My options I could think fast in Columbia, MD for a quick meal was Chipotle, Cosi, Pei Wei, Noodles & Company...etc.

I was near Pei Wei so I checked out their website since I've only been there once years ago.

So, Pei Wei was created by PF Chang people and seem to have Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese...
And to my surprise they had 'Limited Time Only' (is that for real...?) Korean BBQ. Hmm...'Korean"??
I gotta go check that out and review that dish. LOL.

I know people just name our Korean BBQ to whatever sauce they invent. Just hoped that this one is not another new creation afar from the original Korean BBQ.
I saw from the menu that Korean BBQ can be order in Chicken, shrimp, beef or vegetable...and...really???
Never knew that! ha ha but that's an idea!
I had to compare the sauce and see if they could call it "Korean" so I ordered beef, which was priced around $8-9. As soon as I got it, the smell itself...was...oh no...Chinese Takeout...sigh...

So as a Korean, I categorize this as American Chinese Take Out...
Don't get me wrong. It's good and very very sweet. It tasted like Hunan Beef to me. One credit for using scallions and carrots. LOL. But it's all about the sauce...and it's Asian but sorry, it's not Korean.

They seemed to use sauces that's not Korean. I think they used oyster sauce which is NOT Korean...

I didn't know but I guess this salad was supposed to be topped on the rice?

Korean BBQ sauce is soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic, just to be clear!!!

I think I also tasted some ginger...but we don't usually use it for beef. We use garlic, garlic, and some more garlic ha ha...some use ginger for pork to get rid of the smell but my mom uses wine if we have to, since ginger could overcome other flavors if used recklessly!

If you have to use ginger use as little as possible and should do the trick, not enough to taste it against other flavors.

My mom always says, flavors have to have a perfect balance to get together and create wonderful taste, not go against each other. And  that balance creates whether the food tastes good or not, not what ingredients you use.

Back at Pei Wei, while I was waiting for my order, another customer also ordered Korean BBQ ...they weren't Koreans nor Asians and they will think that what they just ate KOREAN BBQ!!!!!! Can you feel my frustration yet?

Another taste buds being manipulated that there's not much difference in Asian cuisine...Chinese..Japanese...Korean..etc all the same. Sigh...

I can't say I can tell the difference of other Asian foods like a pro, but at least I can tell you what's Korean and not. And this wasn't Korean.

Hopefully, one by one, people get to distinguish and appreciate different flavors of Asian country cuisines. That's why I started the blog after all.

And I'm sure I would like other dishes here as long as it doesn't say "Korean." And it satisfied my hunger so all is well for now.

ebay items related in Asian Cuisine

PF Changs $20 Gift Card - Free Shipping! US $19.00

2x PF CHANGS - Free Appetizer Coupon - $18 Value With Free Shipping! US $6.50

P.F. Changs Celebrate The Year of the Dragon Discount Game (in Sealed Envelope) US $1.99

Pei Wei Asian Diner is located in:
Dobbin Center
6478 Dobbin Center Way Suite A
Columbia, MD  21045
(410) 423-2550

My friend Q and I went to Hasung Korean Chinese Restaurant/Carryout in Hanoori Town food court (this food court used to be Beseto located next to Catonsville H-Mart).  We think they have the best Jjajangmyun in Maryland.

Every Korean Chinese has 2 main dishes; Jjajangmyun and Jjamppong and it's not the regular Jjajangmyun but Gan Jjajang Myun that you gotta try at Hasung.

First of all, in case you are not too familiar with Jjajang Myun itself, it's made with black bean paste, called chunjang. Chunjang is cooked with veggies and meat and later mixed with noodles. Usually Jjajangmyun comes out in one bowl with Sauce over the noodle.

Gan Jjajang Myun comes out in two separate bowls, one noodle and one sauce bowl. I am not an expert in how to cook Jjajang sauces, but Gan Jjajang is known to be thicker chunjang sauce that's been stir fried rather than cooked/boiled. So, usually it has more stronger flavor and Hasung's Gan Jjajang is EXCELLENT!

