Western and Eighth in the Mid Wilshire District, LA Koreatown has experienced a huge boom in tourism, with the largest concentration of 24-hour restaurants and nightclubs in the country.
We’re starting our night in K-Town with a trip to the Korean market, which is a great place to pick up Korean food like homemade kimchi, banchan and fresh produce. Maangchi is a celebrity in the Korean cooking world, and it’s not long before she’s recognized by some of her YouTube fans.
Next up is dinner, and Maangchi takes us to one of her favorite Korean BBQ restaurants in Los Angeles. Even though it’s a weeknight, the place is packed! I hear it’s almost impossible to get a table here on weekends.
Since this is my first time eating Korean BBQ, I let Maangchi do the ordering. The set menu at Palsaik is a great value, and easily feeds 2-4 people. It includes a seafood soybean paste soup, eight strips of marinated pork belly, green onion salad, kimchee, bean sprouts and kimchi fried rice. The Soju is extra, but highly recommended!
The pork belly comes out on a long wooden platter, and each strip is flavored with a different marinade. Choices include wine, original, ginseng, garlic, herb, curry, miso paste and (gochujang) spicy red pepper paste. The garlic, spicy and miso are my favorites! The thick slabs are thrown on the slanted griddle to cook, along with some kimchi and bean sprouts.
During our meal, Maangchi shows me how to wrap a proper Korean taco. She starts out with the romaine and shiso leaves, adding a bit of kimchi, pickled daikon, and soybean paste. Shiso, also known as perilla, is a relative of the mint family and offers a crisp flavor to the wrap. Word to Korean BBQ novices: Don’t wrap it too big. It’s supposed to fit in your mouth in one bite! Finally, the leftover soup is made into a delicious Korean fried rice.
If you visit Koreatown, be sure to stay through the evening. There are loads of great karaoke bars and nightclubs, and a few great spas here as well!
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