Pork Marathon #1

Four pork-centric restaurants in Koreatown, with food-obsessed friends on a Sunday afternoon… ABSOLUTE PIG HEAVEN.

Photos from PORK MARATHON #1!

Stop One (2pm): Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ (maps, addresses & more info at end)

Palsaik (pronounced “pahl-sehk”) is a Korean BBQ restaurant that specializes in samgyeopsal aka PORK BELLY!

The restaurant offers “eight colorful flavors of pork” — wine, original (unmarinated), ginseng, garlic, herb, curry, miso paste, and the chile paste gochujang.

Palsaik’s Pork Belly on the table grill.

Haemul Jjigae (seafood soup) arrives (each dish cooked at the table).

Haemul Jjigae… the broth was beautiful.

Loved the pickled radish (to cut the fat… and there was lots of glorious fat!)

SEE, it’s printed on the menu so it must be TRUE! Pork is GOOD for me! 

Aftermath of Pork Marathon Stop 1.

Palsaik’s front window.

Christine, our lovely tour guide (and dear friend) dancing with the animatronic pig in front of Palsaik!

Palsaik’s adorable sign!

The $39.99 set menu includes all eight flavors of pork, as well as seafood miso stew, mushrooms, and lettuce wrap. More info including Palsaik’s Menu & prices here.

Please read Jonathan Gold’s LA Weekly Palsaik Review & browse Anne Fishbein’s gorgeous photos here.

Stop Two (3:30pm): Baek Ha Chong

Baek Ha Chong  is known for their Bossam (steamed pork), Daeji Galbi (pork ribs) and Kimchi Chigae (casserole).

Steamed Pork (I topped mine with kimchi, tons of raw garlic & ate it wrapped in vegetable leaves).

Spicy Pork Ribs at Baek Ha Chong.

Baek Ha Chong Interior.

Exterior of Baek Ha Chong.

Check out more Baek Ha Chong photos by Guzzle & Nosh here.

Stop Three (4:30pm) : Honey Pig Korean Barbecue

Another animatronic piggy in front of Honey Pig (I swear it wasn’t there on my last visit!)

At Honey Pig, the pork belly is cooked in the center of the table on iron, dome-shaped grills.

Were we sick of pork at this point? HECK NO.

After grilling the pork, veg and kimchi the server will bring rice (and more veg) to SOAK up all the juices. SO GOOD.

Honey Pig gives out these adorable pig lighters… make sure you ask for one after paying the bill! (Guess WHERE you stick the butane to refill it?)

Many photos of previous visits to Honey Pig here.

Stop Four (6pm): DGM – Dwit Gol Mok

DGM – Dwit Gol Mok is Korean for “back alley”, and it literally LOOKS like an old, alley INSIDE. It’s difficult to find (we entered through the back entrance), but worth the effort. I loved the street-food ambience and quirky decor because it reminded me of my childhood in Okinawa.

Fried Pork at DGM (our final pork dish of the day).

Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake).

Menu at Dwit Gol Mok is in Korean. Luckily we had Korean-speaking Christine guiding us through the day!

Kooksoondang Draft Makkoli (Korean rice wine) at Dwit Gol Mok.

“Cheese Corn” at Dwit Gol Mok. After all the salty, porky goodness I was happy to tuck into this sweet, sizzling dish. Great for soaking up the Makkoli too.

Check out GastronomyBlog’s beautiful photos of DGM (with more info) here.

The next time I go to Dwit Gol Mok, I’ll have my iPad ready with a photos from blog posts (so I can point out a few more dishes to try)! 

Dining date: 11/6/11

Many, many thanks to Christine & Julian Fang for organizing this EPIC PORK FEST!

CHEERS to everyone else who joined in the fun throughout the day: Peter (of course), Jill, Elina, Neil, Leilani, Caleb, Evelina, Sandra, Wes, Jin and H.C.

CANNOT wait for the next one!!

All Pork Marathon Photos on Flickr

Restaurant Addresses & Info:
Stop 1: Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ
863 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA 90005
MAP
(213) 365-1750
Follow @PalsaikBBQ on Twitter
More photos on Flickr 

Stop 2: Baek Ha Chong
3929 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90019
MAP
(323) 935-5554

Stop 3: Honey Pig
3400 W 8th St Los Angeles, CA 90005
MAP
(213) 380-0256
More photos on Flickr 

Stop 4: DGM – Dwit Gol Mok
3275 Wilshire Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90010
MAP
(213) 382-8432
More Photos on Flickr

Follow @PorkMarathon on Twitter