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Dae Jang Gum - Firing Up the Appetite
The simple, plainly decorated and brightly lit booth is transformed into a myriad of colorful dishes, as the mood changes from straightforward dining to a glorious feast full of gusto.
When it comes to the notion that Korean food is a food lover’s fantasy there is no smoke without fire. Add in a sizzling Korean barbeque too and Dae Jang Gum is hot in every sense of the word. Best of all is the feeling of not just being full- up but feeling fresh, healthy and festive.
First comes banchan – a kind of Korean tapas that comes at no extra cost. The traditional kimchi, a moreish cabbage, chilli and garlic, tofu, papaya and chilli which adds a Thai twist, cucumber and apple with mayonnaise, pickled cucumber with spices, bean sprouts with sesame oil and salt, spinach and some greens.
The Korean sisters who have run this plaza restaurant understand not just the Korean appetite but how to appeal to Thai and Western tastes too. As the Soju, a sweet potato liquor similar to sake is opened and the hot coals are placed in the centre of the table, along with the many banchan dishes, the appetite leaps like a Korean tiger from mildly suppressed interest to a wild animal of an appetite.
Stone-cooked rice comes with beef and vegetables and a fried egg with chilli sauce for 200 baht. A waitress mixes up the ingredients at the table in a big bowl for arguably one of the most delicious rice dishes in Asia. Korean glass noodles are a speciality and another comfort food favorite with soft, starchy noodles.
Beef marrow soup with spring onion is as robust as the Korean appetite and spirit. Raw meats are served up on the barbeque at a few hundred baht or so for a full plate. There is a choice between beef skirt, pork belly, beef brisket, pork neck in soy sauce, marinated pork rib and marinated beef.
Korean barbeque is not really about just eating pieces of meat from the grill but about putting flavors together to pack a Taekwando style punch to the taste buds. Cook the meat. Dip it in sesame oil. Put in the middle of a lettuce leaf. Add grilled garlic and chilli and some bean paste. Top with a spring onion salad mix. Roll up. Dip in soy sauce with chilli and eat the best of Bangkok’s Asian food.
Unlike the Thai barbeque experience, Korean style is not about toiling over hot coals. The whole experience is modern chic and a waitress takes charge of cooking the meats for diners not wanting to take part in cooking. Dae Jang Gum might have a straightforward, almost clinical style restaurant space but the somewhat bland backdrop belies a menu that is full of all the passion Asian cuisine has to offer.
Going to Dae Jang Gum is like turning up at what you think might be a slightly run of the mill party and having the time of your life.
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