Today I went to the Kim's market and Mr.Kim recomended me to visit this restaurant. I will try !

- by Mari on Oct 23, 2008 at 5:35 PM | link

We went there last month. We didn't even realize it was owned by the Kims until we saw Mr. Kim inside. He said they've only been open a couple of months then. I had the Bulgogi (which was really good, tender and sweet, with good sized portion too) and my friend had the Pad Thai (pretty good too). I didn't see Chap chai anywhere in the menu though.
Funny thing happened on the way out. I forgot my doggie bag on the table and Mr. Kim even ran out with it and handed it to me in the car. How's that for service? Will definitely go back!

- by josie on Oct 24, 2008 at 12:55 PM | link

I've always been meaning to ask, you take really nice pictures and I'm wondering what camera you're using. Your pictures are always clear and the colors bright.

- by josie on Oct 24, 2008 at 1:01 PM | link

Sweet, I am excited for this. I grabbed one of the Arirang flyers when I was at Kim's last week and now... oh it is a done deal now.

- by Albany Jane on Oct 24, 2008 at 3:20 PM | link

I use a Cannon Powershot A540. It is basically a point and shoot with a few extras. I try to never use a flash, and for close ups I use the macro setting (the little flower symbol).

- by celinabean on Oct 25, 2008 at 3:18 PM | link

Husband and I went there for dinner on Friday (10/24). We were seated immediately, but boy were they busy. I think the sole waitress/hostess/bus person was a tad overwhelmed. The chef (I assume that's Mr. Kim) kept coming out to help serve, clear, make sushi whenever he could. The Kalbi was very good a tad different than I've had in other korean restaurants. The kimchi was amazing. I ate a couple of bowls of that. My husband's pad thai was ok, but he says he's had better. Two of the little side dishes that came with my korean food were rather interesting. Rather than other types of pickled veggies, one was shreds of beef, similar to a pot roast and the other was potatoes that were cool, and must have been cooked with the beef. Our appies were very good, tempura squid and thai spring rolls. The spring rolls were a bit of a suprise as we thought they would be more like vietnamese spring rolls, meaning cold, rice paper wrapped around shredded veggies....the thai rolls were small cigar wraps that were deep fried....still great tasting. Oh...and the tea was really interesting...almost a nutty taste to it.

We will definitely be going back...want to try the udon, and other dishes as well.

- by llcwine on Oct 27, 2008 at 8:57 AM | link

Thanks for the camera info, Celina.

- by josie on Oct 27, 2008 at 12:46 PM | link

Good find! I miss the Korean side of the menu (and the Sushi) at Ginza.

- by Joe Esposito on Oct 28, 2008 at 2:34 PM | link

Someone forwarded this link to my husband and we tried it for lunch that same day. The food was wonderful - we had the Bulgogi and grilled beef ribs. They did not serve it with the dipping sauce you mentioned. Do you have to ask for it special? We will definitely return.

- by Mary on Oct 29, 2008 at 11:12 AM | link

Stopped in for dinner on the way home tonight and had the kal bi gui - very tasty. I like the tea also; I believe it is a corn and barley tea. I, too, miss Ginza; they had the best homemade yakimandu. But this is a nice addition to the area and I'm sure I'll stopping by on a regular basis. Thanks for the tip.

- by Steve on Oct 30, 2008 at 8:45 PM | link

Celina, you may want to update the days and hours. The sign on the door now says dinner starts at 5 pm. Also, a notice was posted on the door tonight saying they will be closed on Sundays starting November 9.

I agree that Ginza had fantastic Yakimandoo. It was actually recommended to me by Un-Hui from Avenue A. Tonight my wife and I shared the Goon Man Doo (fried dumplings) entree as an appetizer. They were quite good and brought back memories of my army days in Korea.

I thought the Gob Dol Bi Bim Bab would have been better if the stone bowl was hotter. The rice never had a chance to really sizzle and start getting crisp. Otherwise, it was very flavorful. My wife had the green vegetable curry. She couldn't decide whether to pour the vegetable curry on the plate of rice or to spoon some of the rice into the bowl of curry. The consistency of the curry could have been a little thicker, but the flavor was excellent.

My understanding is that, as of now, there are different chefs in the kitchen for Korean and Thai cooking. I believe each is teaching the other the culinary skills of their country.

- by RogerK on Nov 8, 2008 at 9:59 PM | link

*gasp* I am so unbelievably excited. Arirang is literally two minutes from where I live and I was extremely disappointed in the restaurant that was in that space previously. Thanks Celinabean!

