http://www.ourcherishedlife.com

It is with great pleasure that I introduce a restaurant that N and I recently discovered during our trip to LA. LA is THE perfect place to get our fill of Korean food and that we did. Located in Buena Park (where a lot of Koreans are located, it's your suburb rendition of Koreatown, the main one being in the Mid-Wilshire district), Honey Pig is a restaurant that specializes in table-top cooking of traditional Korean BBQ fare like pork belly and sliced beef. For those that don't know me, one of my favorite things to do is drink while I eat and the setting at Honey Pig was absolutely made for this. Problem is, N's dad doesn't drink which means, I didn't drink =( Regardless of the lack of bevies, this restaurant really stood out with the tasty food AND the atmosphere. I am determined to go back one day and have some Soju and Hite beer while I chow down on the scrumptious food.

Where do I start? The HUGE pan is sizzling hot and upon ordering the meats, they throw on Spiced Kong-Na-Mul (Bean Sprout) and Kimchi. While this is cooking, they also have Korean ban-chan (side plates) on the table consisting of Dduk Ssam (Rice Cake Wrap), Mul-Kimchi (a version of kimchi that is not spicy and is immersed in water) and Pa Mu-chim (Seasoned Green Onion). You are to cook the beef on the pan at your leisure. My eating strategy was to take the green onion, throw it over the cooked beef on the pan, engulf the mix with the wrap and dip the whole thing onto a seasame oil/salt/pepper mix and wolf it down (as shown below), I honestly don't know how to describe it besides saying that it's like eating awesomeness.

At the end of our meal, they take the cooked bean sprouts, kimchi and any left over meat then add rice and lettuce to it and make a Korean-style fried rice which is super tasty. I would have eaten it all if I wasn't so full from eating all the wraps. I felt really bad about leaving leftovers behind.

For anyone that loves Korean food, I HIGHLY recommend this restaurant as it has become one of my favorite restaurants in LA. Nothing fancy, just good food and good fun! I will definitely be returning here next time I am in the area. A word to the wise, wear clothing that can be splattered and immediately washed as you WILL stink of garlic and BBQ upon leaving, guaranteed!

p.s. I don't know whether the value was good or not as the in-laws picked up the tab. Thanks mom and dad!