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| - Tucked inside an older shopping plaza and neighboring the Ethiopian restaurant and pho place, Gangnam provides the perfect combination of sushi/Japanese and Korean food in one location. Although the shopping plaza itself is old, the decor of the restaurant is modern and hip, with a sophisticated flair.
We came here around 7 on a Friday night and it was packed! All the tables were occupied but there was still sushi bar seating available. The waiters all greeted us warmly and we decided to wait at the sushi bar area until a table opened up.
Once we procured a table, we browsed through the extensive menu and ordered enough food for a small army (What can I say, my eyes were bigger than my stomach!). We had the super Spiderman roll, bulgolgi bimbimbap, seafood pancake, jap chae, and spicy pork. Our starting banchan was a threesome of kimchi, sprouts, and fish cake.
The roll was huge, and filled with soft shell crab, shrimp, and veggies. The jap chae was excellent, filled with a lot of veggies and very tender, marinated beef. The noodles were cooked perfectly. The bimbimbap was a huge portion, beautifully arranged. I was slightly disappointed that there wasn't more caramelization of the rice on the bottom of the stone bowl. I love the crispy rice bits mixed in with the rest of the rice, veggies, and meat in this dish. The spicy pork was also very tender and flavorful, but not exceedingly spicy. The seafood pancake was good, but could have used a bit more cooking to crisp up the outside for more texture balance.
Service was a bit uneven as it took a long time to actually order, but once our order was placed we were checked on frequently and with very friendly staff.
Overall, this is a great place to dine, and even more alluring since they are open late on Friday and Saturday!
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