Huge KOREAN FOOD Tour!! 🌶️ SPICY SEAFOOD + Kimchi Noodles in Koreatown, LA!! [Part 1]

i'm actually overwhelmed i don't even know how to act or what to do a row of three by five banchan is another one of their signature dishes here oh man see i told you that thing just melts in your mouth right look at that row [Applause] [Music] it's good to know that it's healthy oh man [Music] [Applause] i can never go back every bite of dumpling has to be with kimchi [Music] hey everyone hope you're having an amazing day it's mark wiens and welcome to los angeles good morning steve hello hello mark awesome to hang out with you today likewise and today we are gonna go on an ultimate korean food tour of koreatown in los angeles i think it is the number one hub and the biggest korea town and center of korean culture outside of korea in the world for sure right no doubt about it we're going to take you on an ultimate korean food tour of k-town los angeles we're going to be eating noodles we're going to be eating marinated crab we're going to be eating a special duck dish we're going to be eating barbecue we're going to have a lot of fun we're going to eat a lot of delicious food and share all of the korean food and this entire ultimate tour with you right now [Applause] [Music] so steve where are we going first so first we are going to this place called mdk noodles which is one of the most popular traditional noodle houses in los angeles in koreatown they specialize in fresh handmade noodles especially what's called their kalguksu which is the korean style knife cut noodles doesn't that sound exciting smells so good in this kitchen you smell that lactic acid there's barrels of kimchi going buckets of garlic flying around the kitchen the pre-aromas of a korean food tour oh man i'm hungry looks like cheese curds seems that they make these giant noodle rolls which almost look like paper towels before they're then set aside and rest and then they slice them into the noodles but what a cool machine it kind of kneads and pushes them and then like flattens it out into a roll formation [Music] exactly [Music] man those are fresh noodles that you're guaranteed to get here from here we're gonna run to the kitchen where they're gonna where auntie is gonna cook oh man there's just about 12 pots of boiling broth and meat juices and sauces all over the place and then if you come to the back there that's where they're going to boil the kalguksu the noodles but then also they have this amazing steamer for the mandu it smells so wonderful oh man what a i didn't even see those trays of food over there oh yeah yeah can you eat all this mark baby [Music] [Music] okay so [Music] [Music] so bibim kind of means like mixed right a mixed so it's almost a mixed whoa mix noodles mixed and then the guksu are those noodles which used green noodles wow oh the mandu is ready wow she can cook man [Music] um this place is serious man yeah auntie's skills in the kitchen i don't even have time to to process what she's doing she's just flying around the kitchen like through volcanic steam baths through boiling juices and noodles everything is ready and she's probably still like running around making more dishes like right now oh soybean soybean sauce okay wow [Music] um not fully no talk about working brisk in the back of that kitchen man they just fly auntie she's the korean auntie you want to have this is truly going to be an ultimate jeffrey is also joining us for a quick breakfast this morning oh it's so good i think we better start with the mandu because they're like right out of the steamers you want to catch those while they're hot all right mark are you ready for the first bite of this entire tour one bite yes cheers cheers cheers boom that was so comforting oh wow yeah oh i immediately taste the shrimp in there the the bouncy texture of them oh it's such a good mixture of meat shrimp and herbs in there maybe chives yes chives too you can see all the colors inside through the dumpling and it doesn't break apart yeah i think that's something i love is that the skin is so thin the owner mentioned that we one of the special moves one of the signature things to do here because they're famous for their kimchi is take some of the kimchi and i hope we do this correct i'm gonna put this into the bowl take one of the dumplings onto the kimchi and kind of wrap the wrap the kimchi is this the [Music] correct [Music] method kimchi flavored flavor explosion in your mouth man the extra punch from that kimchi wow yeah the ultimate move right there absolutely and everything is like just made fresher so you can really taste the difference right i can never go back and every bite of dumpling has to be with kimchi forever so minced meat on top there's she added in these fresh noodles um let's just serve ourselves some of the that's quite a noodle pole here but a noodle ball come on over here i've got a i got you bro you got me don't let go man don't let me drown these are the fresh noodles that we saw them make and that they slice in the back there in the factory before boiling them up there's little dumplings in there there's a chive mixture there's onions and then there's that minced meat that they put on top no you definitely need to eat this one if you come your signature dish right here signature dish yes all right cheers [Music] that's just warm and comforting the freshness of the noodles the soup is not overpowering it's just soothing feels just like eating in korea right you would not know you're not in korea and then we just got i think this sauce might be for the calgo soup okay it looks kind of like a chili oil not too much it might be salty okay this is like the type of dish that anybody could eat from from young to old everyone can appreciate okay next up for the bibim the noodles are green but she said it's from they're not like matcha tea noodles these are made from corella which is some type of seaweed that she mentioned and man i loved how she made this yeah let's just pair in should we mix it or should we just we gotta oh you gotta