gil mok (aka corner place)

gil mok (aka corner place)
2819 james m wood boulevard, los angeles, CA 90006
tel: 213) 487-0968
19100 gridley road, cerritos, CA 90703
tel: 562) 402-8578

what was consumed: korean food! dongchimi gooksoo

korean food is the best in LA (that is, outside of korea (though sometimes even better than korea depending on what it is) and outside of my mom's house, of course ^_^). there are a few, of course, that rise above the rest, that have specialities, that are worth looking for.

the first time i had heard about gilmok was from my friend yunson who, interestingly, grew up in mexico and was relatively new to LA. but she had visited LA quite often and had recently moved to so.cal. we went to play and she told me about this restaurant that we had to go to because they had the best dongchimi gooksoo. i, of course, happily obliged. that was my first experience with gilmok.

so, what's so great about dongchimi gooksoo? well ... i've always had dongchimi gooksoo cold, often after korean bbq (if it's available). i'm not a fan of the more commoon nengmyun (don't judge); besides, dongchimi gooksoo is way better. the noodles are the standard somen (flour noodles), commonly understood to be japanese in style (i don't know if this is true. whatever). the noodles are cooked and added to a cold broth. the broth is predominantly the broth from a white (in that red peppers are not used in the fermentation) radish kimchee. this dish is served cold and is so lovely not only when it's hot, but also when it's cold (yes, even then). i've learned to make it on my own and i think i've found a pretty good recipe (of sorts). in fact, i have a jar of the dongchimi kimchee in my refrigerator right now that is going to taste so scrumptious this coming hot weekend. hungry!

back to gilmok.

gilmok also has good korean food and the wide variety of korean food as well. from bbq to soups and stews, you're pretty much not going to go wrong with anything that you order. i say that you should go, take a gander at the large menu, and follow your fancy. i've had the bbq, i've had their stews, but i always have the dongchimi gooksoo ^_^

it's been a number of years since i've been to the LA location. when i went, it was a location sort of off the main k-town drag. it reminded me more of the bbq restaurants in seoul (though i don't know how to describe it better than that). the LA location seemed geared more toward bbq, so you know you are going to smell like bbq no matter what you eat when you leave. the cerritos location is is more ... western restaurant like, i guess. don't get me wrong - people eat bbq all around you, still, so even if you don't, you'll smell like bbq on your way out. does any of that matter if you are given good food? nope, not a bit. gilmok = yummy~