Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Eat Here Now: Roy Choi's POT in Koreatown

Pot from Kogi BBQ's Roy Choi was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings recently, and it does not disappoint. The restaurant inside Koreatown's Line Hotel showcases Roy's Korean heritage with hot pot dishes, other Korean favorites, along with some of his unique creations.
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We had a really hard time choosing, but finally we ordered one that had almost everything. We tried the Fisherman's Wharf ($39 for the pot pictured above, plenty of food for 2 people) which comes with rock cod, crab, sardine, clams, mussels, fish roe, shrimp, tofu, daikon, scallion, sesame, spicy paste, and herbs. Each of the hot pot can also be served as individual portions - this one would cost $17.
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It's chock full of seafood and packs quite the flavor punch. Not that I'm Korean but this tasted "authentic" to me and just as good if not better than what I've had around K-town. In fact, I prefer eating this than the crab soup at Ondal. The crab is still in the shell, so be ready to get down and dirty. That's part of the fun and they hand you a whole roll of paper towel, so you'll be set.


Here's what an individual bowl looks like. This is the Old School with marinated prime rib bulgogi, noodles, kimchi, scallion, sesame ($17)
Old School
This one's on a very different flavor spectrum with a thick, sweet broth.
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Below the tender bulgogi is the slippery clear noodles used in japchae. 

You should know by now how much I love my sea urchin, so of course I had to order the Beep Beep (uni dynamite rice bowl, $18)
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Love. Uni. Dynamite. Creamy sea urchin with creamy dynamite sauce? It couldn't go wrong and it didn't. I'd have to order this every time I come.

It's a Korean restaurant, so naturally banchan comes with everything
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We also had that day's special appetizer of grilled prawns.
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Simple and fresh.

Inside the restaurant, they only offer the soju cocktails ($13 each), perhaps because they don't have a full liquor license inside? There are three flavors available including natto, kimchi, and curry.
Kimchi Sochu
Don't be scared off, the kimchi cocktail was awesome! You can taste that pickled kimchi flavor but it's not overwhelming or too spicy and somehow just works. The curry cocktail was also equally good, and not as "weird" as the kimchi. I'd say you need to try the kimchi cocktail, though.
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There's a small but solid sake list, as well. I'm not sure I remember it correctly, but I think I had the Konteki Tears of Dawn daiginjo? The sake I had was wonderful and tasted pretty unique. Don't you love their glassware, too?
Sake

I loved everything I tried here and definitely have to go back to try the rest! Pot not only lived up to expectation but exceeded it. This one's going to be one of my favorite restaurants (and bars) now and I'm sure it will introduce many more people to Korean food.

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Pot
inside The Line Hotel
3515 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 381-7411
http://www.eatatpot.com/
Pot on Urbanspoon

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