7 Reasons To Love missKOREA BBQ Restaurant
7 Reasons to Love missKOREA BBQ Restaurant
Sukie Park/ NYCultureBeat
Korea Town (K-Town), West 32nd St. in Manhattan is continuously evolving. The Korean Waves of K-Pop (of course, the superstar boy band BTS), Korean cosmetics and K-Food are higher than ever. Things Korean are suddenly cool and chic.
Changes on the map of Korean restaurants in K-Town are under way. Kang Suh, Kum Gang San, Arirang Restaurant have shut down; Gam Mee Ok, Kun Jip and Dons Bogam moved to new locations. Meanwhile Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, Jongro BBQ and Samwon Garden debuted in K-Town. That triggered Korean BBQ wars on 32nd St.
The exotic flavors of Korean food: hot and spicy, sweet and sour, fermented slow food, have captivated New Yorkers. It is an unimaginable change from more than a decade ago when a lot of Koreans felt ashamed by the smell of kimchi and doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew). Now we can find kimchi jars even in Western supermarkets in Brooklyn. The changes were slow, but finally Korean food is recognized as one of the healthiest in the world. And we are proud of being Korean.
Opened in summer of 2010, miss KOREA BBQ has led the K-Food wave on 32nd St., and expanded its empire to three floor with three different concepts. The first floor is called "Jin (진)", which means truth in Korean, the second floor is "Sun (선)", which means good, and the third is "Mee (미)" or beauty. All three floors have unique themes. Jin is for authentic Korean BBQ with nature-inspired interior, for round-the-clock diners. Sun is a calm and classy space inspired by the style of a Joseon Dynasty scholar's study, which serves Korean royal cuisine. And Mee is a modern bar which pays homage to the legendary poetess Hwang Jin Yi from Joseon Dynasty.
Ms. Sophia Lee
No wonder why Sophia Lee, founder and CEO of miss KOREA, named the three floors from Korean beauty pageant winners’ titles, Jin, Sun and Mi. Ms. Lee intended to promote beautiful Korean culture through her restaurant. "Miss KOREA’s food philosophy is deliberately to stay away from MSG-laden and sugar-heavy seasonings, to provide nourishment that is good for both the body and the soul. Dishes are made with a sensibility that matches the elegant setting," Ms. Lee explains.
Ms. Sophia Lee's food philosophy makes you miss missKorea BBQ just at the moment you leave and you will have the lingering effects for a while like a glass of good Bordeaux with long finish.
Here are some reasons why you would come back to missKorea BBQ.
#1. Lunch Special BBQ
One day as a solo diner, I ordered Galbisal (marinated boneless beef short ribs) BBQ from the Lunch Special menu on the first floor. I got about 10 banchans (side dishes) including a bowl of seaweed beef soup(미역국), traditional birthday soup. What a feast! Happy birthday to me!
Living in a foreign country, most people have certain nostalgia or trauma with food and language. Both of them have something in common with the mouth, comfort food and mother tongue. Whenever you are down and low, you need to nourish yourself with stamina food from home. Gogi (meat) will work. But there's one problem, most Korean BB restaurants don't serve one-person's BBQ, only for two persons or more.
Mission impossible? Not in missKorea.
Loneliness is a big business in New York City, as playwright Neil Simon pointed out. Miss Korea has an extensive menu for one person BBQ for lunch. Galbisal (marinated boneless beef short ribs), Yuksu Bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated beef in special broth), Dwaeji Galbi (marinated premium pork short ribs, *spicy available), Saeng Sambyeopsal (thick sliced pork belly), Saeng Mokdeungsim (pork neck sirloin), Dwaeji Bulgogi (sliced spicy pork belly), Dak Gui (marinated chicken) for $15.95-$18.95. You can cook your own BBQ and chef's special soup of the day is a bonus.
Indeed miss Korea's reputation started with delicious BBQ. The reason? They get meat from the prestigious Pat LaFrieda, the butcher, which also supplies the venerable Peter Luger Steakhouse, the Minetta Tavern, and other top New York restaurants. You can enjoy BBQ lunch Monday through Friday from 10:30 am to 3 pm.
#2. Korean Imperial/Royal Course @SUN (2nd Fl.)
I used to worry about where to take my American friends for special occasions. A restaurant with quality food, elegant setting (not trendy but traditional Korean, as well as elegant), and good service were hard to find. If you are looking for that kind of restaurant, make a reservation at missKorea "Sun," at second floor. They have perfect private dining rooms for your party.
Sophia Lee's passion for pursuing high-quality Korean food and traditional culture is concentrated at Sun. Comparing with lively Jin and Mee, entering Sun feels like you are in a spa of calm and serenity. The interior is inspired by traditional study rooms (사랑방) in Joseon Dynasty, spacious yet classy with light-colored wood and warm lighting. A view of traditional Korean-style house (Hanok) with sliding door, made of wood and mulberry paper welcomes you. After or before the meal, take time to appreciate "Painting of the Sun, Moon and the Five Peaks, 일월오봉도, 日月五峯圖) on the window on 32nd Street.