My lovely Gan Jjajang right over here. Oooooo~ Love JjajangMyun but hate the part where I need to mix them.

Takes forever with empty stomach and watering mouth...Sigh.... Once we started moving our chopsticks...we got quiet and I totally forgot about taking any further pictures....Ha ha...

And I eat A LOT of pickled radish Danmooji. One bite of Jjajangmyun and one bite of Danmooji. I always ask for seconds. Heh heh.

Ramyun or rice with Kimchi, Jjajangmyun with Danmooji, Sushi or Sashimi with pickled ginger...that's the way it should be!

My friend Q wanted hot soup so she got Gochu Jjamppong.

Jjamppong is seafood spicy noodle soup. There are two kinds of Jjamppong too, the regular one and extra spicy Gochu Jjamppong (Red pepper Mix ups).

Jjamppong basically means hodgepodge of everything and as you can see, it has seafood, veggies, noodle, and soup. Love it! And I'm the type of person who is always torn between Jjajang Myun and Jjamppong. I know I'm not the only one. Right?

People usually tell me to get JjamJja Myun (Half & Half version)to resolve the issue, but I usually resolve by pursuading someone to order the other noodle. LOL. (But most of the time Jjajangmyun wins!)

And as a special treat for us...

Q got us L.A. GALBI combo. Oooooooo~

Little out of focus...but couldn't take anymore...Hmmph... Oh! We ordered this from right next door not Hasung.

This was pretty good too. The bowl of rice was left untouched...so umm....I mixed it with my leftover Jjajang sauce and ate it as a Jjajang Bob. Nice~

My bowl was clean~!

Either the food looked delicious or I looked too happy, the ladies right next table were looking at us for sometime and asked us what we just ate. LOL. They weren't Korean and they wanted to find out what we ordered, what it's made of, and what it tasted like...I could tell them the first two but....ummm tastes like jjajang? It's not like I can offer them a bite...Hmmm...

Hope they try next time they come though...
If you live near, try it! Remember it's Gan Jjajang!

Oh! and each restaurants have different taste so you gotta try them to see if the regular or Gan jjajang is better. I think Hanjoongkwan Gan Jjajang is not worth the higher price and that's my opinion so...you decide.

Enjoy!

Hasung is located inside of Hanoori Town
410-747-3535
822 N Rolling Road
Catonsville, MD 21228

Jjajang on ebay:

NONG SHIM Chapagetti Chajang Noodle, 4.5-Oz Pks of 20 US $29.99

NONG SHIM CHAPAGETTI CHAJANG RAMYUN RAMEN NOODLE 20PC US $17.99

Nong Shim Chapagetti Chajang Noodle, 4.5-Ounce Packages (Pack of 20) US $25.79

NONG SHIM Chapagetti Chajang Noodle, 4.5-Oz Pks of 20 US $29.99

I haven't had Samgyupsal for the longest time... so
we headed to Honey Pig. Samgyupsal(direct translation meaning Three layered meat) is like bacon but fresh not smoked. Oooooo~

We ordered 2 servings of Samgyupsal and each of us ordered cold noodle soup, Nangmyun. I ordered Mul Nangmyun and June ordered spicy Bibim Nangmyun.

Love these sides that comes with Samgyupsal! If you eat onions, kimchi, sprouts with the bbq...Mmmmmmmmmmm!

Oh and don't forget to eat it with your salad and dipping sauces.

They also gave us green onion Kimchi called PaKimchi as well for bbq. (I love that Kimchi so we asked little more on the side to eat). And love their steamed eggs and DoenJangJjigae (bean paste stew) too.

My Mulnangmyun was good too. I ate it with BBQ. Some eat afterwards but I just enjoyed it together. Put some vinegar and mustard and very nice and cold.

