December 6, 2007
Looking for a Korean BBQ Fix? Head to Falls Church
Han Sung Oak in Falls Church has a familial feeling, from the large parties that occupy the main dining room and the private rooms in the back, to the service staff, willing to help you as you navigate the intricacies of their native cuisine. I was surprised to be asked "smoking or non-smoking" when I entered the restaurant, but all I smelled was grilled meat, so I don't think the seating area would have mattered. Some of the tables in the main dining room have built-in grills, while others are equipped with portable units. We opted for the in-table grill.
The menu is expansive, offering an extensive selection of appetizers, rice and noodle dishes, porridge, and barbecued meats and seafood. The rice and noodle dishes are mostly soup like, combining pork, beef or seafood broth with cooked meat, tofu, kimchee, or fish (e.g., codfish, salmon, and octopus). There are also a few cold noodle dishes offered in both spicy (bi bim bap) and non-spicy (naeng myun) versions. The porridge (abalone or pine nut) goes for $10.95 a bowl. The barbecue selection is wide as well, with multiple sections of cow for the taking (e.g., short ribs, tripe), chicken, and seafood (e.g., squid).
Based on a recommendation, we ordered the gal bi barbecue, which is marinated short ribs brought to the table raw and cooked on the grill. Your server brings out the broth, turns on the grill, brandishes the meat scissors, and goes to town. A few minutes later, you are rewarded with tender medium-rare pieces of beef, which you combine with the numerous accompaniments to make a lettuce-wrapped bundle of tasty delight. Every bite is filled with different flavors, as you can mix combinations of scallions, bean paste, soy sauce, picked zucchini, onions, greens and kimchee with the beef. The best part about the beef is that the pieces that stay on the grill longer get a bit of crispy exterior to them. Even though they dry out somewhat, the broth keeps them moist during the late-meal pickings.
Other dishes are similarly flavorful, including bi bim bap noodles with marinated beef, spicy bean paste, and topped with a fried egg. However, the "spicy spicy spicy!" kong biji was bland tasting and not spicy at all. The hae mool pa jun should be avoided as well, as the seafood and scallion crepe is overpowered by oysters and fried to long to allow the scallions to retain their freshness and texture.
Overall, the service at Han Sung Oak is great, although the timing of the entrees could be improved. An ordered noodle dish was delivered last, which worked out well enough, but only because the items delivered prior were so delicious we wouldn't have wanted to fill up beforehand. Otherwise, the server was very helpful in both the ordering process as well as in explaining procedural items, such as not dumping the cold noodles into the accompanying warm broth. Such service and good food doesn't come cheap, however. The BBQ is in the $20 - $25 range, and serves two hungry people. Most of the rice and noodle dishes to accompany the BBQ are between $11 - $15. There's also a lunch special available Monday through Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., with dishes ranging from $9 to $14.
Han Sung Oak
6341 Columbia Pike
Falls Church, VA
703-642-0808
Hours: Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Metro: Any of the 16A, 16B, 16D, or 16E buses from the Pentagon.
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Gal bi is also transliterated as Kalbi.
You know what.. of all the times I've had Korean BBQ, I've never used the banchan/panchan as items in the lettuce wrap. I always have just eaten them separately (usually while waiting for the meat to cook). I'll have to try that next time.
What is your definition of cheap? We typically order one BBQ and one other dish (usually a dol sot bibimbap) and the bill is around $40, which seems to be on the order of many other sit-down restaurants. Korean BBQ is not take-out Chinese.
While we're on the subject, does anyone know a Korean place that uses charcoal instead of gas? I only know of one, and it's in NJ.
Korean BBQ is usually gas these days, even in Korea charcoal would be odd.
Adams Mill Express on Mt Pleasant has the bomb Korean food if you get over that it's not that fast, and isn't on Adams Mill. AND the shrimp pa jun is definitely recommended.
Han Sun Oak and Woo Lae Oak are to Korean food what Jaleo is to tapas: straightforward, competent, a little pricey but nothing special. If you're looking for a higher price/performance ratio (and you don't mind a more stripmall-ey vibe), you need to head to Koreatown or Beltsville. You can get enough bulgogi/galbi/jap chai to smother a nun, and still have enough change for cab fare back to the closest Metro.
mmmm. Smothered nuns... mmmm.
"Adams Mill Express on Mt Pleasant"
It's actually called Adam Express.
I've always looked forward to trying this place. On both a positive and a negative note, tour buses full of Korean tourists to DC are brought here several evenings every week. It must mean the food is good. But, when the tourists are there (and those buses can hold a lot), I imagine it gets pretty packed.
"tour buses full of Korean tourists to DC are brought here several evenings every week. It must mean the food is good."
Not necessarily.. Tour buses also go to the food court at Pentagon City mall. Who knows, the restaurant may be giving them a deal, or they may be the only convenient place with enough capacity and space to park a bus, etc.
Some Asian stores/restaurants line-up deals with travel agencies; group discounts in exchange for guaranteed business.
Phillips Seafood in SE had a deal with a Japanese tour company. Seems that the Japanese tourists didn't enjoy the ginormous portions they were being served and felt wasteful. So Philips ordered their staff to give these tourists smaller portions with less to throw away. Personally, I wouldn't feed the stuff to my dog and he's dead, but I once used a Phillips rum bun to bludgeon my archnemesis Dr. Moriarty, ultimately subduing him with a fistful of excessively breaded and greasy shrimp, which, I might add, make excellent flaming projectiles, courtesy the Sterno from the chafing dishes.