The Missus was craving some Dak Bulgogi….actually the spicy rendition. She had enjoyed the version at BiBimBoom on our previous visits, so we headed there.
We arrived in time for the restaurants opening at 11am, before any crowds and were seated.
The service here has always been very nice and it was no different on this visit as well.
The Missus went with the Dak Bulgogi ($24.50 – it was $21.50 when we visited in March!) and I went with a hot weather favorite of mine, the Bi Bim Naengmyeon ($16.50).
Soon enough panchan was delivered.
This was interesting. On our first visit they served 5 panchan. Evidence submitted for review your Honor!
On our follow-up visit, it was down to 4.
And now it’s three!
Which cracked me up since we’re talking a mere five months here. On the positive side, the baechu kimchi was not bad….more “sour” than fermented, but pretty good overall.
We were used to things taking a bit of time and our food took 45 minutes to arrive…even though we were the only customers in the place.
While there was a good amount of Tteokbokki (rice cake) in the dish today…something that was missing on our second visit, this was disappointing. The chicken lacked caramelization and was tough and chewy. The overall spice level was lower than on previous visits. The portion has appeared to shrink as well. There were just a few slices of onions on the bottom of the dish and also a pool of oil. Well, at least the rice was ok.
And then for the real disappointing dish…the BiBim Naengmyun…I mean, take a look at it.
The boiled egg was the highlight of the dish as it was nicely done…and then things went downhill quickly. The soup was not cold enough; look, you see any ice in it? It tasted watered down and lacked that refreshing mild, fruity-sweetness. And since this is bibim naengmyun, I was looking for the spicy cho-jang. I actually had to move the cucumber and stuffs.
There was hardly any of it! It really didn’t make an impact on the dish. I also noticed that the naengmyun lacked the typical “four cut”…sliced by scissors to enable one to eat those springy, super chewy noodles. And soon enough I figured out why……egad, the noodles were mushy, lacking in the rubberband like elasticity. Ok, so maybe this is more like Pyongyang style naengmyun, but it was still very squishy.
Overall, this was probably the most disappointing meal we’ve had since we revisited Spicy City. You know, I was quite surprised when I found out that BiBimBoom was owned by the same company as Steamy Piggy, Formoosa, and Viet Nom after our previous visits. Places that were more about concept and decor than about cuisine in my opinion. Owned by a company that seemed to think we can make any type of Asian Cuisine (they are opening Oi-Shiba a ramen shop on Convoy). Our visits to BiBimBoom made me believe I was so mistaken….but now….
BibimBoom!
9225 Mira Mesa Blvd.
110 San Diego, CA 92126