June's spicy Bibim Nangmyun. It's actually sweet and spicy. June couldn't wait for me and just started to mix the sauce.

I had to stop her for a minute and take the picture. Guess  June was as excited as I was about our Christmas Lunch..Yes it was lunch;;;;. We were starving so we became real quiet after taking these pictures and started to dig in.

We were very full (we finished it all....!)but we couldn't skip the free Korean style sweet coffee on our way out. They have a machine near the door. Just push the button and small coffee cup will come out....wait little bit till coffee's done and Enjoy~

I usually drink black coffee for the caffeine boost but after eating spicy Korean food, sweet coffee is the best way to wrap up the meal. And did I mention it's FREE? ... Mmmm good~

I also have a picture of other Entree called Bulnak Chulpan-Stir Fry BBQ of Bulgogi + Octopus in Spicy sauce.

I didn't eat it the same day...FYI..this one I ate with a friend. Thanks for the food, San!

On the menu, all the Chulpan menus (not the BBQ but one grill flipped the other way like the picture), when you are almost done with your food ( you gotta leave some to fry with rice), ask your server to stir fry rice with it. Then they'll bring a bowl of rice with lots of veggies and sauce and fry with your leftover entree. That's my favorite part of this menu.

I love eating Chulpan menu for that extra stir fried rice...(I forgot to take a pic of this...will add later when I get to go again).

Anyhow back to Christmas....And that's where I spent my Christmas Lunch...afterwards...I had major food coma for hours...I found Honey Pig 10% off coupon. The link shows lunch specials too...it expires this week so Enjoy!

Honey Pig Korean B-B-Q
10045 Baltimore National Pike
Rt. 40 West behind Double T Diner
Ellicott City, MD 21042
Ph: 410-696-2426

Korean BBQ Grills on ebay:

Aluminum Thai Lao Korean-Style Barbecue BBQ Grill Topper 35cm 14" US $56.01

Stove Top Non Stick Indoor Korean BBQ Barbeque Grill US $14.95

Aluminum Thai Lao Korean-Style Barbecue BBQ Grill Topper 12" US $38.77

Stove Top Non Stick Indoor Korean BBQ Barbeque Grill US $24.95

Korean Japanese Style BBQ Grill Steak Hot Pan + Stove Set US $69.99

korean bbq & teppanyaki grill NONSTICK BBQ LINER SHEET MAT TEFLON for BBQ plate US $26.39

STOVE TOP INDOOR KOREAN BBQ GRILL, NON-STICK ,GRILL EVERYDAY US $16.95

Aluminum Korean Thai Lao Indoor Table Topper BBQ Barbeque Grill Pan Stove 12" US $29.00

Aluminum Korean Thai Lao Barbeque Grill Pan Stove, BBQ Grilled Pan US $1.99

Aluminum Thai Lao Korean Charcoal Barbecue BBQ Grill 35cm 14" US $145.42

Korean BBQ Barbeque Grill Char Broiler Propane NEW US $359.00

HEAVY DUTY BBQ LINER 50x40cm for BBQ plate,great 4 korean bbq & teppanyaki grill US $26.88

Korean BBQ Barbeque Grill Char Broiler Propane NEW US $359.00

Stove Top Non Stick Indoor Korean BBQ Barbeque Grill US $16.95

I originally planned to get a sushi boat but my parents wanted to also try Shabu-Shabu, the Japanese Hot Pot. Shabu-Shabu or Hot Pot is made with hot broth soup and you cook all sorts of vegetables and meats. I personally think it is a very healthy meal since you get to eat all different kinds of vegetables and others...

