Matt and Jen heard from a Korean friend that Ham Ji Bak was legit. As we drove up, I had a feeling we were in for a genuine Korean feast based solely on the surroundings. Not a word of English in sight and I saw some mini pigs curing on the front terrace of an apartment. The people who live in this neighborhood mean business.
I'm not at all picky so I let Matt do all the ordering. The waitress was very impressed with Matt's Korean pronunciation and appreciated our willingness to go with a spicy dish. We may have only ordered four dishes, but we may as well have ordered 40 with the amount of food they placed in front of us. There were about 15 dishes of [free!] banchan including pickled cucumbers, bean sprouts, tofu, broccoli, fish, kimchi, and much much more. Next came our main courses. I couldn't tell you what their real names were or exactly what was in them since there was little English on the menu.
We ordered beef cooked on a hot plate, pork belly (prepared the same way), a seafood pancake, and squid with noodles in a sweet and spicy sauce. It was all amazing. I love DIY food, so I was happy to assemble mini wraps with the beef and pork belly (beef in lettuce, pork belly in pickled radish, both with scallions and sauces) as the waitress instructed. If I had to choose favorites, I would probably say the pork belly and squid were the two best things we tried, but it seems like you can't really go wrong at this place. To finish the meal, the waitress brought out a complimentary beef soup followed by complimentary pumpkin slush and pineapple slices.
It was an incredible meal and now that Matt and Jen are equipped with an automobile, I have a feeling we'll be enjoying plenty more adventures. Bring it.
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