Ottawa Foodies

sides include rice, kimchi cabbage, sprouts, potatoes, seaweed and other pickled vegetables depending on avail. mix them up on your plate for diff flavors. here is the beef cooked then topped with requested hot sauce. koreana is among the few korean tabletop grill joints in ottawa. no comparison to those amazing ones in toronto but it's a welcome change. the server mentioned as of feb 2010 they are looking to offer AYCE for about $18.95 meat grilling when the new menus come out so look for that!! protein BABY PROTEIN!!!!

it is VERY important to use sterile technique and flame your thongs before and after any contact with meat raw or cooked. not too many diners do this. you wouldn't want to wake up one morning with a tapeworm saying to you 'good morning!'

combination table bbq @ koreana - beef, shrimp, pork, plated raw and with the metal tongs, you dunk them on the table grill.

table grilling @ koreana. starts off with miso soup and veg pancakes.

I have been to Koreana quite a few times and have always enjoyed the experience. Last night however … both my friend and I ordered the bibimbap and were sorely disappointed. The amount of beef was measly and the entire dish lacked ANY flavour (which mostly comes from the meat). We had to ask for sauce to flavour the dish. The server brought us the marinade they use for their beef. That sauce, coupled with the hot sauce on the table, saved the meal. Overall too bad though, I was craving good bibimbap.

All around a very good experience. I can't speak a lot to the specifics, because it was my first time eating Korean food, but the Bulgogi and the BBQ pork were quite yummy. We had originally wanted sushi/Japanese (but Yummy Sushi was closed), and so we ordered a combination plate to split as a starter; it was good but nothing to write home about (it filled the sushi void). Husband had chicken yakitori as an appetizer because he doesn't eat fish. We also had Bibimbap, which I would liken to Chinese Fried Rice.

All in all, we ordered 2 appetizers (dumplings, yakitori), sushi platter (12 pieces), bulgogi, bibimbap and bbq pork, plus drinks and it came to $21 per person after tip.

We will definitely be back.

Just had a bowl of "k18" or "spicey intestines stew" On par with the gamjatang for sure. I asked for it extra spicey and it was perfect. Ill be back for another bowl for sure..

Craving Korean, my boyfriend and I headed onto Somerset to find some good eats.
We found Koreana, and since Bulgogi garden was closed, we decided to check it out.

The menu is fairly large. This restaurant also serves sushi, but we were here for Korean food. The tables are set up BBQ-style, if a party wanted to do a Korean BBQ setup.

My boyfriend ordered a K17 (I think it was Samgyeopsal spicy) a spicy pork (it was pork belly) BBQ already cooked. I decided to be more daring and order "gopchang jeongol" or the spicy intestine stew, as seen on the photograph.

Before the meal, the waitress gave us water and barley tea. She also gave us pajeon (Korean pancake) and miso soup for each of us.
Then came the Korean banchan (side dishes). It was kimchi, potato, kimchi radish and kongnamul (beansprout salad). I found them to be not the best- the kimchi was too salty and not fermented enough; the kongnamul didn't taste like normal kongnamul; the only ones that tasted ok was the potatos and daikon radish.

My boyfriends spicy pork wasn't so spicy, but was good. My stew was VERY good. It was a bubbling stew of meat, intestines, tripe and clear japchae noodles. There were vegetables in it too, and good to pour onto rice.

We left happy and stuffed. The meals itself is good, but don't expect much from the side dishes.

my 4th visit in the past month, and i'm running my tongue over the roof of my mouth, which right now feels as bubbly as the chigae (stew/soup) i just ate ... too quickly it turns out.

This is my new Sommerset fav: quick, simple, tasty, healthy and good value. Served up by friendly Korean kids who make you feel old (no matter how young you feel elsewhere), but with competent and experienced adults at the wheel in the kitchen.

I've got a couple Korean-born friends who, i'm sure, will tell me this food doesn't live up to their mother's cooking. But, i don't care: their mothers aren't serving chigaes in Ottawa that cost less than $30 for two, a niche Koreana fills well.

Shared a couple hot-pot stews with the SO a couple nights ago -- a Kimchi Chigae and a Daenjang Chigae (soy-bean paste): bubbly-hot goodness, nicely portioned and delicious!

While the complimentary side plates lacked some originality, overall, we enjoyed their chigaes more than Soora's across the street (which, incidentally, has been a bit up/down for me since my first visit).

I think our bill came to $23 (before tax/tips). Excellent deal!

My sweetheart and I went to Koreana a few months ago. We like the decor. But we love the food. It is not expensive and very tasty. The place is very clean including the washroom.

The service is excellent. We gave the waitress a 20% tip.

We recommend this restaurant highly. You wont be disappointed.

Ordered this last Saturday evening (#2 Beef w/ sweet soup). Really enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to try something a bit different, it is a very substantial dish that suits winter well.

Consisted of a very strong and tasty beef broth with transparent noodles, zucchini, bean sprouts carrots, scallions, lots of tenderized beef and big tofu chunks which comes uncooked and you simmer at the table. Kimchi and steamed rice are served alongside.

At 30$ the value is quite good because I think 4 could easily share this dish (it is after all a sumo wrestler's standard meal). It is also pretty fun to cook your soup at the table. They bring a gas/naptha burner to the table, unfortunately the in-table grills are not used from what I could see.

My only complaint is that I woke up so dehydrated the next day that I felt like I had been on a drinking binge! I presume that there must have been either a lot of salt or MSG in the broth which resulted in this. However, it was so tasty I have to say it was worth it...

I would recommend this soup to anyone who likes spicy pork soup. No noodles, just pork spine, wild sesame, cabbage and potato. I love sucking the meat off the vertebra! Here (Koreana) they use fresh cabbage in stead of the more traditional dried cabbage, but it is still very good for $8.95!

[ED: photo taken from Wikipedia page]

Served piping hot and crispy, this tempura is all about texture and mouth-feel. The reasonably priced ($6) appetizer includes 3 long shrimp and 3 vegetables. It isn't very big on flavour, but it has a nice low grease factor!