When you order Shabu-Shabu, you get raw meat like this and other veggies and noodles already in the broth. Make sure you cook it thoroughly before you eat! ^^

and you get portable burner like this and cook it on the table. The pot seemed to be very small to us. Hah hah...when we cook at our house we cook it in a large pot...we'll post our style Shabu-Shabu recipe in the future. Heh Heh. You also get soysauce and lemon sauce where you can dip stuff from the pot. I love eating soup from it too so make sure you get a spoon as well. (We had to ask for the spoons and the extra bowl since our server forgot to bring it to us.) Hot soup is always good! Yummmmm

And our sushi platter was very good too ^^ We killed it. Heh heh. However, I didn't really like squid? thingy the white one was little to mushy for me...

and since it was a special day we had to get a scoop of Green Tea Ice Cream!!!! Love, Love, and LOVE!!!
(HINT***If you love Green tea Ice cream as much as I do, You can buy this at H-Mart too***)

Other customers around us all ordered all sorts of rolls and they looked good too. But like all other Japanese Restaurants, prices are little too high for me to go too often...(raw fish is not that good to eat too often anyways....whew) but once in a while it is a special treat for me and my family and I love this restaurant. How about you?

p.s. miso soup and salads are good too ^^ and I like their flavored bubble gums too (This you can also get at an Asian Market LOL)
Oh and it may be wise to make a reservation if you are going there for the weekend.

Sushi King is located at:
6490 Dobbin Road
Columbia, MD 21045-5826
(410) 997-1269

Other Restaurant Reviews:
Niko Japanese Restaurant, MD
Pho Nam Vietnamese Restaurant, MD
Jong Kak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Baltimore, MD
Bonchon Chicken, VA

Sushi set on eBay

COMPLETE SUSHI SET - GREAT GIFT! US $5.00

Unique Set of Old McNicol’s Stonewall Pottery Japanese Ikebana Sushi Miso Bowls US $17.35

Sushi Plate ~ Set of Four ~ Made in Japan US $5.00

Set of 12 pcs Fake Food Japanese Nigiri Sushi Tuna, Salmon, Ebi, Tobikko & more US $14.95

fish-shape SUSHI LUNCHEON PLATES SET OF 4 CLEAR GLASS US $1.99

Since it specializes in Soondubu, there are many different style of Soondubu Jjigae and you can choose how spicy your stew will be. You can even choose to make it not spicy at all.

This is the menu on the table. You might need to ask for a menu if you want to order sushi but most of what they offer will be on this small menu. Top half is your choice of Tofu soup and bottom half is different dishes like Galbi, other seafood dishes. They marked spicy ones and nicely described ingredients so you should have no problem.

Soondubu Jjigae is mostly reddish spicy but the name itself doesn't hint that it must be spicy. If you cannot handle spicy just get something not spicy or mild. After all Soondubu Jjigae just means Tofu Stew.

Although there are many different kinds, I find seafood to be the best so far. Mushroom was somewhat disappointing with not much mushroom and meat stew is too greasy for me. But it's my personal preference so let me know if anything else is great!

Also, I always get SPICY and always regret that it's too spicy for me. Note to myself... little spicy not SPICY -_-;; So you too be careful if you can't take it. They give you fresh egg you can crack it yourself as soon as your stew is served so it gets cooked before you eat it. I always crack it and stir from bottom to top so my egg would be thoroughly cooked. Just make sure that if you don't want your yolk to pop just be careful while flipping tofu.

When they serve your stew, they serve rice cooked in Dolsot (Korean Stone Pot) and remember Noorongji? The hard crispy rice on the bottom of Dolsot softened with water is meant to be eaten at the very end of the meal. It helps to calm down all the spiciness and clean out the strong taste of the stew...personally I think it helps digesting too. Sometimes when I don't feel like eating rice itself, I start eating Noorongji with water early with the stew.

They sell sushi also. I tried some Sashimi as an appetizer and it was pretty good. Just make sure you don't eat them together. I suggest eating sushi first if you want to eat both, since Soondubu stew taste is so strong you won't be able to properly enjoy expensive sushi!

and Enjoy!

