My first Korean BBQ

This post has been a long time coming.  I think I mentioned it a while back, but I’ve been obsessed with Korean food for a while, but HAVE NEVER ACTUALLY BEEN to a Korean restaurant.  One of my best girlfriends is Korean, and we talk food alllll the time.  She knows I’m a foodie and I’ve been begging her to take me to a Korean restaurant (or just cook for me???) for way too long.  She finally caved.

[Back story: the reason it took so long is because her standards are way way high.  She used to live in LA and we often lament over the massive absence of good restaurants here in Davis…or Sac…or anywhere close to us really.  Coming from LA, where we were suuuuper spoiled with all the talented chefs setting the bar so so high, to Yolo County, where it seems like you need to go to SF to find innovative food…has been a source of many conversations between us.  ANYWAY.  She didn’t want me to have a bad first experience with Korean food and has thus been reluctant to take me to any of the places near us which she deems so inferior to Los Angeles’ K town eats she is accustomed to.]

But like I said, she finally acquiesced.

So we assembled a group to hit up Blue House past East Sac. It’s a Korean BBQ place, so it was mostly meat, as opposed to a Korean restaurant where you order traditional dishes. But whatever.  It was a start.  I need to know what I like so I can crack open my Korean cookbook (which I don’t think I ever told you about, but I got it for Mother’s Day)!

This night was a major meat fest.  As a former vegan, I was definitely wide eye emoji on the inside.  But I like meat now, so it was great.  But still…this was a LOT of meat.

We basically ordered everything on the menu.  We all chose the all you can eat, so why not??

And then we re-ordered all our faves.  I think I ate two rib eyes all to myself.  Oof.  So good.

I’m a sucker for some banchan.  🙂

I especially loved the cabbage salad and the spicy cucumbers, but it was all really good.  Oh, and the sauteed mustard greens!  Those were also fab.

This was before we got down and dirty.

We had two grills between the seven of us and they were just bringing us food non-stop.  It was a constant cycle of us ordering more and more and more and them bringing us more and more and more.

I also think I drank 4 glasses of water that night.  I was equally parched from the summer heat as well as trying to calm my taste buds from all the kimchi.

The pork belly was good, but a little too fatty…same for the pork cheek.

My favorites were the plain (not spicy) bulgogi and the LA style galbi ribs and rib eye.

And the salt and pepper sesame oil dipping sauce!  OMG I wanted to take a bottle of that home!  I had to request more because I finished all of mine and my girlfriend’s portion.  😛

We also got octopus and prawns, but the texture of the octopus wasn’t my thing.  I liked the prawns but they were so much work!

That’s my wifey on the right there, so she won’t mind me posting her chopstick skillz.  😉

It sounds messed up, but aren’t they cute?  I usually like grilled octopus, but I think in a salad is maybe more my speed.

Here are some of the non meat items we got: including ramen, steamed egg, seafood and soft tofu soup.

Everyone else went gaga for this cheesy corn, which cracked me up because it sounds like a random combo, but I didn’t try it so I won’t knock it.

After we were all super stuffed we piled into a car to go get massages at Happy Day Spa in Natomas.

Best.  Decision.  Ever.  Oh man, was this ever a treat.  We were the last appointment of the day at 9 pm, and I am completely addicted now.  Should have bought a 10 pass.  $19 for a full body massage!!  Yes, you read that right!

The night ended there for most people, but somehow a few of us ended up at Target later that night eating its-its in the empty Starbucks area until we got kicked out for closing time, but it was such a fun night, I didn’t even mind that I got home at midnight.  The next day was the 4th of July, so my sleep deprived self had Kyle’s help all day.  See?  We moms know how to plan a night out.  🙂