Here you can enjoy Korean Imperial cuisine once reserved only for the royal family. Dinner courses has three choices (Jin/Sun/Mee) and lunch/bruch course are less expensive. The typical dinner course "Sun" for two people consists of Starters (dried fruit 주전부리/porridge 오늘의 죽/house salad 샐러드/appetizers/ modeum jeaon 삼색 모듬전, already 5 courses!), Royal Cuisine (Joseon Dynasty) with Sinseollo (신선로), a hot pot of seafood and vegetables cooked at the table in a brass sinseollo pot over hot charcoal burning in the central cylinder), then Korean BBQ (boneless rib 꽃살/ fresh pork belly 생삼겹살/ marinated beef short rib 양념갈비/ pork spicy bulgogi 돼지 고추장불고기/braised salmon 된장소스 연어조림, *all items will be served, 5 BBQs!). After BBQ, you can pick one of Korean rice or noodle (youngyang bap with doenjang jjigae 영양밥과 된장찌개/ mul naengmyeon 물냉면/ bibim naengmyeon 비빔냉면/ haemul kalguksu 해물 칼국수), and save the dessert. How many dishes total? You can count them later.
Eat like a king or queen and relax as if you are in a temple, zen mode. At this urban oasis called Sun, you will feel all your senses are awakening thanks to the taste and style of Sun.
#3 Morning Special
If New York's nickname is "The City That Never Sleeps," K-town is "The Street Never Sleeps." Like a few American diners in New York City, miss Korea BBQ is open 24 hours for sleepless New Yorkers or fun-loving cosmopolitans. If you had an overnight flight to NYC or if you drank too much the night before and need to treat your hangover, the morning special is the food you should try to console your body.
Every morning from 6am to 10:30 am, they serve comfort food such as Kongnamul Gukbap (boiled rice in bean sprout soup, 콩나물국밥), Sundubu (organic soft tofu stew, 순두부), Haemul Kalguksu (noodles in mixed seafood broth, 해물칼국수), Sagol Kalguksu (noodles in beef bone broth, 사골칼국수), Daegu Maeuntang (codfish stew in spicy broth, 대구매운탕), Altang (codfish caviar in spicy broth, 알탕), and Daegu Jiritang (codfish stew in clear broth, 대구지리탕) under $13.
#4 Banchans (Side Dishes)
One of the fascinating things about eating at Korean restaurants in K-town, but not trendy or modern Korean restaurants elsewhere in the city where kimchi could coast five dollars, is multiple side dishes (banchans). Miss Korea always serves hearty and savory side dishes like fish cake (오뎅볶음), beans cooked in soy sauce (콩자반), radish salad (무생채), bok choy salad (청경채 겉절이), diced radish kimchi (깍두기), mung bean jelly salad (청포묵 무침), seaweed salad (미역초무침), cucumber salad (오이무침), braised tofu in soy sauce (두부조림), etc. If you are lucky, a whole grilled fish will join on your table on the house. Actually you don't need to accompany them with main dish. Don't wait, just start savoring them before the main course arrives, each of them are perfect appetizers.
To be honest, some Korean restaurants on 32nd street are rather stingy with seasoning, and as a result their banchan side dishes lack flavors. But miss Korea's food including side dishes are consistently solid and tasty. You want more.
Whenever you empty one or two side dishes, which is the cases for me, a kind server will gently ask if he/she could get you more. What a feast! Imagine if they charge banchan like Spanish tapas! You will never be disappointed with food at miss Korea.
#5 Wine List
Sometimes I feel anxious when I take my friend, who is a wine aficionado, to K-town. Although most Korean restaurants serve comprehensive Korean drinks like soju (Chum Cheoreom), plum wine (Seoljoongmae), Baekseju (herbal wine), Makgeoli (rice wine), Bokbunja (black raspberry wine) and intriguing cocktail list, Western wine (from grapes) is their weakest link, limited to Red/White, house wine.
At miss Korea BBQ, you find a carefully-selected wine list which goes to 12-pages, from luxury Champagne such as Dom Pérignon, Moët & Chandon, and Bordeaux like Château Margaux and Château Haut-Brion, to name a few. Also French Pinot Noir, German Riesling, Austrian Gewurztraminer, Spanish Albariño, Italian Sangiovese and Argentine Malbec, as well. You will find a glass of Malbec makes BBQ more delicious and a bottle of dry Riesling is a good companion with Korean food all the way.
#6. Utensils
In any restaurant, tableware reflects the level of the restaurant. If a bowl is pretty and the fork and knife are heavy and elegant, the meal is much more enjoyable. A porcelain or brass bowl rather than a plastic or stainless steel dish, heavy chopsticks rather than light ones. I don't like the slippery stainless steel chopsticks. At Miss Korea BBQ, all the food is gently nestled in a brassware, earthenware, or clay pot. I feel like I'm being treated like a VIP. Their utensils are elegant, authentic items. They pay attention to details.
#7 Service
Zagat Survey, "the Gastronomic Bible" according to the Wall Street Journal, rates restaurants by Food/Decor/Service. A good restaurant gets high marks in all three categories. The first time I dined at miss Korea years ago, I was surprised by the servers' cheerful and attentive manners. I was used to brusque attitude in most of the Korean restaurants, so I saw the signs that Korean restaurant industry was changing in terms of service. And they were wearing Burberry Check Shirts! Good clothes open all doors, don't they? They also open minds.
So when I finish a meal at miss Korea, I feel detoxed with nutritious Korean food. My body and soul are relaxed with happy ending. As soon as I leave the door step of this lovely restaurant, I already miss missKorea. Thinking about what I should order next time, my mouth is already watering again.
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