yeah go for it you wanna help me mark yes okay you know this thing is very sticky so i'm just letting you know that you some people i wonder if you have to cut this thing the noodles oh nice nice hand of god okay all right that makes things easier really all right there's pickled vegetables in here there's kimchi's there's a variety of sauces refreshing oh wow yeah she took them out of the hot water put them under ice water really like massaged them made them into a ball like literally like squeeze them out like a towel and then put them in your bowl making sure they're icy cold slippery cold there's so many combinations and contrasts here they're not totally spicy too no no it's more like a sweet soothing chili sauce yeah not like you know about to do [Music] so good soybean milk with the same green noodles on the bottom yeah this is really one of the most unique and traditional korean dishes that you absolutely need to try especially if you want to be introduced into the wonderful world of korean noodles you ready mark oh yes it looks and feels like the texture of a protein shake like it's like foamy and thick all but men perfectly coating those noodles look at that wow all right let's do it cheers cheers whoa the purity of it it's like very earthly doesn't it tastes like it very nutty nutty yeah soy beans i believe soybeans and you taste the sesame in there there's very healthy taste to it minimal very minimal yes yes exactly i mean if i had the flu or something um you know like instead of chicken soup i wouldn't mind having that [Music] i'm just gonna set my dumplings onto this tray of kimchi nice okay i'm going to set that directly onto just cover it in kimchi both top and bottom yeah double kimchi triple kimchi the mandu sandwich i think it's one of the more garlicky kimchi that you'll ever have it's also a pretty fresh kimchi it's not you don't take as much lactic acid it's mostly the like the stage where it's it's very new it's not too bright [Music] man the quality the freshness of everything is what really stood out absolutely so good but we're not done quite yet oh not even close we're on our way to the next place [Applause] [Music] [Applause] and next up we're going to a place that's called soban restaurant one of the legends of korean food in los angeles and one of the great things about this restaurant is that it was jonathan gold who was truly one of the most remarkable food writers in the the world has ever seen unfortunately he's not with us anymore but his writing uh food advice continues and this was one of his favorite korean restaurants absolutely it's also michelin guide restaurant oh cool really one of the best uh high quality traditional korean dining experiences you can have in los angeles small it's friendly it's like homey and we met with the owner so nice so friendly from what steve told me is that the husband is the one who cooks the dishes but the wife makes all the banchan and does all the pickling mix the kimchi's so what a team it's family run like extract we're getting an exclusive look here in the back in the kitchen of soban where mr and mrs park cook and prepare the dishes oh it's an honor to be back here in such a legendary restaurant chicken [Music] just straight home cooking yep oh yeah uh [Music] [Music] oh rice cake okay [Music] so we've got the the fish stew we've got the kyby jim which is the beef short rib stoop he's just heating up some stone bowls and those are gonna go into them wow it smells unbelievable in here oh that smells insane yeah octopus okay yeah garlic yes sometimes octopus goes in oh oh honey [Applause] oh man oh that was amazing that is some cooking skills thank you experience that was incredible that final octopus dish that final octopus dish was just absolutely amazing thank you okay thank you that was so good so good okay i cannot wait to eat all right [Laughter] this is a roasted peanuts with baby anchovies uh dried uh daikon radish it's a korean green it's in the aster family um and that has the um the fermented beets and baby uh anchovies so this one is like a a stew with fish eggs yes so there's a little bit of fish grow some smelt in there quite a lot of smell actually so you know that tacos [Music] they have gone above and beyond i'm actually overwhelmed i don't even know how to act or what to do there's a row of three by five banchan 15 different banchans that is a sign of a great korean restaurant is taking pride in the different banchons because that's really like one of the arts one of the skills of korean culinary like history and ah it's that banchan marinated raw crabs so it's basically just remember the part you got it right all right oh man pickled for two days marinated look at that row you ever seen anything like it oh man we just suck it suck it here we go [Music] that is sweet isn't it sweet and bitter at the same time just a hint of bitterness but in like a really good kind of way like condensed full force crab all that like hint of sliminess texture oh man this is just melts in your mouth it melts in your mouth you don't need teeth you don't need teeth you don't need teeth to eat this just suck it on like a bait even a baby can eat oh man i don't know about you but i can suck on this all day long yeah maybe out by the beach or to see just have some raw crabs you have that right the crunch to the christmas oven the stir-fried octopus oh man he just absolutely like rocked this dish in korean they call it the nakji which is the [Laughter] the smokiness because it looked like fireworks when he made those we must have added in like 15 different spices and seasonings chili flakes pepper sauces sesame seeds oils sake oh man so many things went in here i know you can really taste the multi-dimensional flavor going on right and then all wrapped up within the like almost like bouncy octopus right that's delicious oh yeah wow it's not that spicy either i mean when you look at it some of these dishes look like they're going to be burning hot but it's not like that no no yeah this one is actually it's very