"On Dal", a Korean Stew Joint - review

i think is the best korean dishes for cold weather are the variety of stews, such as maeuntang (spicy fish stew) or gamjatang (pork neckbone and potato stew). it was a rather cold and wet friday night, so our group of 4 decided against the outdoor bbq patio at "manna" at the last minute, and instead opted for "on dal", which is a family-run korean restaurant with only about 10 tables that specializes in seafood stews. this was my third trip to this establishment.

the restaurant is located about a block west of the well-known "soot bull jeep", on the 1st floor of a building labeled the "hamilton hotel", and has a long red sign above the windows on the exterior. first thing that must be said is that the parking is a disaster, and if a street spot is available, you should take it. i expected a wait for a table on a friday night, and indeed there was - about 30 minutes.

upon seating, we ordered the large spicy crab stew ($45) known as kkotgetang and the seafood pancake ($13), which is called haemulpajun. i asked the waiter, who turned out to be the son of the owner, whether that was enough grub for 4, and he grinned widely and nodded. the 2 women at our table noticed that many of the other female patrons were wearing red aprons, so they asked for them and put them on. good thing, because eating crab can be messy.

about 15 minutes after the panchan (about 8 different side dishes) was served, out came a portable butane burner and a big pan full of red broth, bean sprouts, and 4 blue crabs. as the stew began to boil, an older gentleman then came over with a pair of scissors, and expertly cut the crabs into chunks, working around the top shell. 10 more minutes passed and the stew was ready, and we served it amongst ourselves using a ladle and small bowls.

Spicy! that broth knocked out whatever effects the cold weather was having. i thought the best part of the stew was the bean sprout - it had absorbed much of the flavor of the stew without while retaining its texture. others at the table enjoyed the crab more, especially those who proved adept at pulling the meat out around the leg joints. (i wasn't.)

when we finished the crab meat, the waiter asked us whether we wanted the remaining broth to be converted into dumpling soup or fried rice. we opted for the rice, and soon a wok was placed on the butane burner. into the wok went sesame oil, rice, dried seaweed, kimchi, herbs and seasoning, and the crab broth - a sort of a kimchi fried rice with seafood flavor, if you will. it was served along with small bowls of pickle broth that balanced out the spiciness of the rice. that rice was the best part of the meal, i thought.

the total for the crab stew and the seafood pancake, tax and tip included, was $75 without alcohol. very reasonable for a foursome, i thought. the staff was even nice enough to explain the recipe on a specific panchan that no one could figure out. (what i had assumed was slices of radish turned out to be sweet potato slices marinated overnight in water, salt, and splenda)

"on dal" certainly isn't a fancy place. it's a small local ethnic stew joint where you roll up your sleeves and dig away on seafood without shame, while sharing a brew or two. i certainly plan on going again. perhaps next time i'll order something that is easier to eat than those pesky blue crabs.

"on dal"
3160 w. 8th st.
la ca 90005
213) 382-8844

[hawaiianhathi]

my husband and i went to on dal last night and it was great. there was only the two of us and they didn't have a problem with that, but i have to say it would have been better if we'd had a third (or even fourth) person to help us with the hot pot, because the portions are huge.

This sounded interesting so I went to visit last night. No dice; for the first time in my life I was refused seating on the grounds that me, myself and I still only added up to one eater. While there was a very large party outside (milling about and not clearly waiting for service), there were also several empty tables. Discussion/negotiation was difficult since my Korean and her English were equally poor, though she seemed to be insisting on a minimum party size of three (or check of $30, which latter condition likely I'd have met). I left with a poor taste in my mouth--not a good thing if you don't even make it past the door.

Small parties of one or two take warning...they're not particularly interested in your business, so I wouldn't make any sort of special effort to give it to them.

That is too bad. I was planning to try it next week but your experience has made me change my mind.

wow, sorry about that. i was not aware. i have gone in groups of 8, 3, and 4. i should have mentioned that basically everything on their menu (the stews and steamed dishes) are meant to be split amongst those at a table, family-style.

not to endlessly beat a dead horse, but i do remember that the dishess that i've so far ordered were the "large." the menu did list medium-sized stews about $10 cheaper than the large, so that would be about $30 to $35. may be that's what the restaurant was trying to have you order when the said a minimum of $30, because that is the price of the smallest main dish they have.

if a large stew fed a group of 4, perhaps the medium is meant for 2?

It's possible medium is their "two or less" size, but the lady really did seem to be emphasizing three or more patrons was her minimum. And that's a shame, because your nicely-written review really did pique my interest.

The $30 would certainly not have been a problem, especially since on such "recon" missions I like to sample a reasonable variety of foods so as to get as complete an opinion as possible. Perhaps they make tons of won off of weighty bar tabs from beer-drenched stew-slurpers, in which case yes I'd have disappointed them.

i should have mentioned their menu in detail in the original post in order to save you a trip. sorry about that. there are various places nearby that offer a similar format - a big pan of stew to be split amongst a group. i wonder if the others are more accomidating towards a solo diner. if so, "on dal" might see less of me in the future also. if not, what can i say?

as for making "tons of won off of weighty bar tabs from beer-drenched" customers, ... my table drank nada, and they treated us fine. they never even asked us whether we wanted something to drink. the implication that the ownership of "on dal" is robbing the patrons blind by ways of alcohol - i don't know what to make of that. i guess that means i'm fleeced just about everywhere i go!!!

Oh, I wouldn't carry my off-hand comment on booze too far. Chalk it up to a normally cheery solo diner who didn't get what he considers a fair shot (as I said, I've never been turned down before in years of eating out).

On the brighter side I had a nice seafood pancake and spicy fish stew at Kobawoo today; lots of pleasant, hard working kids in that place, and they even jumped this single diner ahead of 4 other parties. In K-Town, no individual joint is indispensible and some owners seem to grok that better than others...

smssms---

Nice review. A couple of quick questions;

"dig away on seafood without shame, while sharing a brew or two..."

I take it from this they have beer. Soju too?

What other stews have you sampled on your other visits (if you can remember)?

Kansamnida.

yes, they serve beer and soju, a lot of it in fact. soju matches well with stews packing a punch.

previously i had kkotgejjim, which is steamed blue crabs with bean sprouts. this wasn't spicy at all and was quite good, but i don't recall fried rice or dumpling soup at the end. i've also had a spicy mixed seafood stew, which might have been haemultang. the pan was filled with crab, cuttlefish, mussels, shrimp, and such.