BlogPost#2: Better than Expected!

Apart from its cars and animation production, I love Japan for their food. I had the pleasure of eating Japanese food at a very early age since my father would take me along to these delightful Japanese restaurants when he wanted to celebrate a month of hard work. Taking advantage of our school’s extended weekend, I decided to go to a Korean Japanese restaurant: KangNam. KangNam was introduced by a Junior, who have already been there. The restaurant had a high reputation for serving great sashimi and sushi.

From the outside, KangNam looked as if it could drive off customers instead of attracting them. Except for the brightly lit red sign with the name “KangNam”, written both in English and Korean, everything was dark. Without the street lights, one would have had trouble dodging cars in the car park and navigating towards the entrance. The walls had no windows and the entrance door was covered with iron bars. I was quite surprised how a restaurant could be this unwelcoming. However, the real surprise came when I entered the KangNam. The restaurant literally transformed itself into a fancy and well decorated sushi bar. Flowers and plants had instantly lifted my stereotypes on this restaurant. The furniture gave us a feeling that we were in Japan, ordering sashimi and this feeling was enforced by Japanese ink and wash paintings of trees and mountains. The chiefs in clean white uniforms were already cutting pieces of fresh fish behind the sushi bar. Moreover, the place where the dinning took place in was a spacious private room for four. It blocked out noisy costumers as well as allowed us to have conversation without interrupting others.

It was not just the interior that contrasted significantly to the outward appearance of the restaurant; the service at KangNam was truly amazing. As we entered the building, the waiters greeted us with warm smiles on their faces. Even though we were merely students, who are not financially wealthy, they led us into one of their special private rooms in which other restaurants usually reserved for special guests. Moreover, the concealed space did not interfere with the interaction between the waiters and us. The room had a special button that got the attention of the waiters. However, we used the bell only once because the waiters would frequently come and check for our needs to make the evening more wonderful. The quality of the employees was also unquestionable, when one of my friends left his credit card at the table. Forgetting the credit card in the restaurant, we were about to depart the restaurant but one of the employees came running towards our car waving her arms. She held out the credit card and my friend finally noticed that it was his. We realized that the service in KangNam was not just reliable in serving our food but goes beyond. KangNam truly knows that it’s not just the food that the customers are buying, but also their service.

The restaurant’s menu provided us with various choices of dishes between Japanese and Korean cuisine, but as we wanted to focus our dinning on seafood, we ordered sashimi. Even without ordering any additional dishes, piles of complimentary side dishes came along. First they served a bowl of Korean traditional pumpkin soup. The soup was bright orange and had white rice cakes flowing on top. Its sweetness tingled in my tongue and gave signals to explore. After the pumpkin soup, about ten other side dishes came along. The most notable side dish was the fried fish covered with a sweet and spicy transparent sauce. The deep fried crust would tease our tasting buds and as our teeth went through the fried crust, we were greeted with tender flesh. Another splendid side dish was the shrimp salad. Whole pieces of shrimps, which were slightly boiled, were tossed together with fresh leaf lettuce and a bit of Italian dressing. Only a glimpse of salad would make your mouth water. While we were distracted by the numerous side dishes, our main sashimi course was ready. The sashimi was served in a gigantic plate with extravagant decoration like shells, bamboos and fish bones. This massive dish contained tuna, salmon, flounder and other two different fishes thickly sliced and ready to be eaten. In addition to the variety of fish, we had fresh ascidians and clams. Usually when I eat sashimi, I fear the chance of getting food poisoning. But, it was different in KangNam because the freshness of these treasures of the ocean was unquestionable. As soon as the fish slices were in my mouth, they started melting and allowed me to feel the taste of the underwater world. The clams and ascidians, on the other hand, provided great fun as I chewed on their tough skin. Moreover, the waiters provided us with two different type of sauce. One was the typical Japanese soy sauce plus wasabi, while the other was red chili-pepper paste with vinegar. During the full course, my mouth was not once bored, since there was so much variety of taste. Next there was the traditional Korean spicy fish stew and rice bowls. The soup was really refreshing as it cured my nausea due to eating too much raw fish. The stew was a great was way to finish the course. But, the full course was only finished when the pieces of oranges came out. The sweetness had left us with nothing but happiness.

The only down side of KangNam was the cost of food there. One can instantly figure out that the restaurant does not target college students but financially better off working men. The omakase is available for $40 for those who really enjoy the adventure of trying different type of fresh sashimi or sushi. The lunch sashimi special, which was supposed to be more affordable, costs $19 while the dinner sashimi special was $39. Unfortunately, I was unable to order the dinner special, but instead choose a more affordable route. We ordered the $69 sashimi plate and divided the cost among us, each paying $20. If we consider the value of the meal, $20 was definitely worth it. It provided us with continuous complimentary side dishes, well decorated room and the wonderful service. Cheaper choices are widely available if one chooses to eat Korean food. The Bulgogi box, a Korean dish of barbecued beef, only costs $8.95. The cost really depends whether one decides to eat seafood or Korean food. However, to be on the safe side, one should be prepared to pay at least $20 and surely, the value of the meal would be worth it.

All in all, KangNam did a splendid job in giving pleasure to its customers. Although the exterior of the building was unwelcoming, the interior of the building had surpassed my expectations. The service was convenient and made the customer want to come to this Japanese restaurant just for the service. Moreover, the food at KangNam took me through an adventure that cannot be forgotten. The cost might be a bit pricy but it was definitely worth it.

★ ★ ★ ★