The Best Kimchi Fried Rice in Town

There are handful of places to go for Korean BBQ but only a few really stand out. One of them being Dong Il Jang. Literally, that means the East House. One of the best dishes they have is the kimchi fried rice. Except it's not really a dish. It comes with an order of the Ross Gui (rib eye) and only with the Ross Gui. It is heavenly. Although other meats may be tasty and even downright tempting, such as galbi and bulgogi, I must have my kimchi fried rice when I go to Dong Il Jang.

One of the waitresses comes by at the latter part of the meal with minced Ross Gui, sliced kimchi, butter, daikon and gochujang (red pepper paste) and fries them up on the same pan the meat was grilled on. The meat drippings and all the ingredients come together with the yummy dollop of butter. She flattens out the rice when all the ingredients are mixed. The bottom part of the rice gets crispy from the grill pan and then it's time to dig in.



Other notable mentions include the Hyut Mi Gui (cow neck meat) and the shik hae (rice drink usually served as dessertif). I didn't like the Nyeng Myun ("cold noodle") too much there. The broth didn't have the really refreshing taste I crave after gluttonous feast of Korean BBQ and the noodle was too gummy. I much prefer Chosun Galbi's nyeng myun.

Interestingly enough, Dong Il Jang also has a sushi bar in one section of its restaurant. The sushi bar serves japanese style sushi with loads of sides such as: edamame; wakame (seaweed salad); sea snail; pickled daikon; minari (dropwort); marinated squid; and lightly pickled cucumber. On a separate occasion, My friend and I had dinner at the sushi bar. We started off with some conventional sashimi such as salmon, tuna, yellowtail and halibut. The chef then moved us onto some delicacies such as uni, abalone, ankimo (monkfish liver) and nigiri. My friend and I went sashimi the whole way and even got some eel sashimi. It was sooo good. We were also served Minced & Baked Giant Clam and a side of Mong Gae (English name?). Between two of us the total bill including tax and tip was $90. A very good deal. If you don't feel like being adventurous and letting the chef take the reins, at least try the Eel Roll.


Dong Il Jang
3455 W. 8th St.
213.383.5757