Vit Goel (Lighthouse) Tofu House
12710 TwinBrook Pkwy
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 881-1178

Other Restaurant Reviews:
Allgreen Market Food Court-Poongnyun , MD
Jong Kak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Baltimore, MD
Tian Korean-Chinese Restaurant, MD
Niko Japanese Restaurant, MD

They have tried to do different menus to attract customers but guess failed to do so.
Last time I went (I went back couple more times after the post) I was very dissatisfied and never went back again due to lack of quality. Maybe that's what others thought as well or maybe the bad economy. Or..did it just move? Anyone know anything about this?

If you want to see what kind of restaurant it was way back in January 2009 click here...

Well for my quick glance, other than the sign and some aisle changes (seemed like they are still figuring out where to place what...very far right wasn't used at all...) nothing much changed. Next time I get to go there, I'll look more into their inventory. Oh, they actually blocked the way to the cashier from the entrance side. I think they did it so that the traffic could flow through all the other side.

Anyhow...Poongnyun Restaurant or the food court remains the same along with the sushi bar. This time we tried Bibimbap (Many Namool/Cooked vegetables served over rice) and Jjamppong (spicy Korean Chinese noodle soup) this time.

Bibimbap was great! A lot of vegetables Mmmmmmmmm...and Jjamppong! my goodness it was way better than Tian. It tasted very classic or traditional should I say? Yummmm and the serving was REALLY large (I'm easy to please LOL)...my friend and I love to eat soup or stew...usually any soup or stew can't beat us (never enough...sigh...) but this Jjamppong had lots and lots for both of us....LOL. My mouth is watering...

We also bought couple sushi to-go ones (no picture sorry). Eh....it was alright but not excellent...Salmon wasn't that nice...but they had interesting rolls. I don't know you might had better experience than I did.

Allgreen is located at:
7927 Ritchie Hwy Glenburnie, MD 21061

Other Restaurant Reviews:
VietGoel/LightHouse Tofu House Korean Restaurant , MD
Jong Kak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Baltimore, MD
Tian Korean-Chinese Restaurant, MD
Niko Japanese Restaurant, MD

I love sushi, rolls, sashimi..etc (Koreans have our own style Sashimi too!) and it's the closest one I can go during short Lunch break when I really one something not too greasy and anything with rice. LOL. Niko was really popular and still is but many people claim that Niko changed little bit...that their sashimi(raw fish)...got little "too thin," they say... Usually buffet sushi or rolls are packed with rice and less of sashimi and Niko 'used to' have smaller version of sushi so better to taste all different kinds but I do agree that they started to add more rice than usual. But hey, I think it's still Okay for lunch. Well, shall we see the picture?


First of all, if i remember it right it was $11 something. I didn't get to take a picture of the food stand..(sorry) but here's what I ate. I asked for 'hot water' and got hot tea...I like to eat hot water with anything! Oh and I love ginger with Sushi! Wonderful pairing.
Korean Rice with Kimchi, Jjajangmyun with Danmuji(pickled radish), and Sushi with ginger is what I say about perfect food pairings. And I'm sure lots of people would agree with me! Yay! Also Miso soup is always good too! I usually ask for seconds..this place doesn't have self-serve soup station so it was kinda intimidating to ask for seconds but I got my second serving anyway.

And just a close up of the plate from the previous one. I also love Japanese style seaweed salad! So I always get one with seaweed salad on top (like the second roll from the top)! Yummy! There are many different kinds so try them all, if you don't get full before you get to try them all! (So I just get couple rolls and start on nigiri sushi. LOL)

Niko Restaurant is located in Normandy Shopping Center at
8450 Baltimore National Pike
Ellicott City, MD 21043
(410) 418-8400

Other Restaurant Reviews:
Sushi King Japanese Restaurant , MD
Pho Nam Vietnamese Restaurant, MD
Jong Kak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Baltimore, MD

After my first visit, I didn't really find any reason for me to go back there but people have been telling me including "Jay" from the comment that Tian actually GOT better. Also they started this 99cents Jjajangmyun which seems to catch everyone's attention. So we finally revisited that place.

