*** Update: Ko Hayang Jip is now Go Ba Woo, but the menu and the food seems to be the same.
One of the really nice things about having a food blog are the recommendations that I get. Recently, I received an Email from Calvin informing me that a new Korean Restaurant had opened on Convoy St. Having exchanged Emails with Calvin in the past, I knew Him to be a very knowledgeable and credible source. So on a recent wet and cold evening we made our way to Ko Hayang Jip (aka Ko Hyung Jip).
The interior of this Mom-and-Pop restaurant was small, yet somewhat "cozy."
Looking at the cover of the menu, I had to laugh at the Homer Simpson-Dilbert looking character on the cover.
After looking over the menu, we placed our order. And then the panchan began to arrive, 8 plates all told.
The panchan consisted of many of the usual suspects such as moo(daikon), namul( marinated bean sprouts), and baechu(napa cabbage) kimchee. But there were also a few items that I hadn’t seen before.
The hit of the evening were the marinated lotus root with a slightly sweet-soy sauce-light sesame oil flavor and in spite of being marinated, the lotus root was still quite crunchy.
We started with the Gum Mandu($6.95):
The Mandu were really not very good, oily, bland filling, and the wrappers hard and thin. They reminded me of the frozen gyoza that you buy at Nijiya. The Jap Chae($8.50) arrived next. At first I was disappointed at the small portion size. But the Jap Chae was pretty good, and not oily in the least bit.
Even though the signage says Ko Hayang Jip features Korean Barbeque, we saw something on the menu which we haven’t had since we moved from Los Angeles. Black Goat Casserole (Black Goat Meat w/Vegetables and Broth) for Two($28.50). A portable stove was brought out, and a wide pot was brought out and placed on it.
Once bubbling, we mixed the greens into the broth, and starting eating. The broth was very warming and spicy, but not as spicy as it looked. There were chunks of slighly gamey, but not too fatty goat meat, onions, and other veggies in the broth. The greens were crunchy with a slight peppery bitterness that cut through any heat that the broth had. So hearty, healthy, and delici-yoso!!! Served along with "Black Rice" this was more then enough food for us, and we had quite a bit left over for lunch!
So good, on a cold and rainy night. Coincidentally, that night I received an Email from Calvin regarding Ko Hayang Jip. Here’s what he wrote about the Korean Barbecue:
"We got the standard bulgogi, which they cooked at the table on a hot iron griddle and later kept moist with broth. I also got the chicken bulgogi variant, which came on a platter pre-cooked. Both were a tad underflavored compared to Boocho, but tender and yummy."
Thanks for the recommendation Calvin!
We knew we’d be back soon, but didn’t realize it would be the following night!
To Be Continued………..
Ko Hayang Jip
4373 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111