Yes, I've been to Young Bin Kwan several times, although not recently. The times I've been to YBK, service has been quite slow, and the food has not been that great. Personally, I prefer Sushi Kim in the strip. It's relatively cheap, the food is excellent, and the service is better. The decor is interesting (!), but I don't hold that as a minus. However, if you are vegetarian, watch out for the sauce for the Bi Bim Bop! They are happy to leave off the meat from the dish, but the sauce still has meat in it. Tell them that you want simple hot sauce, and be emphatic about it. Then you're golden. Andy
Pittsburgh, PA
Young Bin Kwan???
Lillian B. wrote:
> has anybody been to Young Bin Kwan in bloomfield?
I haven't been recently, but my father regularly takes Korean visitors
there. I can't wax eloquently about the meal (since I'm not a connoisseur
nor do I remember many details), but I thought it was great. Since
Korean food doesn't seem to have gone through the Americanization that
Chinese food has, I also suspect that it rates higher on the "authentic"
scale (given that they probably get their kim-chi from the Strip and
not from ceramic containers buried under the ground for a year :-).
Beth Mazur "Whatever you fear, whatever you hide, whatever
MAYA Design Group you carry deep inside...there's something more
Pittsburgh, PA than this."
[email removed] -- October Project
www.maya.com/Local/mazurI ate at YBK once with several friends. The service was really bad, the food me and my fiance ordered was gross, and my friend got 'montezuma's revenge' from the Bulgogi (however it's spelled). I ordered some kind of chicken with hot peppers. I do not recommend it !
I feel the same way about YBK. I would never go back there. About 6 or 7 years ago, A friend and I ate there and were ushered to a table at the back of the restaurant near the fire exit. We sat down and noticed that the fire door was chained shut. It was pretty scary since there was tableside cooking going on in the dining room and the room was filled with paper decorations hanging from the ceiling. While paying the host asked about out meal in perfect English and my friend who managed a hotel in Pittsburgh told him about the chained fire door. When told about this violation the manager pretended not to understand English and just smiled at us and shook his head. The following morning we called the city about the violation. I am not sure what the city but I believe that a restaurant with visible safety violations must have many more violations behind the scenes in food handling areas that you can't see.
Suzanne S. wrote: > I ate at YBK once with several friends. The service was really bad, > the food me and my fiance ordered was gross, and my friend got > 'montezuma's revenge' from the Bulgogi (however it's spelled). I > ordered some kind of chicken with hot peppers. > > I do not recommend it ! Individual experiences at even the best of restaurants can be unsatisfying, particularly if it is a person's first visit there. My friends and I have lived in Bloomfield for 3 years, and we enjoy eating at YBK. We've had sushi and many other dishes there and have not suffered any gastrointestinal trouble from it. While the service may not be at "Top-of-the-Triangle level", the servers have been polite and efficient. So, after 3 years of loyal dining at YBK, I recommend it.
Excerpts from netnews.pgh.food: 28-Mar-96 re: Young Bin Kwan??? by
[email removed]
> So, after 3 years of loyal dining at YBK, I recommend it.
I'll second that. A lot of times, it's just the individual servers. I
notice a lot of people posting seem to have surprising experiences in
Asian places. Being Japanese-American, I'll suggest it's probably just a
culture gap. Some practices which acceptable in Asia, are seen as rude
or at least brusque in this country. Not that you should have to accept
it, but try to understand when something 'strange' happens.
For instance, in Vietnam, sometimes it was fine to toss bones and
remains of food on the floor for animals to eat in rural roadside
eateries. It actually made sense. Of course, it doesn't here. Someone
would have to pick it up!
I could tell other stories....
As far as the original poster's stomach problems, Korean food is pretty
spicy. Your stomach may have been weirded out by these new things.
YBK is one of two or three places that serves authentic Korean. I would
hate to not have such an option in Pittsburgh.
Plus there's a karoake room. You can't beat that.
For a place Asian with great service and great food and lovely
atmosphere, try La Philippiana in Laurenceville. I can almost guarantee
you'll be charmed. (OK, the wait is mysteriously long once in awhile,
but talk to Teody, and you won't mind.) Reservations recommended.
-Ikeda..............................................................
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<http://www.saigon.com/~vaef/vaef.html> :412.683.1390 fax :
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:.............................................................:I've eaten there somewhere between half a dozen and a dozen times in the last year. The service has always been slow and sometimes clueless (e.g. the waitress not knowing that dinners come with salads, trying to charge me twice for a sushi roll because she didn't know it came with the order, etc). In addition, the portions for sushi are very small for the prices charged. However, the food is quite good and, for some odd reason, the sashimi is not nearly so out of proportion as the sushi. The sashimi, unlike the sushi, is a good deal. Monica http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjc/Home.html
On 29-Mar-96 in Re: Young Bin Kwan??? Someone wrote: >I've eaten there somewhere between half a dozen and a dozen times in the >last year. The service has always been slow and sometimes clueless >(e.g. the waitress not knowing that dinners come with salads, trying to >charge me twice for a sushi roll because she didn't know it came with >the order, etc). In addition, the portions for sushi are very small for >the prices charged. Well I went there last night and my service was excellent. Very quick and curteous. Of course this can vary. I'll get back to y'all when I go again. >However, the food is quite good and, for some odd reason, the sashimi >is not nearly so out of proportion as the sushi. The sashimi, unlike >the sushi, is a good deal. The food was very good. The portions were also good sized. Quite a good dining experience. I didn't have sushi (or sashimi) though, only Korean entrees. --------------------------------esp------------------------------------------ James Stepanek NRA,SAF Graduate Student Materials Science and Engineering Carnegie Mellon University God created mankind, Samuel Colt made them equal. Thank God I'm an atheist. These opinions are mine alone, others can find their own. -------------------------Don't tread on me-----------------------------------