New restaurant review

In August of this year, a new Korean restaurant opened outside our housing complex. It is owned by a family whose children attend our school. What follows is the story of my recent visit.

The restaurant is spacious and open, at least when compared to the other non-hotpot restaurants along the street. The decor is simple - brown wood accents with white walls, and greenish brown wood tables. Each table seats 4 and has a gas-powered grill built into the center. The atmosphere at 7pm was lively, as nearly every table was full and Korean music played from one corner.

The menu is well-designed, with its thick pages filled with pictures and tri-lingual names for the dishes. The food is traditional Korean fare, with a sufficient variety of grilled meats, soups, rice, and noodle dishes taking center stage. The prices are competitive - more than the Chinese food that its neighbors serve, but still a bargain when compared to prices of Korean food downtown.

We ordered 3 dishes: grilled pork and vegetables, fried calamari, and kimchi fried rice. The meat dish was served with a mix of bell peppers and carrots, not the onions which it was pictured with. This was no major problem, though, for the dish tasted savory and satisfying. It was not too salty or spicy, which is always a relief. The meat was a thick-sliced pork bacon, which had more meat than fat and so was acceptable. It was served first, only a few minutes after being ordered. The calamari came out second. The basket of rings had a panko breading, which gave it a nice crunch. When dipped in a small amount of ketchup, it satisfied the seafood and fried food cravings within us. The fried rice came out last. It was cooked with a variety of vegetables and had a fried egg on top.

With empty bellies, these 3 dishes provided enough food to feed the two of us, leaving enough rice leftover for 1 person to eat for lunch. Total cost: 55 kuai.

Recommendation - Overall, I feel the selection, atmosphere, and taste are better than the other Korean option(s) in Xipu, and the cost is competitive. I would still want to try their DIY grilled meats, but I was left happy and wanting more. I look forward to returning again.

-alan