Koreana Korean Restaurant, Soi 1 North Pattaya

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Last night Lady Mangosteen and I made the trek up to Soi 1 to the Koreana Korean Restaurant. It is certainly worth a visit, and we enjoyed our meal.

 

The facility itself, while rather small, is clean and brightly lit. The furnishings are basic as Korean restaurants tend to be. BTW, sorry about the quality of the photos, I took them with my phone.

 

 

 

BTW, the place is deserted in the pics because it closed just as we were leaving and I snapped those pics on the way out. When we got there, several parties of Koreans were scattered throughout the place.

 

The menu is not elaborate. Lady Mangosteen had never had Korean food before, so I took care of ordering. We had bulgogi, kimchee soup, and a mixed seafood soup.

 

Of course, the first thing to come out are the small side-dishes the Koreans are so famous for, called banchan. In this case they were delicious as they always are, and featured sliced marinated garlic, a particular favorite of mine.

 

 

The item in the center of the picture is the lettuce, garlic, peppers and ssamjang (Korean pepper paste) you eat the bulgogi with.

 

Of course, of particular interest in a Korean restaurant is the kimchee. Kimchee, which is various sorts of vegetables marinated and fermented in spices and brine, is very individual, and I have never had kimchee in any place that tastes like that of any other place. In the Koreana, the kimchee is not spicy or salty, two things which I like, and that shifted the flavor slightly toward sour. I prefer the flavor a bit more balanced personally, but I was pleased with it overall.

 

The bulgogi was, as always, cooked at the table. Koreans cook it themselves, but us non-Koreans were supplied a waitress to cook the bulgogi and tell us when it was ready. This restaurant, typical of smaller Korean places, cooked the bulgogi on a gas-fired skillet. I much prefer the barbecued type, but it isn't easy to come by outside Korea.

 

 

When cooked, the waitress turns the heat down and it's time to eat. You grab a lettuce leaf, put some meat on it, add a garlic clove, a piece of green pepper and some ssamjang, roll it up and pop the while thing in your mouth. Delicious.

 

A closer look at the fixins:

 

...and a prepared mouthful:

 

I'll spare you a picture of me stuffing it into my gob.

 

The kimchee soup was lovely, the spicy taste nicely offset with the slightly sour flavor of the kimchee. It included slices of pork, and what to me was excellent tofu. Tofu is soy bean curd which is pressed and cut into cubes. For those familiar with Thai tofu, Korean tofu is much thicker in consistancy, to the point where it is easily picked up with chopsticks even after it has been boiled, and has a lovely grainy/organic flavor that Thai tofu lacks. In general I MUCH prefer Korean tofu to any other I have tasted; the tofu here was marvelous.

 

 

 

The mixed seafood soup was good, although I would have preferred a touch more salt. It featured lots of crab legs and other parts, small clams, vegetables and more of that lovely tofu.

 

 

I ordered the seafood soup specifically for Lady Mangosteen, and she was quite pleased with it.

 

 

The drinks menu is short. Heineken and Singha beers, and soft drinks. I believe I saw bottles of soju in the fridge case, but I didn't indulge. Soju is a clear, slightly sweet wine made from rice, and it is a VERY traditional and typical tipple for Koreans. I happen to love soju (it is one of the only sorts of alcohol other than beer that I have drunk in any kind of quantity), especially when miced 50-50 with baeksaju, another rice wine which is flavored with herbs.

 

The meal, including two large bottles of Singha (which complemented the food well I might add), cost me 1,130 baht, and I threw in a 100 baht tip for the excellent, prompt service. The service here deserves a mention. It was polite and VERY fast. Lady M's questions were answered in a courteous manner, and the staff waied us respectfully when we left.

 

BTW, in case you didn't notice, Koreans use stainless steel chopsticks. If you are not VERY proficient with chopsticks these can be like picking up your food with two icecicles. If you need, I am sure they can supply wooden chopsticks which are much easier to use, or even a fork for the infidels.

 

Koreana Restaurant, Soi 1 Pattaya. (038)429-635. Closes 8:00PM. No reservations necessary. It is about 2/3 of the way down Soi 1 on the right as you walk toward the beach. Recommended for its good food and excellent service.

[BobbyTits]

Great report . I'll be trying the place soon.

[onenosite]

In soCal we have a ever expanding Korean population. I have just in the last year discovered

Korean BBQ. I am always amazed by the great dishes that are avaiable. True, I did notice the

differences in Kimchee at different places.Thanks! Nice to know another good choice in PATTS!

[irishlas]

Looks nice , I must pay a visit there on my next trip in April

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Cheers, guys. Hope you enjoy. If you visit this place, please feel free to update this thread with your impressions.

[timorno]

Another great Korean place is "Han Woo Ri" restaurant in the Pattaya dragon complex next too Soi 6. I go there at least once a week when in Patts and its always great....

A few weeks ago we had a sort of addicts meet-up there.... 15 addicts enjoying bbq ( and Big Reg eating pancake ) in a nice private room...

 

 

Edited October 3, 2008 by timorno

[7-Eleven]

Another great Korean place is "Han Woo Ri" restaurant in the Pattaya dragon complex next too Soi 6. I go there at least once a week when in Patts and its always great....

A few weeks ago we had a sort of addicts meet-up there.... 15 addicts enjoying bbq ( and Big Reg eating pancake ) in a nice private room...

 

Was a great night Timo... many thanks for organizing.

 

Bigreg was suffering afterwards on WS!

[Bruce Mangosteen]

Another great Korean place is "Han Woo Ri" restaurant in the Pattaya dragon complex next too Soi 6...etc.

Looks good, I'd like to try it. I'm not familiar with the Dragon Complex, can you give a bit better idea of where it is situated with respect to Soi 6?

[timorno]

Looks good, I'd like to try it. I'm not familiar with the Dragon Complex, can you give a bit better idea of where it is situated with respect to Soi 6?

 

Do you know where Fashion Club is??? The restaurant is right opposite....

The Dragon Complex is a failed development project... when you walk from Soi6 in BigC direction on 2nd road you'll see the big Samurai Sushi restaurant after about 30 meters ... then just turn left and walk towards beachroad. Walk 150 meters more and you'll be in front of Fashion Club and Han Woo Ri...

If you got a bigger crowd (4 up) you can use one of the private rooms for free.... Very nice place!!! Highly recommend it!!

Edited October 4, 2008 by timorno

[Mavrick]

Thanks for the tips fellas will have to check these places out.

[BobbyTits]

Tried the Koreana place on Soi 1 today , the food was very good and service was excellent - the portion of bulgogi could have been a bit bigger but it was marinated perfectly.

 

Next will be the recommended place in the Dragon Complex.....

[Daveo]

Do they do soft shell crab..