Dine and Dish: Gangnam Korean Cuisine in northeast Fresno
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Gangnam Korean Cuisine at First and Nees in northeast Fresno impressed a recent visitor to South Korea.
"Tried a ton of food, and this looks exactly like what I had in Korea," says customer Mike Gong. "Looks fantastic and it tastes fantastic."
"We try our best to provide real, authentic Korean dishes as well as share our culture," says owner Charles Yu.
Some dishes are kept steaming hot on the table.
"It's a neck bone stew," Yu said. "Pork neck bone stew. The original name is gamja. Also, kamja stands for the potato. Same name, different items."
Chef Kim was classically trained in South Korea.
"He has been in the field for about 42 years," Yu said. "He was originally a French chef."
Galbijjim is a showstopper.
"This is a Korean braised beef," Yu said. "It's soy sauce-based with a sugar on it, just a little bit. We have a kabocha, that's a sweet pumpkin. Then we have some rice cake over here."
It's served in a hot stone pot with mozzarella cheese on top.
"We torch it, burn it so you have that gooey, chewy stuff too," Yu said. "People love to see it, from their eyes first and then taste it."
Crab, shrimp and squid are mixed into this masterpiece.
"We call it green onion seafood pancake, or pajeon," Yu said. "You have it crispy on the side, kind of tender inside."
A creamy carbonara sauce serves as the base of this fusion dish - Tteokbokki.
"It's a carbonara," Yu said. "Bokki is like a rice cake."
Banchan are side dishes, which include freshly made kimchi and fish cake.
"This dish is so popular and well-known -- LA kalbi," Yu said.
The grill is always full of marinated short ribs to keep up with orders.
"Korean cuisine has really expanded in more than just the meat dishes that we usually have," Gong said.
Meatless versions of traditional dishes are also in the mix.
"So bibimbap, as you can see, everything is vegetables," Yu said.
The restaurant name pays homage to the K-Pop hit "Gangnam Style."
"I'm so happy to share our culture with everyone," Yu said.
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