BANSANG

General Notes

Upscale Korean restaurant near Japantown. Overall, the food is pretty good. It can be a bit hit or miss -- some of the dishes are great, others are pretty meh. The flavors can be a bit muted, which is surprising for a Korean restaurant, which often features pretty bold flavors. This can be good if you prefer lighter flavors. It can be a little pricey for what you get; the portions aren't huge. Good option for a special occasion, great vibes inside. Sidenote, the servers are all quite attractive ... not sure if that was an intentional choice :thinking:

Dishes Tasted

• ★★★☆ kimchi fried rice -- crispy shallot, bacon, fried egg, spam, roasted seaweed
• ★★★☆ rice cake and rib -- beef finger rib, rice cake, wood ear mushroom, chili oil, shallot. I enjoyed the texture on the rice cake (lightly crispy), and the rib was delicious -- both tender and a little almost like fried. Could use a little more flavor, but overall good idea.
• ★★★☆ galbi steak -- shallot, broccolini, leek puree, burdock root, mushroom. Yummy, super juicy, a little expensive though
• ★☆☆☆ pork jowl bossam -- white kimchi, spicy daikon, pickled sunchoke, cherry samjjang. This dish is ... weird. It's kind of a weird in-between state of bossam and grilled pork, not a fan. The texture is okay but the flavor is pretty lackluster.
• ★☆☆☆ gochujang black cod -- barley, yu choy, butternut squash puree, lobster sauce, furikake. The sauces do not go well with the fish, the fish is prepared well but the flavor is strange
• ★★★☆ potato pancake -- yukon gold potato fritter, mentaiko aioli, seaweed powder. Delicious, simple and cooked well
• ★★★☆ uni scallop toast -- kombu aioli, yuzukosho, uni puree, maesil glaze, gamtae. Excellent combination, it's pricey but one of their flagships for a reason
• ★★☆☆ mulwhe noodle -- seasonal fish, capellini, fermented chili broth, cucumber, daikon. It was okay, refreshing but the flavor did not permeate the fish well
• ★★☆☆ soy marinaded quail egg -- umami soy, pickled shimeji, shredded beef, orange zest. Solid, nothing particularly notable though
• ★☆☆☆ oyster -- hog island oyster, mango puree, kimchi salsa, chive oil. This flavor was pretty strange, not a big fan