Namu Gaji, an Encore

The number of full service restaurants in our area is mind-boggling.  We can eat out every day for a few years without going to the same restaurant twice, but we choose to go back to some places time and again because of their food and hospitality.  Namu Gaji is one such place.

A few months ago, we had an excellent okamase dinner there (see my 1/28/13 post “A Special Dinner at Namu Gaji“).  On our latest visit, we sat at one end of the communal table with two friends and ordered from the regular menu.  

The amuse-bouche, a piece of squid on a melon cube, was followed by Namu’s popular chicken and beef Korean “tacos”.  “Tacos” of course is a figure of speech.  They were chopped meat of chicken or beef short rib placed with kimchee salsa and remoulade over seasoned rice on toasted nori sheets instead of tortilla.  The flavor was Korean rather than Mexican.

Korean tacos

David, one of the owners, kindly sent us a salad of sugar snap and English peas, dragon tongue beans, avocado, and a cured yolk.  The raw vegetables cleansed our palate and prepared us for the rest of our dinner.

Salad of peas, beans, avocado and egg yolk

We ordered a trio of meat dishes: chicken wings seasoned with Sichuan pepper, pickled dragon tongue beans, lime and a blue cheese sauce; bone-in suckling pig belly with roasted corn, Thai chili and perilla; Korean fried chicken tossed in a sweet and tangy sauce and sides of spicy slaw, pickled daikon, and a dashi gravy.

Chicken wings

Suckling pig belly

KFC (Korean Fried Chicken)

Our carb of the evening was supplied by okonomiyaki, shiitake dumplings, and gamja fries.  The Namu Gaji version of okonomiyaki, a Japanese-style savory “pancake” cooked on a grill, was topped with kimchee, oyster, yamaimo, cabbage, bonito flakes, and kewpie mayo (a Japanese brand mayo with egg yolk, vinegar, dashi powder, mustard and, yes, MSG as ingredients).  The potato fries (gamja means potato in Korean) with short ribs were doused with kewpie mayo, teriyaki sauce, gochujang (red chili paste), and kimchee relish.

Okonomiyaki

Gamja fries

 We ended our dinner with black sesame pudding, fresh strawberries, and whipped cream.  It was another memorable meal at Namu Gaji.