I've eaten Korean barbecue several times before now. But never with Koreans at the table. (And never in Flushing!) And so I realised during my most recent foray into this savoury carnivore's wet dream that I had been doing it all wrong all along. The bottomless pickled and spiced banchan/sides (I think we counted up to 15?) were not solely for snacking. Nor were the soya sauce-dipped scallions reserved for garnishing the lettuce wrap. As my friend said: "It's make-your-own." Anything goes.
Pictured here was just one of the many many lettuce wraps that I made, each slightly different. What you can see are the scallions, rice and lettuce. What you can't see (or at least can't make out) is the pickled radish, the dried spicy radish root, and the fattiest piece of duck I've ever eaten. Topped off with some mighty addictive soya-ginger concoction, my taste buds were screaming thank yous all the way to the bank.
CONSUMED: Ham Ji Bach Restaurant; 4108 149th Pl, Flushing (Queens)
Very rarely do I wake up earlier than the sun. Hey, it's a competition I'm happy to lose. But on those few occasions when I do win, such as in order to get to the airport on time for an early flight, you get to catch glimpses of what makes urban mornings so goddamn beautiful.
I've eaten Korean barbecue several times before now. But never with Koreans at the table. (And never in Flushing!) And so I realised during my most recent foray into this savoury carnivore's wet dream that I had been doing it all wrong all along. The bottomless pickled and spiced banchan/sides (I think we counted up to 15?) were not solely for snacking. Nor were the soya sauce-dipped scallions reserved for garnishing the lettuce wrap. As my friend said: "It's make-your-own." Anything goes.
