mugaboka (lomita)

mugaboka
2271 lomita blvd.
lomita, ca 90717
(310) 325-3557

this is where we usually go to for k-bbq when we’re in the torrance/gardena/lomita/south bay area. last weekend, after a long and productive day, we went to mugaboka for dinner to celebrate. :)

they have a la carte menu, but we usually go there for the “all you can eat” (ayce) bbq. i remember how the price used to be $14.99 when we first ate there few years ago, and it’s now $20.99 per person!! >_< you get to choose the usual variety of meat, such as the pork belly, brisket, beef tripe, spicy pork, calamari, beef tongue (my favorite!), rib, etc…

i love their salad!  it comes with the all-you-can-eat order, and you can ask for more if you want.  i usually eat my salad with the meat instead of rice.

there are usually about seven dishes of pan-chan, and the steamed egg.  (sometimes, they ‘forget’ to bring it out, so make sure you ask for it cuz it’s included with your ayce meal!)

our ‘standard orders’ are beef tongue, brisket, and pork belly, then something else if we feel abit more adventurous. :D  the meats are abit inconsistent sometimes, but overall, it’s still pretty good. :)

here’s adding an extra bonus photo taken from previous visit of my little tokidoki dunny enjoying her spicy kimchi! :)

since their prices went up, we haven’t eaten here as often as we used to (whenever we were in the area), but we really like this place and the ‘outdoor’ seatings, though expect your clothes and hair to smell like bbq after you’re done! ;p  they do have their own parking lot, but we can usually find a street parking with no problem when the lot is full.  though the restaurant might be pretty packed sometimes, but there has never been a time when we needed to wait for a table.  they’re very friendly, but at times it does feel like they’re a tad more attentive to koreans than non-koreans. :p  overall, we always enjoy dining here, and i really love the rice tea they serve at the end of the meal. :)

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sorabol korean bbq & asian noodles (century city)

sorabol korean bbq & asian noodles
century city westfields mall
10250 santa monica blvd, #620
los angeles, ca 90067
(310) 277-3772

(sorry for the blur photos, quick snaps with the iphone)

my friend and i wanted to try everything at this food court, and tonight, after catching a movie and did some light after-new-year’s shopping, we settled for some korean food. so, we headed to sorabol, where you get to choose either noodles, rice, or half-and-half of both, then choose one entree, and two side dishes (pan chan).

this is my friend’s dish. he had half-and-half glass noodles and brown rice, picked the bbq beef, and bean sprouts and broccoli. the beef was over cooked, so it was disappointing for him.

this is my dish. i asked for all glass noodles (i love jap chae!), spicy pork, and broccoli and spicy cucumber. the glass noodles were just okay (abit too sweet and dry), the spicy pork is pretty spicy (i love spicy!) and tender. i enjoyed my pick more than my friend did his, and spicy food usually keeps me happy! :) i even asked for some extra of those spicy sauce for the pork. hehe :)

in general though, i wouldn’t recommend to those who appreciate authentic korean food, but if you were shopping in the mall, or before/after the movie, and crave for some korean food for a quick bite, then this would kinda be alright for that.

park’s bbq (korean town)

park’s bbq
955 s vermont ave
los angeles, ca 90005
(213) 380-1717
open daily 11am-10pm
www.parksbbq.com

after spending an afternoon at lacma, we headed to korean town for some grocery shopping at the galleria supermarket. my friend suggested to have dinner at park’s bbq where he’s heard good reviews of. having not really eaten for the whole day, and with the drizzling rain, it was the perfect choice to end the cold evening…plus, we both love k-bbq! :)

it didn’t take us too long to find the place, but it was impossible to find a space to park in the complex. so after some time of driving around the block to find one, my friend got abit impatient and decided we should come back at another time. i asked him to drive around once more before giving up, and sure enough, how lucky we were that a couple just finished their meal and got into the car, so there, we got a nice street parking space. :) once we got inside, we were greeted by the staff and were told to wait at the seating area along the entrance for 30-40mins. sure, no problem! ;)

when we were seated to our table, service was pretty fast. got our menu, water, variety of yummy panchan (small dish appetizers), placed our order, got our salads, and the dipping sauce. the panchan consisted of the usual assortments such as kimchi, steamed egg, pureed squash and many more. we had the marinated prime beef short rib (양념갈비), and my favorite prime beef tongue (혀밑구이). the meats were tender and juicy, and of premium quality. but i didn’t realize that my friend also ordered a prime beef short rib soup with ginseng (영양갈비탕), which was actually really good!! i love soups, and it was perfectly flavored (sorry i forgot to take a picture of it :p)

at the end of the night, we were both really full, but gastronomically happily satisfied. :) to date, i would say this is one of the top best korean bbq places i’ve eaten in LA! service was fast and efficient. they were very attentive and almost throughout the whole dinner, we didn’t really need to cook anything ourselves. (hmm, i actually prefer to be able to cook most of the food ourselves, so we could take the time and choose what we want to eat first. :p) they use traditional charcoal for the bbq here, which is rare these days but a really nice touch. :) glass and steel modern decor throughout the interior. prices are on the higher ends, but you really pay for the excellent service and premium quality of the food. highly recommended if you don’t mind the price and parking, and don’t forget to make reservations if you don’t want to wait! ;)