We ordered PahlBochae (Seafood Mix) and two orders of Jjajangmyun. We found out that each bowl of Jjajangmyun automatically adds a dollar tip. So I guess you could say that Jjajangmyun is $1.99 which is still not too bad. Although the taste has nothing so special but for that price it was pretty good and pretty good serving size too. Also Pahl Bo Chae was pretty good too.

Foods were way better than last time. I can't really say they have their own special taste in what I ate today but still it was pretty good. It seemed as though it was a totally different restaurant from the first time.

Most of all, the customer service was EXCELLENT!
Our server was so nice and prompt. So different from last time. Servers were actually trained and our server just knew what we needed right on time.
Little extra bonus was that when we were walking out the owner gave us the 'leftover' Valentine's Day balloons. I don't really know what I would do with it but just getting it made me feel good.
May be I'm just so easy to please...LOL.

Anyhow...it was a pleasant experience for me overall. Everything seemed to be in order and I was actually able to enjoy food there. Nice.

*I went back again about a week later and tried YooSanSeul my mistake...it was YangJangpi (Mixture of veggies and meat with spicy mustard sauce.) It was good and it was a humongous dish. Four people ate it and we were full. Looked nice and tasted good as well. I forgot to take the picture...I'll definitely take a picture for you next time.*

In case you still don't know where this Tian is, Tian (티엔) is located near Lotte in Ellicott City, MD right on Rt 40 and Rt 29.

Usually when you order this rice noodle soup you get bean sprouts, thai basil, green peppers, and slices of lime. We ordered a side of onion.

As soon as I get mine, I squeeze some lime on the soup first, then grab lots of sprouts and some onion. Since they are fresh I turn them over and get noodles on top and fresh stuff to the bottom so they'll get steamed (sorta...). Pho Nam gave us smaller portion of sprouts (we put lots and lots almost as much as noodles) we had to ask for another plate of sprouts.

Pho wouldn't be the same without these sauces-Hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce. Hoisin sauce is more sweeter and Sriracha is REALLY spicy! I use the sprouts plate to squeeze out BOTH sauce and mix them together. I like it better when it's mixed in together.

Everyone has different style of eating this. My friend puts these sauces right into the soup and he also puts green peppers too. Yes, he likes it spicy. I like my soup as it is only with lime juice added on it. I use my meat as a wrap and stuff meat with slices of onion, noodles, sprouts, and some sauce on it. I do all this with my chopstick so guess you need to be nifty with chopsticks if you need to wrap with chopsticks and eat it too (but I use my spoon to place all these first!)

Mmmmmmmmm...so good.
Some say it's good for cold and some say it's good for hangovers...nothing scientifically proven though...please don't quote me anywhere.

When I go to Vietnamese Pho Restaurants I rarely eat other dishes since I just LOVE Pho Soup, but I found Vietnamese dishes usually very good. So we decided to be adventurous and ordered a beef entree, but this was little bit of disappointment. Not that good and very small portion. So we decided that we'll just stick with Pho in this Restaurant.

If you like this restaurant or somewhere else, we would love to hear from you!

This restaurant is located on Rt 40 in the plaza with Toys R Us, Office depot, and Cici's Pizza.

Pho Nam is located at:
6477 Baltimore National Pike
Catonsville, MD 21228
(410) 455-6000
Not exactly sure of the hours but the door signs says it opens till 8pm 7days.

Other Restaurant Reviews:
Allgreen Market Food Court-Poongnyun , MD
Sushi King Japanese Restaurant , MD
Niko Japanese Restaurant, MD
VietGoel/LightHouse Tofu House Korean Restaurant , MD
Jong Kak Korean BBQ Restaurant in Baltimore, MD
Tian Korean-Chinese Restaurant, MD