Went to Young Bin Kwan Saturday, had Korean food, liked it, will go back. Much better than the food I had at the Oakside Inn (now Reffy's) a year or two ago.
Pittsburgh, PA
Young Bin Kwan
Young Bin Kwan is OK, but I find it pretty inconsistent (though consistently over-priced). For Korean food in Pittsburgh, my favorite in Sushi Kim's on Liberty Ave., a few blocks past the Strip (away from CMU). This place is as authentic as it gets in the USA (and I've been to Korea several times, as well as a number of Korean restaurants on both coasts). The only problem you might have is that the waitresses (and most of the clientele) don't speak English, and the menu isn't all that helpful to a "foreigner". Just order the BBQ pork dinner, which will easily feed 3-4 people, wash it down with either some OB Korean beer or Chung Ha cold sake, and you'll be happy (assuming you like spicy food). (This might also be hard to eat if you can't use chopsticks well --- you have to cook the pork yourself at the table.) As an appetizer, you might try the acorn-flour + oysters pancake --- again, enough for 3-4 people as an appetizer. [In case you're wondering about the name of the restaurant: it is perfectly authentic Korean to serve sushi and sashimi.] Peter
I second Peter's recommendation of Sushi Kim. It is also improved by it's owners rather endearing lack of style, evidenced both in the decor, in the presence of, and in what they show on the two TV sets in the restaurant, which included one night, a sport's illustrated swimsuit soft porn tape. The food's great. On a different note, Tony and I are rapidly coming to the conclusion that Pittsburgh's best dim-sum is to be had at the Asian Palace, 3500 William Penn Hwy, in Monroeville. They serve it from 11:00am to 10pm everyday, so they are also more convenient than the other places (both of which are OK, no slur intended against them). Again, one should ignore the environment, which includes an all you can eat "chinese" buffet (which looks like it should be carefully avoided), and people to whom an "all you can eat Chinese buffet" might well have been designed to appeal. I'll try to scan in the menu and put it on my food page when I get the chance. Michael ------- Michael Witbrock. [email removed] <a href="http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/Web/People/mjw/mjwhome.html">this is a NCSA mosaic hyper-document URL.</a>
Peter L. wrote: >Young Bin Kwan is OK, but I find it pretty inconsistent (though >consistently over-priced). >For Korean food in Pittsburgh, my favorite in Sushi Kim's on Liberty Ave., >a few blocks past the Strip (away from CMU). And how about the disasterously named "My Dung" also in the Strip? Hard to believe, but true. Actually, the sign on the front now bears a different name (which I can't remember), but the menus bare witness to the original decision. It's on Penn, a bit further away from downtown than the heaviest section with USA Gourmet et al. They share a building with an Asian food store, and make heavy use of it. General review: quite good. Detailed summary: quite odd. We went at lunchtime on Saturday and were the only ones in there until we left and another group came in. They have a nicely broad menu, with some Chinese and Vietnamese as well as Korean. We each got Korean dishes and a soup, and liked them both a lot, and the portions were generous with good lunchlike prices. The amusing part was after we ordered. We asked for a couple of cokes while we decide on the food, and the waitress walked back to the kitchen, but a minute later, she walks out of the restaurant. A couple of minutes later, she and another guy walk back in, and he's carrying a shopping bag filled with cokes. She leads him to the kitchen, he leaves, and then she comes out with our cokes still in the can. So then we order our food, and my dish has a lot of long beans in it. After she goes back to the kitchen, whoosh! she's out the door again, and this time comes back with a big handful of beans from the store next door! Talk about fresh. In any case, I can't really think of why this place was so empty when we went, except that maybe everyone else already knows not to believe the new name on the front.
anne wrote: > > has anyone ever been to Young Bin Kwan (sp), that restaurant at the end of > the Bloom field bridge? my friend wants to go there, but i'm dubious. i > figure there must be a reason why i've never heard it mentioned at all, by > anyone. thanks for any input. > anne I go to Young Bin regularly. My ex-husband's family, who lived in Korea for many many years (4 generations) rated it as good as "anything back home" If you like spicy food, go for the Kimchee Chige (Kimchee soup). Their Pulgogi is excellent as is there Bi Bim Bap. Enjoy! Martha Underwood
Thanks to everyone who wrote me with reviews of Young Bin Kwan. I finally went and checked it out this weekend. I had a great meal and will definitely go back. The setting is similar to the Japanese part of the Dumpling House, with the unfortunate addition of big screen tv. Each table comes with a grill in the center that can be covered up if not used. The menu has Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sections. We ordered Beebim Bap (sp?) just because of the great name. They veggie-ized it for us, no problem. It was delicious - crispy rice, noodles and marinated veggies served in a hot pot. The other thing we ordered was a delicious veggie and seafood pancake. It reminded me of the great mung bean pancakes you can get from the cart at the Strip. Along with whatever you order you also get a selection of kimchees - different marinated veggies, some spicy some not, and you can request more if you finish them up. Next time I would also want to order something grilled at our table. The aroma from other tables was incredible. Apparantly you have to order a minimum of 2 servings of grilled stuff in order for them to make it at your table (otherwise they cook it in the kitchen - no fun), so it might be good to go with a group so you can order both grilled and not grilled stuff. Yum. Reasonable prices too. The entrees we ordered were each $10. anne