I’m not sure who had more fun at the first Si Fang Cai (Secret Supper) – me or the guests. The menu was based (mostly) on Asian hawker food – or “street” food.

The weather cooperated, allowing for drinks and cooking outdoors, before moving inside for an intimate dinner peppered with great conversation.

Hawker Menu

Cocktail
Basil Watermelon Caiparinha *

1st Course
Bulgogi Wan-ja with Tamarind Ssamjang (Korea)
Butabara Kushiyaki – Shio & Tare (Japan)
Xinjiang Chuanr (China)

2nd Course
Dan Dan Mein (China)

3rd Course
Gado Gado (Indonesia)

4th Course
Gang Ga-ree (Thailand)

Dessert
Turon w/Macapuno Fozen Custard (Philippines)

Beverages
Cha Yen (Thailand)

Beer
Tsingtao (China)
Chang, Singha (Thailand)
Kingfisher (India)
Kierin (Japan)

* The basil-watermelon caipirinha is from No Recipes.

Niu ruo mein – Ocean Garden, Chinatown Food Court

Sliced fish in chili oil – Delicious Kabob

Torta al Pastor – El Pastor

Deli Manjoo – Buford Highway Farmers Market

Galbi & Mandoo – Cho Sun Ok

Pollo a la brasa – Pollo el Rey

Cha chiang mien – Manchunhong

More cold, rainy weather in Atlanta means more comfort food. And nothing spells comfort like a 6 million degree stone bowl with a side of chili paste. Dolsot bibimbap (mixed rice in a stone bowl) was a distant memory that I needed to refresh.

Woo Nam Jeong served a couple of banchan I wasn’t familiar with – apple salad, and seaweed with apple (surprisingly tasty).

Duk mandu gook (Rice cake and dumpling cake) was light and chock full of rice cakes (duk) – would have preferred a few extra mandu…

Dinner was finished with bowls of soonjungwa (saenggang cha?), a cold tea of ginger, cinnamon, honey and pine nuts with dried persimmon.

Woo Nam Jeong
Stone Bowl House
5953 Buford Hwy
Atlanta, GA 30340-1375

And so our exploration continued, with HX and I ending up at the Buford Highway Farmers Market. One of the highlights of a trip to BHFM with HX is the stop at the food counter on the way out and picking up a dozen Deli Manjoo.

Deli Manjoo are small, creamy crack pockets and the only raison d’être I can determine is solely to help a Korean company sell a complex piece of machinery (which appears to only have 3 critical parts).

Image property of Delice Co., Ltd

Deli Manjoo are baked with the imprint of a corn cob (that makes sense) and filled with some form of cream (a bit like creme anglaise – though with the corn styling you may expect creamed corn). “Deli” is short for “delicious” (get it?). And “manjoo” is the Korean word for “dim sum” (get it – they’re small…). All that aside – I dig these things and want one of the machines (keep in mind that wanting and having the actual motivation to act on that want are two entirely different things).

So get ye to BHFM and try some Deli Manjoo.

Deli Manjoo
(near the exit)
Buford Highway Farmers Market
5600 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340

Korean Drummer

Vegitarian

Fruit Carving

Thai

Japanese

Bau Ga-Prow (Bangkok Cabin)

Dough Figures (Taiwan)

Steamed Banana Leaves

Shaolin sifu giving marching orders…

I first visited Cho Sun Ok with a Korean friend and it was my introduction to Korean barbecue. I’ve now been going to this place for over 10 years, so it’s a bit surprising that I’ve never written about it. Partly, it has to do with the fact that I rarely write about a restaurant when I visit with other people (re: “other people”, I mean non-food nut blogger types). I also feel kind of awkward photographing food with other people around – especially with the new DSLR. I think another part is a subliminal desire to keep this one to myself.

A. and I visited on a slow night for bulgogi (sliced beef marinated in soy, sugar, sesame oil and garlic) and mandoo (steamed dumplings).

Most Korean restaurants seem to have their own mix of banchan – I’ve been going to Cho Sun Ok  for so long that I’ve become familiar with, and expect, what they typically offer (for some of these, the names are correct – others are a guess):

• Cheongpomuk – mung bean jelly w/scallions, soy & chili
• Moo saengche – seasoned shredded daikon
• Kongnamul muchim – seasoned bean sprouts
• Miyeok muchim – pickled seaweed
• Gamja jorim – spicy potatoes
• Oi – cucumber with salt and sugar
• Baechu kimchee – fermented napa cabbage with chili and salt

There were a few more, but I honestly can’t recall (c.f., dining with other people – above).

Candidly, what makes Cho Sun Ok special is the fact that they are just very good at what they do. The food is consistently good (my favorite spot for mandoo and galbi). Even when busy, the service is always attentive and friendly (unless you’re being a prig – then you’ll hear about it). A. had never eaten Korean before. Amusingly to me, slightly embarassing to her, my slack attempt at explaining how to fold the meat, rice and ssamjang (fermented bean curd with chili) had the waitress demonstrating and hand feeding her while tending our grill…

Cho Sun Ok is set back from Buford Highway and can be easy to miss. It’s located in an ’70s era Pizza Hut building next to a Tower liquor store (seems to be a recurring theme for me lately – dining next to liquor stores…). It’s also two doors down from a White Windmill location – then again, soon everything will be two doors down from a White Windmill.

Cho Sun Ok
5865 Buford Hwy NE
Doraville, GA 30340-2421

I’ve read quite a few mediocre reviews of Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ and had always wondered if the food really wasn’t that good or if people were just going in with the wrong expectations.

After a few hours of mountain biking, HX and I had worked up an appetite and I decided to finally give it a try. My expectation was to find Hawaiian plate lunch food – the kind you would find in local beach spot, a combination of Polynesian, Asian, American and leftover MRE’s from WWII. On the drive, I told HX one of my criteria would be if they had SPAM musubi. Lo and behold, there on the menu – SPAM musubi – essentially huge makizushi filled with teriyaki SPAM. Very tasty – salty, seaweedy, SPAMmy – and filling.

SPAM Musubi

BBQ Beef, BBQ Short Ribs, BBQ Chicken, Macaroni Salad, Rice

We shared the Waikikie Combo, a plate of rice, macaroni salad, BBQ beef (similar in taste to bulgogi), BBQ beef short ribs (essentially kalbi) and BBQ chicken (teriyaki glazed chicken breast). Definitely not “barbecue” (that’s another discussion), but well executed and satisfying.

The menu is extensive, featuring “barbecue”, burgers, curry, ramen, fried rice and even a few vegetarian selections. Shaved ice is on hand for dessert. They also currently have a few Hawaiian beers on hand (Longboard Ale and Pipeline Porter – made with Kona coffee).

So overall, maybe not the most spectacular food in town, but I think I had my expectations set correctly. This is actually the kind of place Atlanta could use more of – a restaurant that seems comfortable in it’s own skin – a place to relax and just let it be what it wants to be.

Waikikie Hawaiian BBQ
2160 Briarcliff Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30329

Lunch with a friend at Tairyou, a Korean/Japanese restaurant just outside the perimeter on Buford Highway. They didn’t offer my standard Japanese lunch (chirashizushi – a bowl of sushi rice with assorted sashimi) so I went with kalbi bento (grilled beef short ribs marinated in soy, garlic and sugar).

Kalbi bento with vegetable and shrimp tempura and California roll

Assorted panchan

Tairyou
5953 Buford Hwy
Doraville, GA 30340

http://eatbufordhighway.wordpress.com/2009/01/12/tairyoutairyou/