*** Boo Cho has another set of new owners who have changed the name of the restaurant to Dae Jang Keum. An updated post can be found here.
A few days after my visit to Boo Cho, the Missus and I decided to drop by again, for a fairly late (9pm) dinner. As we walked in, we quickly noticed the place was packed.
We managed to snag the last available table, and watched the heads from the other tables bob up-and-down. Reminded me of that arcade game….you know the one, you hit the gophers(might be something else – not quite sure which rodent) with a mallet as they pop up and down from their burrows. The staff was running like crazy, with clean grills, banchan, and plates of meat flying past us. We managed to place our order, and soon after the banchan arrived.
As with my previous visit, the Baechu Kimchi was quite good. In fact, even the Missus, who’s not a fan of Baechu Kimchi enjoyed it.
The Oi(cucumber) Kimchi, fishcake, and Namul(marinated beansprouts) were quite good as well.
Even though it’s been quite hot, the Missus ordered Yookaejang(Spicy Beef Soup – $8.99):
The slightly clear beef broth sprinkled with chili powder, had a nice flavor, and the soup was full of Gosari(fernbrake), egg, green onions, and some melt in your mouth tender slices of beef.
Along with the usual bowl of rice, this was quite a meal.
I ordered the Bibim Naengmyun($8.99):
I’m a sucker for spicy cold noodle dishes, and this did not disappoint. The thin noodles were superbly elastic and chewy. We had what the Missus calls the "more you eat, the more there seems to be" syndrome, that never ending bowl of noodles. The garnishes were more of afterthoughts; the beef was flavorless, as were the slices of Asian Pear. But the sauce was so very "beany" in flavor, and the heat level was perfect.
In spite of how full the restaurant was, we had very good service. We were asked twice if we wanted our banchan refilled, of course we got more Napa Cabbage and Cucumber Kimchi. And in what we thought was a very nice touch, the Young Lady brought out even another plate of the Cucumber Kimchi, telling us "sorry, we didn’t give you enough the last time!"
I guess you could say Boo Cho is back on my list…… I’m hoping Boo Cho manages to keep the quality and service consistent over time.
Boo Cho Restaurant
7905 Engineer Rd
San Diego, CA 92111