Category: Korean

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East Asian Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever met, my Singaporean friend Ming Lee (God rest his beautiful soul) regarded people by the content of their character, not by physical characteristics.  So, it surprised me to hear him joke “we all look alike.”  It was an unsolicited admission that even he couldn’t always discern the cultural genesis of Asian people he met.  He also joked “at least I can always tell where an Asian restaurant’s food comes from.”  Ming was a bona fide gastronome who introduced me to the cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia.  Like me, he disliked restaurants in which overt homogenization of Asian food was apparent.  Sure, different culinary cultures across Southeast Asia have borrowed from one another over the…

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I Grill Korean BBQ & Hotpot

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

You hear it very time a seismic event or devastating conflagration strikes California.  Doomsayers seem to come out from under the rocks to proclaim it “divine castigation.”  That’s also their argument when the Golden State’s elections don’t go as they would like.  These very same people don’t seem to like much about California.  Such negativity makes me wonder if these fatalists have ever spent much time in this fabled  land of opportunity and adventure.  There’s got to be a reason California is the most populous state in the union.  Surely the forty-million residents would be leaving in droves if it was that bad. Although the Air Force took me to most of the contiguous states in the country, it was…

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Birdies by Chef Kevin Lee – Edmond, Oklahoma

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

My Kim and I regard ourselves as ambassadors for the great state of New Mexico, especially when we travel.  We’re often asked where we’re from.  Invariably we run into people whose perceptions about the Land of Enchantment are far from kind.  Some actually believe Breaking Bad is a documentary about the condition of life in New Mexico where wild west lawlessness is rampant.  If only perceptions of New Mexico were as gracious and kind as those of Oklahoma.  Throughout our week-long sojourn in the Sooner State, state pride was palpable.   You would expect that from locals, but some of the nicest things we heard about Oklahoma were from visitors like us.  Most visitors were genuinely touched by just how nice…

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K Style Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

If you’re susceptible to the power of suggestion–especially as it pertains to ear worms (recurring tunes that involuntarily pop up and stick in your mind)–you’re probably going to hate me (or you can skip this paragraph and continue to love me).  That’s because if you do read this paragraph you’re going to be humming to yourself one of the most annoying songs of all time–Gangnam Style.  Arguably, Gangnam Style is not as annoying as La Macarena or My Humps (which Rolling Stone declared “the most annoying song ever”). The more you try to suppress Gangnam Style, the more your impetus to hum it increases, a mental process known as ironic process theory.  By the way, those most at risk for…

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Kokio Chicken – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Most culinary historians agree that black American soldiers stationed in Korea during the Korean War (June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953) taught the Korean soldiers with whom they fought side-by-side how to make fried chicken.  Popular theory holds that black American soldiers wanting to celebrate American Thanksgiving feasted with fried chicken. (Apparently not even scrounge-master Radar O’Reilly could find a turkey in the entire Korean peninsula).   The fried chicken was shared with their Korean compatriots. Before that memorable Thanksgiving celebration, chicken in Korea was commonly served boiled in stews.   Eating it  fried was an entirely new experience for the Korean soldiers. Though fried chicken was an instant hit, the war thoroughly devastated the Korean economy.  Essential ingredients…

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Hanmi Korean-Chinese Fusion – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Popular culture is defined as “commonly known information that briefly holds the public interest. It is typically discussed in various mass media, including TV and the Internet, and becomes a topic of everyday conversation (what used to be called a “water cooler conversation” before that term fell from popularity).  Apparently you’re out of touch with pop culture when you believe Game of Thrones is a video game and that Taylor Swift is a sprinter, the female equivalent of Usain Bolt. Approaching forty years of youth, I’d probably be completely out of touch with pop culture were it not for our interns at UNM Information Technology.  They do their best to educate this old fogey on what’s lit, cool, on fleek…

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Urban 360 Pizza, Grill and Tap House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:09 AM

Babu: Our specials are tacos, moussaka and franks and beans. Jerry: Well, what do you recommend my good fellow? Babu:Oh, the turkey. ~”The Cafe, Seinfeld, Season 3, Episode 7 While perusing the menu at Urban 360 Pizza, Grill and Tap House, my ever-witty friend Ryan “Break the Chain” Scott commented that the menu reminded him of The Dream, the very eclectic restaurant owned and operated by Pakistan emigrant Babu Bhatt in an uproariously funny episode of Seinfeld. As Jerry Seinfeld observed about The Dream’s menu, “he’s serving Mexican, Italian, Chinese. He’s all over the place.” Urban 360’s menu is similarly diverse, a melange of Asian, American and European dishes splayed temptingly onto three pages. That the menu is so “all…

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Soo Bak Seoul Bowl & Soo Bak Foods – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Announcer: “The story you are about to read is true. The menu has been changed to showcase the delicious mashup of Korean and Mexican cuisines. Roy Choi: “This is the city: Los Angeles, California. I work here. I’m a chef.” Since 2008, there’s been a dragnet in progress across the city of Los Angeles. Instead of a coordinated attempt by police to catch criminals, this dragnet is a coordinated attempt by four mobile food kitchens (that’s food truck to you, Bob) to attract hungry diners. Those mobile food kitchens are named Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go and have pioneered a technological approach for enticing eager eaters by announcing its location on social media. Diners have since been lining up like flash mob…

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Sushi & Sake – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:44 AM

“If white wine goes with fish, do white grapes go with sushi?“ – George Carlin A reader once asked Washington Post humorist Gene Weingarten what he was a snob about. His reply, “I am also a snob about food. The other day, in Baltimore, I passed a sign outside a restaurant that said “Sushi Buffet!‘ and laughed out loud because it occurred to me that “sushi” and “buffet” are two words that should never appear together.”  His sentiment resonates strongly with sushi aficionados who adhere to the strict rules of etiquette which governs the way in which true sushi snobs enjoy sushi. It’s a given that a true sushi snob would never eat at an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant nor would…

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Asian Pear – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:58 PM

“Careful Father, this stuff will melt your beads.” ~Lt Colonel Henry Blake, MASH 4077 Just as Hogan’s Heroes helped establish the perception many Americans (at least of my generation) had about German food, the television show MASH was the first introduction many of us had to Korean food. Set in South Korea during the Korean War, the series centered around a group of resilient doctors, nurses and support staff in an isolated hospital compound which saw more than its share of wounded. Not only did each half hour episode depict–sometimes rather graphically–the horrors of war, it painted a rather poignant and entirely accurate picture of sacrifice and hardship. Some of the sacrifice and hardship came at the hands of the…

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Bonchon – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno12:50 AM

Hawkeye Pierce had a very unique (and very sarcastic) take on the Korean War: “I just don’t know why they’re shooting at us. All we want to do is bring them democracy and white bread. Transplant the American dream. Freedom. Achievement. Hyperacidity. Affluence. Flatulence. Technology. Tension. The inalienable right to an early coronary sitting at your desk while plotting to stab your boss in the back. That’s entertainment.” History has shown there was prophecy in his words. After thousands of years of civilization, South Korea now has donuts, quesadillas, pizza, cheeseburgers, fried chicken nuggets and all the fast foods which have wreaked havoc on America’s gut microbiome.  Hawkeye might term this cynically as the realization of the American dream. To…