8st Kitchen – Plate 63

I was sent Jung Min’s name from Mihae at Mad for Chicken (link), so obviously, I was going to take this recommendation. Jung Min is the immaculately polite co-owner and front-of-house manager of the 8st Kitchen. I don’t quite get the name, but I understand the food.

This was my second meal with Amy and it proved to be just as enjoyable as the first. I think we should do a web series together – we’re hilarious.

We started with Jung Min’s recommendations, the Hae Mool Pa Jon (Potato Pancakes with Leeks – pic), and the Dan Ho Bak Moo Chim (mixed green salad with squash dressing – pic).
There was a sweet and creamy squash dressing with the salad that accented the flavor in the grilled squash. The balsamic vinegar added a pleasant tartness. The potato pancakes were my favorite bite of the night. Amy and I were curious about the sweet soy and green onion sauce on the side; it was just a great combination.

The Ba Ssak Bul Go Ki Gui (above) came out next. The sprigs of green on top of the bulgogi are radish leaves. It was a great peppery tinge to the sweet teriyaki flavor of the beef. Now that I think of it, this was our favorite bite of the night. I could go back and reword that last paragraph, but I think I’d rather have these two tied for favorite instead. Bulgogi would win by a nose, but only because it’s meat (and I love meat) so that would be an unfair fight.

Amy was excited about the Dol Sot Bi Bim Bap (below the video) I had no idea what this was and thought the name sounded silly. She said it was it because it was in another language. Amy, there are a lot of names in other languages that don’t sound silly, so I am pretty confident that this one sounds extra silly.

Here’s our Dol Sot Be-Bop video:

This was the only dish I wasn’t 100% psyched about.

I was very happy with our dessert. They have rotating desserts, so this one may not show up too often, but Amy and I were both surprised by the Cinnamon/Pear Nectar (pic). I mean if you can imagine a non alcoholic cinnamon pear nectar, that’s pretty much exactly what it tasted like. I would love to try this lukewarm, or with some rum, or in some vanilla ice cream. This was one of our favorites.

Come to 8st Kitchen, get the bulgogi and the potato pancakes with leeks. If they have the cinnamon pear nectar, get that, too.

Guest Writer: Amy Cao … Here’s her post

The IRL Arts Foundation and The Wandering Foodie thank 8st Kitchen for providing this meal.

8st Kitchen
22 West 8th St
New York, NY 10011
(212) 477-7755