Had a wonderful meal at this Korean Resatuarant - Kobawoo

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Went last weekend to K Town and had this great meal! Like most people, when I think of Korean food I think of BBQ, but this place is not BBQ, it's Pork Belly wrapped in Nappa Cabbage. That is their signature dish. They boil the Pork Belly first to get the fat out of it, I think I read somewhere that they put coffee in the water to get the harsh porky smell out. They then may steam the pork and then slice it thin and it's served cold. It's called Bossam. The cabbage is either salted our blanched to soften it and it's served with a side of daikon kimchi that's julienned and also salted shrimp. There is also thinly sliced rounds of daikon that's lightly pickled. You can wrap the pork in either or both the cabbage & daikon and basically make a little taco out of it with the condiments. They give you a set portion of the pork, but you can get an unlimited supply of the rest of the sides. Sorry I'm not positive of the way they cook the stuff, I was trying to figure it out myself;o) I was thinking maybe I can make it at home, but I think it's easier to get this at this restaurant!

We also had the seafood pancake, which I just don't care for generally because it's too doughy for me. They have an acorn noodle dish that was delicious. I'd never even heard of Acorn Noodle. It's has a little bit of a harder texture than most noodles and it's served with basically a salad on top. It's spicy & good! We had the Kimchi Chigae Soup which I thought was just ok, I didn't think the broth had much flavor. We ordered the med size Bossam, but they have a large version that has Skate Wing and maybe some other stuff. I was afraid that there wasn't going to enough food for the 4 of us since I like to order tons! The portion of the Bossam was plenty for 4 unless you are a pig;o) The acorn noodles and pancake portions are pretty huge! Even though it was pork belly, since you eat with the veggies, it doesn't make you feel all bloated afterwards. I would definitely go back to this restaurant! The service was good too.

I really don't like yelp for the reviews so much, but I like it for the pics...
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kobawoo-house...

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Kobawoo Restaurant
698 S Vermont Ave Ste 109, Los Angeles, CA 90005

[Clyde]

Thanks for this post. Because of it, I went there over lunch. I hardly eat meat but I had to try the Bossam - it was really good! I ordered the lunch special which came with Miso Soup - I am not a huge miso soup fan so I didn't really eat it, nor did I enjoy it. I thought the banchan was fresh and delish. we also ordered a potato pancake with crab and shared it. it was great. This place is awesome, so thank you for letting me know about it! Can't wait to go back!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Clyde, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it as much as I did! What's nice about the meal, even if you don't eat much meat, is that you really don't end up eating that much of the pork belly because of all the banchan, napa, & radish that you eat with it :o) That's great that you are close enough that you can go for lunch. I did notice the lunch combos, they looked like they were reasonably priced. I wonder if you can get another soup instead of miso...it never hurts to ask! Thanks for reporting back!

[liu]

Hello, BombayUpWithaTwist!

Armed with your recommendations, we enjoyed our dinner at Kobawoo in Koreatown last night. Your write-up is extremely accurate -- and helpful to anyone who might want to try something "different" from Korean BBQ.

We ordered the medium-size Bossam and made mini-tacos as you suggested; that idea was very helpful! It was fun to create various taste pods with the multiple ingredients on the plate!

We also ordered the seafood pancake which we liked a lot. It is an adventure in texture and tastes from the vegetables and seafood that it contains. Most of the tables had an order of Bossam and a seafood pancake!

I offer a few words of advice if you are going to Kobawoo on a Saturday night. We arrived just a little after 5:00pm and there were a few other customers just beginning their dinners. By 5:30 every table was occupied. The parking lot is spacious, but there are three other restaurants in this mini-mall. Another advantage to arriving early is that you will be able to park in their lot. At 6:00pm, it appeared to be valet parking only and the lot was packed.

Thank you, Bombay--, for posting on this restaurant. The experience was certainly different from other Korean dinners that we have had! It was a lot of fun -- and delicious, too!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Liu, I'm so glad that you enjoyed it! I was afraid that people weren't interested since I didn't get many comments;o) That's great that you have a better perspective on the seafood pancake for people that do like it!

Thanks for mentioning about how crowded it gets! I forgot to mention that. We had gone on a Sunday at 6 pm and waited about 15 mins. I think as time goes on the wait get longer and longer.

I definitely will go back. It's a good place for kids and groups up to 6ish. When we went I think we were just about the only non-Koreans. In my group was Chinese, Japanese, American & Korean...a nice mix of ethnicities!

Thanks for report back, Liu!

[liu]

Thanks for posting about this restaurant, BombayUpWithaTwist!
I agree with you that I think they are going to get more crowded with time.

Did you notice the new Korean restaurant on the end of this same mini-mall that has not opened yet? Do you know anything about that one?

[Ciao Bob]

Lack of comments does not always equal lack of interest...your description was so spot-on, I felt I couldn't add anything. I love Kobawoo House!

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Kobawoo Restaurant
698 S Vermont Ave Ste 109, Los Angeles, CA 90005

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Thanks Ciao, I know no comments does not = no interest, but I guess it's just the small insecure side of me;o)

I didn't see much about Kobawoo on CH and am so glad that I know about it now! It seems like you are good at finding alot of the Asian places!

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Kobawoo Restaurant
698 S Vermont Ave Ste 109, Los Angeles, CA 90005

[Phurstluv]

Good to know, Bombay, thanks for the review. We also love the BBQ there, maybe this is worth a detour when in the area.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

You will love it Phurst!

[Phurstluv]

Cool, we'll have to try it some time this summer. Thanks for the rec!!

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Why doesn't Chowhound let you edit the title :o) I really do know how to spell Restaurant!

[Servorg]

If you are within the 2 hour time limit to make edits you can also edit the title of your post.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

Really, I tried to, but I didn't see how to do it...I saw I can edit the body...

[Servorg]

You need to click specifically on the title box and then the blinking cursor will appear there and you can go ahead with your edits.