tolerable let me tell you don't be afraid of this guys the cod fish oh yeah this is another one of their signature dishes here they just boiled this in a in a fireworks display of sauce and juices the fish and sesame seeds oh man see i told you that thing just melts in your mouth right yeah so buttery in texture and then again just wrapped up with all of that sauce he layers in the flavors they're all evident they're all in there the pepper flakes bean pastes that's sesame seeds oh man yeah this and you haven't even tried the rice oh yeah the radish is a mush in here i love the way radishes used in korean cooking oh yeah oh i got potato actually oh but the potato is awesome too really okay i absorbed the flavor okay i found a radish yup it was trying to hide from you you can tell it's a radish by that transparent a little more transparent than the potato it's so juicy it's so juicy it's so again it absorbs the flavor of that stew oh wow we've got banchan for days here the complexity of flavor i mean from fresh to fermentation from sweet to spicy to salty to it's very textural as well you'll find some that are very soft and tender others that are crunchy and chewy others that have totally different textures to them [Music] oh that's a beautiful sweet and saltiness to it and nutty like leathery yet crunchy at the same time so next up for the kaibi jim which is the beef short ribs entry you slice it off the bone but it's still blazing hot in here seriously look at that oh man yeah so in english they call us the brace short ribs greens raised short ribs all right let's go steve and thankfully they cut the supper that is nice yes they slice it off the bone for you oh wow i got a big piece i didn't know if i did that on purpose but okay soft yet stringy the mix of fat and meat you taste the flavor of the plum in there i saw that they added some dried plums in there so it has a fruity sweetness to it contrasting the pepper flakes and by the way they can um adjust the spiciness of it so it can be mild it can be a little bit spicy so just apply it for you guys wow that's pretty good i can tell you're having a good time korean food here dip it in the sauce oh man i'm going to be generous with my dips cheers man [Music] that sauce makes all the difference just comforting but a mix of seafood kind of like all mixed together all made into a almost taste like consistency for a pancake batter fried i think we just have one more to try they call it the row fish eggs fish eggs and the texture i love the texture of fish eggs it's crumbly it just dissolves in your mouth because there's so many of those eggs all together okay i think we've sampled everything here we have a massive table of food to eat and we're going to stay here for a while we're going to finish off the rest of the food seriously just straight home cooking with so much passion so much love and so much preservation of korean ingredients and techniques truly a special restaurant man absolutely so wow yeah i would say that for you guys if you are looking for very traditional home style high quality korean cooking that's non-barbecue related if you want to try something different this is the restaurant you got to try because we always think of going the barbecue route which we are going to go by the way but you got to try the traditional stuff just like we're doing right now right isn't it so great this is awesome food yeah absolutely sensational in there and then you mix the white rice in there so like a bowl and you mix all the tamale in the row and then if you'd like you can even add like a little bit of sesame oil yeah so this was chilled with the rice inside right in there mark doesn't look so awesome so in the corners there's a lot wow it's almost like done with that real like almost like a porridge in some ways so you're mixing you eat it like that a little tiny bit of sesame oil man you're a chef with the rice a little bit of sesame soil sesame oil drizzled on top man that is quite unique oh you taste that roasted sesame oil and the sweetness of the row and then she was telling us that in the crab recipe that sauce includes 24 different ingredients which are boiled down that that's sauce that's just killer isn't it celery oh the freshness of that the crunch of the celery the wild sesame next banchan and auntie said that she actually grinds her own acorn flour to make this everything is by hand all the texture so silky so smooth so neutral tasting finishing off with some auntie made some of her own like plum tea yeah it's like a plum tea like a fermented plum okay fermented plum tea which is good for the digestion oh yeah two years fermented so that came out of one of those jars oh just like everything her knowledge of pickling and preservation is everything about this restaurant that's like huge it's unparalleled wow great way to end off the meal this is so good i cannot recommend sobani enough absolutely a legendary restaurant incredible food incredible family that was extraordinary we are now going actually right across the street for the next meal it just turned into such a massive day of korean food that i had to split this video up into two parts because you don't want to miss any of the korean food action in part two we're walking right across the street to eat a unique barbecue meat and the greatest ever fried rice steve is going to take me to eat my first korean dog and then we'll finish with an epic korean barbecue so keep on watching part 2 for lots more delicious korean food oh man well the juices are just pouring out

Channel: Mark Wiens

Views: 1,599,026

Keywords: Korean food, Koreatown LA, Los Angeles, Mark Wiens, Korean food Los Angeles, Soban, best Korean restaurants, best restaurants in LA, best Korean food in LA, best Korean food in Los Angeles, Korean food tour, Los Angeles food, American food, Mark Wiens food, Mark Wiens Los Angeles, things to do in LA, things to do in Los Angeles, food tour, food videos, food vlog

Id: eATsI9WVVck

Length: 31min 6sec (1866 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 29 2021