Highlighting the Best of Korean Cuisine in New York City
Korean cuisine can often be confused and unfairly grouped together with Chinese and Japanese cuisine; however, Korean cuisine has its own unique flavors, twists and specialties. Here are some of the defining dishes in Korean cuisine and our recommendations in New York City on where to try them.
Bibimbap is a Korean dish with rice and chili pepper paste often served with an egg (raw or fried) and sliced meats. It is a staple lunch in Korea.
Our recommendation for bibimbap:
Woorijip – 12 W 32nd St
Woorijip is a popular Korean lunch buffet/ cafeteria in the heart of Koreatown. You can try all sorts of Korean goodies for an affordable price. Also if you are in a rush, they sell delicious packed, ready to eat bibimbap that is very convenient for $5-7.
In Korean barbecue restaurants, you can order all sorts of marinated cuts of chicken, beef or pork and can grill them yourself or have a server grill them right at your table. The dinner often comes with a number of signature Korean side dishes such as exotic vegetables, seaweed and omelets. Korean barbecue is great for an interesting get together with friends and trust us, it is a lot of fun.
Our recommendation for Korean barbecue:
Kum Gang San – 49 West 32nd Street
At Kum Gang San, you can get the entire Korean barbeque experience from the sizzle of the meats grilled on your table to the endless sides. Also there is musician usually playing traditional Korean music on a “cliff” and it really adds to the ambiance.
When people think of Korean cuisine, the first thing that usually comes to mind is kimchi. It is in fact Korea’s national dish. Kimchi is seasoned fermented vegetables and it has quite a unique flavor so it may take a couple of tries to get used to it. However, to those that are kimchi fans, it becomes a side dish to just about everything.
Our recommendation for kimchi:
Muk Eun Ji – 34 W 32nd St
Muk Eun Ji specializes in kimchi and they import their kimchi ingredients directly from Korea. You can enjoy kimchi here in just about any combination you can think of, kimchi fried rice, kimchi stew, kimchi pancakes, etc.
Finally Korean cuisine is also known for its noodles that can be served hot or cold, stir fried or in broth.
Our recommendation for Korean- style noodles:
Arirang – 32 W 32nd St, 3rd Floor
Arirang is renowned for their hand made noodles in soup called kal gook soo. You can get it with vegetables, chicken, seafood and of course kimchi and it is perfect for a chilly day.
Han Joo – 12 Saint Marks Place
On the other end of the spectrum, we recommend Han Joo for their naengmyeon, arrowroot noodles in an ice cold beef broth. Han Joo is also another great option for Korean barbeque.