On a recent much too short visit to San Diego, I managed to sneak in one dinner with the (in)famous Ed from Yuma. We decided to check out Dae Jang Keum, the former Boo Cho, and popular Korean Barbecue that was somewhat inconsistent, sometimes good, and on one visit very disappointing. The restaurant was now on at least it’s fourth set of Owners…and I guess a name change was made, to reverse the bad karma that this location has seems to have over the last few years.
So what was once Boo Cho, was now Dae Jang Keum.
The restaurant has been renovated, and other than the configuration of the tables, the restaurant looks totally different.
Now here’s an interesting photo….
One night at while eating at Sammy’s, someone told me that this restaurant had been named after a "K Drama", those Korean Television Soap Operas that many I know are, or were, addicted to. So after returning from dinner I did a little research…and believe it or not, there was a listing in Wikipedia for the K-Drama Dae Jang Geum, aka, "Jewel in the Palace"! Now this restaurant could actually be named for Jang Geum who was the first female Physician of the Joseon (Chosun) Dynasty, or after the K-Drama….guess which I think it is?
Okay, so much (K) drama for this post, it’s back to the food. I’ve heard some not so good things about the food at DJK, the most interesting was from a very reliable souce who calls Herself 
"daantat" on the Chowhound California Board. So I’d been looking forward to eating here for a while. I also checked in with Sam, who eats here once in a while, since it’s right next door, and knows the Chef quite well. Sam actually met Ed and I, and made some recommendations.
The prices seemed in line with other restaurants of this type, with prices ranging from $10.99 to over $25.
The arrival of the "greens" meant this was "bossam-style" BBQ. And soon enough the "wrappers" (radish and rice flour – dduk and mu) arrived along with the various dipping sauces and panchan.
I’d heard that the panchan at DJK was not very good, and I’m afraid I need to agree, though Ed thought I was being a bit too harsh. I think that the hallmark of panchan is the Baechu Kimchi(napa cabbage kimchi), if you can’t make this staple….well,you get the picture. The Baechu and Mu(radish) were very bland, and what I would consider to be flat in flavor, with just a touch of "heat", and had nothing else going for it.
The best items were the filefish and the fried little fish.
I’ll just stop here….except to say that the potato salad was terrible, too much Asian Pear in it, made the salad much too sweet.
And though Ed from Yuma will probably disagree, there is one observation that I thought was rather telling, the portions of panchan was fairly large, but the very nice server came by twice to see if we needed more panchan…and nary a word from the both of us. Also, this is one of the few times that I can remember where we didn’t finish the panchan. Enough of that, let move on to the main courses.
One of the things that made Boo Cho, and now Dae Jang Keum unique in San Diego, is the use of charcoal, and I’m glad to say nothing has changed. In fact, I think even more charcoal is used for the barbecue than what I could remember. I singed my hands a few times moving meat around!
We ordered the Hyuh Mit Gui(Beef Tongue – $18.99) and Tang Nyum Galbi (marinated short ribs – $20.99), and these were both good choices. The Kalbi was nicely marinated and had decent flavor, though I think the Kalbi at Buga is still the "Gold Standard" for San Diego. The Beef Tongue was the perfect vehicle for charcoal barbecue. The charcoal imparted a nice smoky flavor on the thin slices of tongue, which if you got it grilled right, would be crisp around the edges, and still moist and soft in the middle. The quality of the beef tongue was excellent as well.
Of course the drill was placing some mesclun and other "garnishes" on your plate and creating a dumpling of sort with the wrappers provided. No photos this time, but you can check out a photo on this post.
You’d think we’d be done after this meat-fest, but we decided to cleanse our palate with some Naeng Myun (Cold Buckwheat Noodles in Broth – $9.99):
The cold noodles arrived in a very large bowl, we had the noodles cut, and the very nice server helped us divvy things up. I got the egg and Ed the slice of beef which He said was excellent.
I found the broth to be very refreshing, on the tangy side, and once balanced out with the provided mustard and vinegar, was very nice. The noodles were a different matter, I found them to be tough, and brittle, rather than chewy and elastic. Still, the portion size was on the generous side.
In the end, I found the meat to be good, the Naeng Myun to be okay, and the panchan to be mediocre. At the prices we paid for dinner ($60 for two), I’d want better panchan. The service was very nice and helpful, though the place seemed rather undermanned when we left and most tables were filled. Oh, and there’s one more thing….Boo Cho had never been the most well ventilated restaurant, even with an industrial strength ventilation system. DJK is no improvement, so get ready for this:
My shirt is off to the dry cleaners………
Dae Jang Keum
7905 Engineer Rd
San Diego, CA 92111