Noodles and soup and o my!

Heyo! Glee has resumed, and life has meaning once again. Hallelujah!

Sorry about the lack of updates. I haven't been eating out too much/didn't want to bore you with the stuff I occasionally cook. Here's a short blurb on a Korean joint that specializes in kal gooksoo, which literally means knife noodles.

The banchan here only consists of one thing: kimchi, made from radish greens(i'm not really sure what to call them, but the tops of radishes), served in a clay(?) pot, which is where the restaurant name, Hang a Ri, comes from. I thought it was really refreshing and a cool welcome to complement the noodle soup.

We also got some steamed dumplings. These were really quite good. For the first time in my life, I found myself not wanting to dip them into soy sauce. They were fine on their own.

The kal gooksoo portion was huge and topped with long strips of mushrooms. The noodles were thick and gave a nice chew. I'm not completely sure, but I think they make their noodles here. But the real winner was the broth. It had a solid seafood base that held its own against the sands of time. Maybe they used some clams? Usually, I've had it with some ground beef or pieces of chicken, so this ocean inspired version threw my presumptions to the wind, only to be carried off to the ends of the earth, destined to die alone.

Also got some mandoo (dumplings to go), and they were still good a few hours later. What you know about that?

and another one!

Met with some of the old UCSD alum at the BJ's in Brea a few weeks back. BJ's is a chain/brewery that serves deep dish Chicago style pizza as well as other entrees. I don't know if this is "true Chicago style" since I've never been to Chicago or am a pizza expert, so please don't stone me.

We arrived early to take advantage of the happy hour, $2 off appetizers and 1/2 off personal pizzas, which end up being about 5 or 6 bucks. Descriptions taken off their website because my memory is foggy and it sounds a lot better using theirs =) Some photos seen here were taken by the young up and coming Jomo.


We started off with some drinks. I'm not a real big fan of BJ's brews with the exception of their porter. So whenever I go, I ask what seasonal beers they have. That day they offered the Trois Pistoles, a Belgian Dark Ale (right). This had a dark fruity taste and was delicious. Upon looking it up, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the brewing company was Unibroue, which makes La Fin Du Monde.


Avocado eggrolls: a blend avocados, cream cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, pine nuts, chipotle peppers and spices. Served with a sweet tamarind sauce.

These were pretty good and held their own w/o the overly sweet sauce, which I thought took away from the slight spiciness of the eggrolls.


Overview of our meal.


I decided to try something new for once and ordered the Chicken lettuce wraps, one of the "lighter" picks on the menu: Marinated chicken breast diced and sautéed with mushrooms, water chestnuts, celery, green onions, garlic and topped with crispy wontons. Served with chilled iceberg lettuce cups, sesame soy sauce and hot Chinese mustard.

I soon learned that the hot mustard was burn through your nostrils hot, as I unknowingly applied a liberal amount to my wrap. It came with about 6 lettuce wraps, and there was still of the chicken left. I'm not sure if I would get these again because I am a big fan of their nachos, but it was better than I thought it was going to be.


Great White: Rich and creamy Alfredo sauce with mushrooms, garlic, fresh Roma tomatoes, Parmesan cheese and grilled chicken breast.

I didn't get to try this one sadly.


BJ's Favorite aka the works: Oven-baked meatballs, pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, green peppers, black olives, white onions and seasoned tomatoes.

When it comes to pizzas, I like having a little bit of everything, so this was a good choice. The crust was thick but wasn't too oily. I thought everything went well together, and no ingredient overpowering the rest. And at 5 bucks, who's complaining?


One thing they're also known for here is their pazookies, which is a freshly baked in a deep dish pan chocolate chip cookie (although on their website, it shows they offer different kinds of cookies now) topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream. We killed it. And you know this Mannn! Looking at this picture makes me want one right now.

Service was good even though it was busy.

The place was pretty packed, and if you want to get those happy hour deals (4-7 PM and 10-12 on weekdays), it only applies to the bar area, so you're going to have to jump on those empty tables as soon as they become vacant because it's a free for all in there.

BJ's
600 Brea Mall Drive
Brea, CA 92821