On our most-recent trip to Shin Chon Garden, we turned a little delay into a big discovery. Shin Chon fills its renovated space in the Lotte shopping center with people coming for great Korean food, particularly the beef, pork and other meat that you barbeque on the table in front of you. On a Saturday night, we arrived at that unlucky moment when all the tables were full and ended up waiting about 20 minutes for seats. (Everything opened at the same time, so people who arrived when we were seated walked straight from the door to their barbeque.)
But the wait was a blessing because I noticed a woman wrapping her barbeque in some kind of white paper squares. I had learned to wrap bulgogi or kalbi in lettuce with a little rice and sauces. So I asked the manager about those little squares when she came to tell us that a table would free up soon.
It turns out that they're rice noodle squares. Imagine fresh pasta sheets, but with the lighter flavor of rice instead of flour and eggs. They're the perfect size to fill with a piece of meat and a dab of spicy sauce. I popped the packets into my mouth, and they're nice to alternate with the lettuce. (Unfortunately, there is some problem with my photo of the noodles, and Blogger can't load it.)
The manager explained that Shin Chon normally serves the rice noodle squares with the barbeque specials. Those are mixtures of meat sized for 3-5 people. (I'm looking to organize a group so that I can try one of those. Magda? Magda?) But she had our waitress bring a plate with our bulgogi, and she said they're happy to serve them if people ask. That is the kind of great service and great food that makes Shin Chon one of my best restaurants of Howard County.
(Update: Ann comments below that wrappers are think slices of dduk (rice cake).)
If you're looking for suggestions about what to order, definitely check out the Yelp reviews of Shin Chon. They're unusually detailed and include several people giving specific suggestions, including Su K., Chiristine P., and Arthur K.
Shin Chon Restaurant
8801 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-461-3280
NEAR: The far end of the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40 just east of Rte 29.
8801 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
410-461-3280
NEAR: The far end of the Lotte shopping center on Rte 40 just east of Rte 29.
The rice noodle wrappers are part of the 'dduk bo ssam'. It's a very thin slice of dduk (rice cake) used to wrap the BBQ and such. I think it's pretty awesome at Shin Chon too! Good eating.
ReplyDeleteI'm used to eating KBBQ this way in CA. I was really surprised to learn that it's usually only served with lettuce wraps! The Shin Chon owner told me they adopted the dduk bo ssam style from the chef who started it in LA. Does anyone know of any other Korean restaurants that serve their KBBQ this way in the area?
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