- by charley on Nov 11, 2008 at 5:54 PM | link

Stopped in again and had Beef Bulgogi for lunch. A little disappointed; no lettuce served with it for wrapping and the rather gray meat seemed stewed or braised instead of grilled. Maybe there are different ways to make it, but my benchmark is the version at Avenue A, which is stellar. Still happy that Arirang is on the scene with it's very reasonable pricing.

- by Steve on Nov 12, 2008 at 7:18 PM | link

Hey Celina and fellow readers,
Has anyone tried Kabuki in Latham? Hubby and I went last night and ate from their Korean menu (they also serve japanese, but no hibachi style). We did have japanese appies...tempura and gyoza, which were good..not amazing. Then came the soup...a good miso, and our entrees and assorted pickles.The kimchi, turnips, sprouts and radish plates were the best in the area...sorry Arirang..you are good...but Kabuki wowed us with these. Hubby had jap chae and it was made with glass noodles (he expected vermicelli) and though very flavorful and portion was large, the protein (beef) was rather skimpy. I ordered Cham Pong which was a spicy soup with squid, shrimp, mussels veggies and noodles....again...AMAZING. The heat was spot on..on a chilly night..and I have plenty for leftovers. So...on a scale of 1 - 4...I'm giving them a 3.5 as the only miss was hubby's dish...will go back...to try more of the korean and sample the japanese.

- by llcwine on Jan 30, 2009 at 8:17 AM | link

Wow, sounds like I place I should try. It is interesting what you said about the chap jae. I've never had it without "glass" noodles. Not the thin Japanese mung-bean ones, but the thick chewy Korean glass noodles that are made out of sweet-potato starch.

Here is a picture of what I think of as chap jae noodles. Is this what they made?

http://celinabean.com/2007/10/asian-style-beef-with-noodles-1/

I agree about Arirang. Most of it is ...OK. Although, I really liked the grilled beef ribs the one time I had them.

- by celinabean on Jan 30, 2009 at 10:58 AM | link

yes...those are the noodles...the problem he had was that the menu listed grilled vermicelli.

Btw....Sam's club has been selling short ribs crosscut which is the cut used for the bbq beef at Arirang...I am going to try to make Kalbi (aka Galbi) this weekend....if they come out ok...I'll share the recipe.

- by llcwine on Jan 30, 2009 at 12:01 PM | link

That would be great. Even if it doesn't work out great, I'd love you hear what you tried. I have some short-ribs that came with the 1/4 cow we just got. I will follow your lead.

- by celinabean on Jan 30, 2009 at 12:05 PM | link

Tried it, loved the beef ribs and dumpling soup. Too full to have anything else. I told the owner that I always listen if you say it's good. he was so pleased!

- by marla on Feb 5, 2009 at 12:50 AM | link

ok...Kalbi (beef ribs) came out tough...I marinated them for well over 24 hours ...and then grilled over charcoal...had to really watch them as flames were shooting up from all the fat dripping down...here is the recipe...but I actually changed it up a bit...using whatever I had in the house....thick soy..etc..
Killer Korean Kalbi

Rinse the ribs, pat them dry, and place them in a pan or dish large enough to hold all the meat and then some.

Pre-Marinade:
1/2 cup grated onions
2 Tbsp honey (or use 1 can of 7-up in place of honey)

Puree the onion in a food processor until it is almost liquid.

Pour the grated onion over the beef and add the honey (we used 7-Up instead). Turn each of the ribs so they are all coated. Let sit for 2-3 hours to tenderize the beef. Drain the pre-marinade liquid. You don't have to scrape off the onion solids but just get rid of most of the liquid.

Kalbi marinade:

5 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tsp Korean toasted sesame oil
2 stalks green onion, minced
4 tsp chopped garlic (1 to 2 cloves)
2 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds
2 Tbsp water
1 tsp ginger root, grated
1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, then pour over the pre-marinated kalbi. Marinate ovenight.

Annie prepared the kalbi days ahead of time, so she put the short ribs in a large oven roasting bag, poured the kalbi marinade over the ribs, and put the roasting bag in the freezer. The day before she was going to grill the kalbi, she took the bag of kalbi out from the freezer to thaw and finish marinating.

Preheat your grill to high and clean the grates. Grill the kalbi very quickly, no more than 2 minutes per side.

Remember, these kalbi are very thin, and your grill is very hot. They will overcook easily and can turn from a mouth-watering, tender piece of beef into a tough, dry, burnt piece of jerky in a minute. It's okay if the meat is still a little pink in the middle. It's not okay to get distracted and forget to keep an eye on the kalbi. Be careful!

- by llcwine on Feb 5, 2009 at 9:18 AM | link

Arirang seems to be gone. Saw a new sign on the place recently. I haven't had a chance to stop by though. Do you know if it's just a name change or totally new owners?

- by josie on Oct 30, 2010 at 9:39 PM | link