Flaming Clam Grill of Cheongdamdong

The restaurant's name, Bultaneun Cheongdamdong Jogae Gui, translates into English as "Flaming Clam Grill of Cheongdamdong". , Cheongdamdong is a fancy suburb in Seoul nicknamed the Korean Beverly Hills as it has upscale boutiques and art galleries.



Don’t look for any English here as everything is in Korean even the menu.

We chose the 59.99 option for our table of three



The nice thing, though, is that the menu has pictures so you know what you’re getting.




I was invited by a friend and upon reading the L.A. Times review I knew I was in for a real treat. This is a place that offers fresh seafood and they cook it for you tableside. Oh yeah, I was in. As soon as we all sat down the feast began. The first item to come out was the Gyeran jjim AKA the Korean steamed egg casserole which you spoon out. It has the texture of a soft custard. Alongside that was the ddukboki spicy rice cake.




Next, the banchan was spaced all over our table to be shared and eaten with our main course. What I love about banchan is that it is constantly replenished. My favorite banchan is kimchi and even though I know it’s not a main course I treat it as such. Banchan is different at every restaurant depending on the chef but the one constant is kimichi as no meal is complete without it. The banchan served tonight was kimchi, quail eggs (which were cooked perfectly nice and creamy), marinated vegetables, congee, fried rice with nori, vegetable pancake, tempura fried sweet potato and noodles.

Tempura fried potato,noodles and korean pancakes.

Kimchi

Fried rice.



Salad and congee.

Clam soup



Next, our seafood arrives consisting of shellfish such as shrimp, scallops,clams, oysters, abalone, conch and mussels.

Conch.


Scallops.


Oysters placed on fried rice.

Mussels.


The seafood was arranged neatly on our grill and the server knew exactly where to place each item depending on how fast it would cook. The server opened up each clam and placed it on the grill.



As each item was cooked it was arranged at the perimeter of the grill for us to start eating.





Don't look for any type of seasoning on your seafood because there isn’t. The reason you have all the various banchan is so it can be eaten with your meal. I like the idea that the seafood is served in its natural state. This way you know what you’re eating is fresh and not covered up with spices and sauces. The experience for me was like one big seafood bake without getting sand in my shoes. I will definitely be back and bring more friends.

We did pretty good eating everything.



Bultaneun Cheongdamdong Jogae Gui
3465 W. 6th Street, Unit 20
Los Angeles, CA 90005
213-388-6800

KFC NEW FIERY GRILLED WINGS

KFC: 50% Bigger?



Fiery Grilled Wings.Fifty percent bigger chicken wings marinated in peppers and grilled. These wings are unique to the market because each one is injected with the marinade unlike most other restaurants which only offer new flavor through sauce extensions. These wings are bigger than normal wings as I call them a white drumstick. The wings had a nice kick to them. I love my wings on fire and while these were not burning my mouth it did have a nice taste and they were finger-licking good. The flavor had the original seasoning with peppers added to it. I like the idea that KFC is now offering and making it easier for customers to pursue balanced diets without sacrificing taste. This item is being launched nationwide next week 12/28/09 so I was honored to be one of the first to taste it.



50% bigger wing on the left and the normal size wing on the right.

Here is a better perspective showing the bone. The new bigger wing is on the left and the normal size wing on the right.




I was invited to KFC’s exclusive dinner and tasting by my dear friend Abby @pleasurepalate. It’s been awhile since I have had KFC so what the heck, why not? Let’s see what the Colonel been up to these days. Walking in I noticed a change of atmosphere as there was a wall of bucket art as I like to call it.







There were also bucket seats and the light fixtures are made like, yes you guessed it, buckets.




The tables were covered in red table cloths along with cloth napkins, nice china throw away plates and faux silverware.

A table was set up with chicken fingers, wings and popcorn chicken was waiting for us to munch on.



I guess I haven’t been to KFC in awhile because I’m accustomed to the menu only offering original or crispy. We were greeted by Christopher Payne and Ed Thomas and I was excited to hear about his exclusive new item and being one of the first to taste it. We were given a tour of the kitchen. It was exciting to be able to see how it all comes together and to know that everything is made on-site. No frozen, pre-breaded chicken anywhere to be seen. Not only was the tour informative but we were able to bread our own chicken. I didn’t realize there was a science to breading chicken but there is. First you wash the chicken then you shake it seven times. Next, the chicken is breaded in a rolling motion seven times before frying.


Rinse the chicken.

Bread the chicken.






Location
KFC
Hacienda Heights