New York Kom Tang Kalbi House

The first time I visited New York Kom Tang Kalbi House was also the first time I had kimchi jigae at a restaurant. Angie’s father used to send us tupperware containers of kimchi jigae but I’d never experienced at a restaurant before. I started loving Korean food when Angie’s dad introduced kimchi jigae to me: it had great flavor, lots of pork, and was so enjoyable to eat during the winter time. Surprisingly, I don’t remember eating any kimchi when I visited Korea as a kid because I didn’t like the chili peppers and practically starved myself when I visited. I hadn’t visited the restaurant in over five years, so Ken and I stopped in on Friday night. Their ban chan:

Their bean sprouts and the kimchi were the only two appetizers that I liked, but I was glad their kimchi was good because if a Korean restaurant’s kimchi isn’t good, their food is probably not that good, either.

Ken ordered the kimchi jigae, which is served in a metal bowl over a small flame to keep it warm while you eat:

I ordered the seafood chigae:

And we both ordered a side of LA Galbi (they have a special – a chigae + bulgogi or LA Galbi for $19.99):

The seafood chigae was much better than the kimchi jigae and the meat was actually not good at all. A lot of my pieces of galbi were too charred and didn’t taste like meat and the pieces I did eat didn’t have any flavor and were a bit overcooked. One surprising thing about the seafood chigae that most Korean restaurants don’t do: the shrimp was already peeled and they included lots of squid. We both liked my seafood jigae but would have passed on everything else.

The restaurant has been in Koreatown since 1979 and we might have experienced it on an off night, but after dinner I definitely didn’t satisfy my chigae craving and ended up going out for Korean food on Saturday, too!