Kraving the Korea: B Bim Baab Restaurant and Lounge

Location: 9543 42 Avenue Northwest Edmonton, AB T6E 5R2
Email: http://www.bbimbaab.com/
Hours:
Monday – Friday: 11:30am – 10pm
Saurday: Noon – 10pm
Sunday: 4pm – 9pm
Mikee and I met today after we both worked a crazy long day. Though our jobs are technically very different it is in one sense the same... (playing nice and making others feel good about themselves)

We decided we deserved to eat our faces off. I told her, it has to be a place where I haven't ate yet since I want to blog tonight. So after using the URBAN SPOON app on my Samsung Galaxy S3 I saw a korean restaurant pop up. B-Bim-Baab Restaurant and Lounge.

After using her GPS (English Setting - Samantha) we were finally able to find our way through the industrial park to our final location. At first we thought it wasn't open because there were no cars there. (It was 5pm ) We saw the flashing red sign and ran right in. At this point we were both starved. (she had chips all day and I had lean cuisines)

We were created by a older Korean lady with a heavy accent and we were seated right away. At this point we were the only one there.

 These is the sign within the building, I think they are opening a sushi bar right next to it soon! Yes ! I will try it out when they open, maybe I will be able to find a new sushi place to eat at.

The following are pictures of their menu :

The are a bit blurry since I was taking them in a hurry so that I could actually order. The waitress came by4 times asking if we were ready. Since there were more than 60 items I was VERY OVERWHELMED.
For a better look just look on their website ( the link is above)

Here is a little view on how our booth looked, simple but a bit dark. It look ok in this light but I bet if we had WHITE light we could see dirtiness or "oldness".

We got green tea which they gave to us in a french press. The tea the used was Japanese Genmaicha which had toasted brown rice in it. The amount they gave us was only good the first time round, when they added water they didn't add more leaves so the taste was really dulled down and it just tasted like warm water with a tinge of green tea after taste. 

We got two side dishes first and we snacked on it while we waited for our many dishes. The kimichi as older which tastes GREAT. I personally like the "stank" of older kimchi. The sprouts were seasoned well too. Not too salty but had good pepper and flavour. 

 We got Basic B-Bim-Baap which means it was not in a stone bowl. The rice was therefore not as crunchy on the bottom. For this selection it does not come with meat so we had to add beef to it. ($11.99 + 2.99)

Now we put on the signature hot sauce and mix it up.! Delicious

Here is another photo with the hot sauce bottle.

Next was our kimche ji gae.

Here was when it was SUPER steaming when we first got it. The broth was really good. The pork in it was not too sparse and I like the bean sprouts in it and the large tofu pieces.

Yum korean rice is one of my favourite types of rice other than jasmine long grain and sushi rice (only when I eat it in sushi)

We had a taste of Korean BBQ with their spare ribs. These 3 ribs came to 17.99 ! wow super expensive. Good thing they tasted awesome, had awesome seasoning and just had the right amount of fat on them. Though I guess it wasn't very lady like to get all the meat off the bones.

Our final dish was Cha Jiang Myun. (surprisingly noodles in Korean sound really similar to noodles in Chiense = MIEN) I had this dish at Won Jung Gak before and really loved it. I tried it here and the sauce was just not the same(maybe less msg?) but there was definitely more vegetables in it.

Yikes our bill! for two teeny tiny asians we ate a lot!!!

Here is the little scenic thing they got  going on that we saw on the way out. I wish they could have koi. I don't' know why but whenever I see koi I feel like the place is way more authentic.

The first time I came here was about a year ago or two... when they had a groupon. It was delicious then and it is still delicious now. I always use to order bulgolgi and I remember theirs being delicious too. I guess when you have Korean, it does cost more than other Chinese restaurants. I would definitely come back again but I probably wouldn't order the short ribs again or the noodles and try something else instead.

Authentic Korean Taste: Won Jung Gak

This little gem is hidden away in a south side argyll industrial park: 9655 62 Avenue NW

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 I first frequented this place when a co-worker who happens to be Korean mentioned it. My friend Liana used to date a Korean and was in love with Korean food just like I was. So we decided to visit it during one of our lunch times. When we got there we really hoped that we weren't going to get stabbed or find some sort of rodent in our food. The outside is really shady and since its in an industrial park you don't have high expectations.  Going inside the little restaurant we were not immediately greeted but soon a small korean lady came and sat us down. There was only one other table occupied by business attired men ( one Caucasian and one korean) 

The menu is mostly in Korean but tells you in English what is in each dish. ( kind of) 

Thank god Liana was familiar with some key terms and we were able to point and order. 

Even the Edmonton Post has commented on this "hole in the wall".

 Yah no makeup is really the new look i swear or the look for lazy people. But this is when both Liana and I were sporting the red head look. please don't judge my messy hair, this is what happens when you don't shower often.

we ordered some sake.

this is their BIBIMBAP in a stone bowl. its was delicious and the bottom was all crispy, which is actually the best sensation to have when eating a BIBIMBAP.

We ordered jajangmeyon too but go the sauce separated because Liana wanted it over her rice. She is more Asian then me! According to WIKI jajangmeyon is:

consists of wheat noodles topped with a thick sauce made of chunjang (a salty black soybean paste), diced pork and vegetables, and sometimes also seafood. Jajang (alternately spelled jjajang), the name of the sauce, is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese characters 炸醬, which literally means "fried sauce." Myeon (also spelled myun) means "noodle."

 Delicious is what it means to me.

They don't have kimchi jjigae but they do have bulgolgi. their version includes a broth that is salty enough that it tastes awesome on rice but not so much that its just loaded with salt. The meat is delicious and they even have some clear glass noodles in the broth.

Here is a snap shot the boys (shaun and dustin) and test a book shelve full of books... behind them. We even used (garden scissors... hefty duty) to cute our noodles. This is all very korean style. We even got water in a KOREAN STYLE pitcher/bottle which had a k-pop star's face on it . I couldn't find my pic so I took one off of  google. it is similar but MINUS the K-POP star.

This last dish is quite similar to a Chinese dish called ma poa dou fu/ tofu. It can be vegetarian and is spicy. This is the korean version called ma pu do pu? It was pretty spicy for "white people" but fairly normal for me. (note i do use rooster brand hot sauce on everything ... )

The food was delicious and splitting the bill per person was around 20 dollars with tip that is including the alcohol (i think our total bill was 80 dollars )

Definitely visiting this place again many many many more times. It is my go to place for Korean food in Edmonton.