dresese

Koreatown Window Shopping

There's a few simple, reliable rules on how to select restaurants. One of these rules is not to eat at any chain restaurant with its own style of architecture (for example, Lyons). Then there are a few things that could indicate a good find. When there is a window where you can see people make things out of dough, this is a good sign. I discovered this phenomenon in San Diego, after eating in the Old Mexican Cafe in the old, historic section. It was a restaurant that initially looked cheesy and touristy, but looking in the front window, I could see two old ladies making both flour and corn tortillas by hand, and cooking them. It looked wonderful, and when Greta and I ate there, we found their tortillas to be so wonderful it singlehandedly changed how I thought of them.

Today I went to one of these places that feature windows in Manhattan Koreatown, called Mandoo Bar. There were two ladies making different colored dumplings in the front window. They them out, stuffed them, and then handed them to someone to cook. The dumplings were excellent, and they tasted just as fresh as they were. The dough was a medium thickness, pleasantly chewy, and the stuffing was well flavored. It was a bit expensive - $10 for just 12 smallish dumplings. But, it was worth it.

Walking back, I noticed another of these places, with a man making noodles by hand in a window. He did this the Chinese way - which was to take a huge mass of dough, and by a combination of stretching it and spinning it, he winds up with a huge amount of long noodles. Watching it, I knew that, without a doubt, it will be my next Koreatown destination.