( Fried chicken in garlic sauce)
YongGung is a local Korean Chinese restaurant we often go to. I used to consider this restaurant as one of the finest Korean Chinese restaurants I have been to so far, even if the waiter-persons are usually snappish. I went there just after the Lunar New Years day (February 19th) and all I wanted was to have some good food to keep the good memories of them before I left the town.
(Stir fried noodles in black bean sauce)
We ordered Fried chicken in garlic sauce (Gganpunggi 깐풍기), Stir fried noodles in black bean sauce (Jaengban Jajang 쟁반자장), and Stir fried rice (Bokkumbap 볶음밥).
Atmosphere – It was less busy than usual. It was just after Seollal (Lunar New Year’s day) and I could assume that the town was nearly empty and people who went there had mostly just got back from their long journey, so they didn’t want to cook. With less customers and less noise it was easier to get attention for ordering yet during the meal I prefer having slight noise as a back ground.
(Stir fried rice)
Food
- Fried chicken in garlic sauce (Gganpunggi 깐풍기) – It was quite spicy, spicier than last time I had it. I suppose the slightly sour and sweet taste dilutes the spiciness, but I couldn’t taste any of those sweet or sour tastes. There were no lemon pieces which they had last time. I think that is why I felt the extra spiciness. What is more the fried chicken wasn’t fresh nor crispy. It had a glossy and oil soaked texture. Would you give a good point for this?
- Stir fried noodles in black bean sauce (Jaengban Jajang 쟁반자장) – The noodles were alright, but the amount of seafood like small size squids and shrimps was a lot less than usual. At least they used to give 4-5 each of them, but I had only 1 shrimp and that was it.
- Stir fried rice (Bokkumbap 볶음밥) – It didn’t look fresh either. The rice was too cold when they served it. They also usually give one deep fried dumpling (mandu) but they didn’t give it to us. If you are not going to serve it don’t display it on the menu.
Price – I usually thought the price was moderate, but for the food we had above, it is definitely over priced.
Conclusion – This is usually a good restaurant, with good atmosphere and great food. However, on my final visit, it really disappointed me.
My suggestion to the restaurant – If you are not ready to serve the customers ingredients-wise, have a day off that day. Don’t disappoint repeat customers. I want to eat what I am expecting.
Have you had a similar experience like I had? You visit your regular restaurant but the food doesn’t taste as good as you remember or something seems to be missing. What do you do when your regular restaurant disappoints you?
My Korean Chinese Recipes
Deep Fried Chicken in Garlic Sauce (Ggan Pung Gi in Korean)
Korean Black Bean Paste Noodles (Jajangmyun in Korean)
Sweet and Sour Chicken 2 (Tangsuyuk in Korean)
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Man, I totally agree!! Boycott! It’s pretty frustrating though, isn’t it, because you know the potentially great meal you coudl be eating. I recently had an AWFUL buffet experience where MOST of the trays were nearly empty and more and more customers were coming in and no new food was coming in. For an hour! Boycott!
Hi idlehouse
That is a funny nick name you gave. I totally understand your feelings about moody restaurants.
I call such restaurants “moody-cook” restaurants. I get them all the time here in Berkeley, California. It’s actually an embarassment sometimes because I would waste all my energy raving about how great this restaurant is to my guests, just to look like a sucker when the chef fails to deliver. There’s are at least 2 Thai restaurants I can name off the top of my head who used to make GREAT calamari appetizers, I mean really really great batter, and the meat inside was soft, moist, and buttery. Then I brought people back to introduce, and they changed the batter to some horrible crap, changed the cut of the calamary (from soft fresh tiny rings to big chunky pineaple looking pieces you usually get in the frozen seafood section at your local asian market). Just horrible.
And then there was a japanese restaurant whose price was a bit steep for the portion they were serving, but I enjoyed the taste of the food, and the care the chef put into preparing each item. Then ingredients started to slowly disappear :-O I hate that. Oh I keep on remembering more moody chef restaurants as I go on… Poor you. I’m still searching for my perfect thai calamari.
Kat,
I do boycott too. I think I boycotted all of my regular restaurants at least once at some point.
BuddingCook,
It is a great that you have alternative options. That is comforting, isn’t it?
my husband loves chipotle burrito here in the states, but because it’s a chain we get disappointed once in a while. luckily there is more than one …:)
If a restaurant that we usually frequent lets us down, we usually boycott them for awhile. Sorry to hear that this one let you down.