Korea Garden Restaurant !

9501 Long Point
713.468.2800

In the final leg of our "Winter's Sonata" marathon, we decided to honor the home country of this addictive soap: we went to Korea Garden Restaurant. This was our first time at the restaurant, and first impressions were ho-hum. It has the same look and feel of Seoul Garden or any of the older Korean retaurants. Dark woods, a fountain in the middle, and privacy booths everywhere.

We ordered the bulgogi, strips of beef drenched in their marinade. It comes raw to the table, where you have to grill it yourself. The marinade was subtle and brilliant. We enjoyed every morsel. We also tried the Kim Chi Jigae, a concoction of pork, tofu, and green onion. Although the pork was overcooked, the kimchi flavor more than made-up for the oversight.

In fact, it is the kim chi here that gives this restaurant my "!" rating. I don't want to pretend I'm an expert on this Korean specialty, but the kim chi here was strong and good. It had spice and age. It was exactly what I wanted to taste. The other side dishes that came out weren't bad either. They didn't bring out the tiny little deep fried fish I like, but they did have some interesting vegetables.

Service was efficient, if a bit strained. Our waitress spoke very good English and helped us order our food.

Places like Korea Garden, El Rey, Noe, and Cafe Rabelais are the reason I love Houston so much. Variety and quality abound in this city. Korea Garden fits in very nicely.