🚀 go-pugleaf

Curt Williams writes:


   I'll probably be accused of being an ugly American, but here goes...

   My favorite CHinese resturant is WooLaeOak in Crytsal City.

   It is, of course, Korean.  The food is somewhat similar to Chinese, although
   the veggies can tend to be somewhat spicier.

I won't call you names, but Korean and Chinese food are fairly different, at
least to my tastes.  On the other hand, Woo Lae Oak is a spectacularly good
restaurant.  When I was last there (about 6 months ago) the menu said there are
4 Woo Lae Oaks: NY, DC, LA & Seoul.  It certainly is the best of the many good
Korean restaurants in the DC area.  The basic dish to try is the cook at your
own table bbq: the beef version is "Bul Goki" (it's transliterated, so my
spelling is no worse than anyone else's, right?).  You get a zillion little
plates of interesting tastes along with your pile of marinated meat: things
like garlic & hot pepper marinated cabbage (kim chee), little dried fish,
vinegared ginger root, various gelatinous cubes, and lots more.  I never
learned the names because they seem to come no matter what you order.  It's a
wonderful way to get to know a gastromic culture.  By the way, this is
obviously a culture that has to deal with harsh winters, since everything seems
to be prepared for maximum storability (sour or spicy marinades, drying, etc.)
One of my favorite Korean dishes is Yook Hwe, which is raw beef, sliced very
thin or ground, marinated in soy sauce, sesame oil & lord knows what else, and
served very cold, covered with a raw egg yolk.  Not for everyone, but if you
like that sort of dish, it is very good.  Because of the dangers associated
with eating raw stuff like that, I won't try it in most Korean restaurants in
the US, but I do trust Woo Lae Oak, and have often had Yook Hwe there. 

Give it a try!!

		Larry

--
Lawrence Hunter, PhD.
National Library of Medicine
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