Kimchi, Bibimbap, and Metal Chopsticks

Living in Fairfax, Virginia has many advantages. Not only are we close to several metropolitan areas that have great restaurants, we also have a few of our own. Fairfax especially has a great Korean culture (though not as great as neighboring Annandale). So after living here for over four years it was about time we tried Korean for ourselves.

Try 26 New Foods:

1. Bison
2. Ethiopian Food
3. Oysters Rockefeller
4. Shark
5. Escargot
6. Frog legs
7. Chicken and Waffles
8. Hemp Vodka
9. Uni 
10. Beef Tongue
11. Amaranth
12. Bibimbap
13. Kimchi

I discovered Meega Korean BBQ through my close and personal friend, Yelp.com. Otherwise I probably never would have ventured into a restaurant that was in a strip mall next to an abandoned-K-Mart-turned-hooligan-hangout. It was my first time trying Korean, so luckily we were there with a friend who'd had it before. He recommended either the bulgogi or the bibimbap. Having recently entered a phase where I'm obsessed with runny egg yolks, I went with the latter.

Bibimbap is a rice dish usually topped with vegetables, chili paste, sliced meat and a fried egg. You mix the ingredients together before eating and the egg and chili paste create sort of a sauce. Mine was served in a hot stone bowl which kept it hot and delicious throughout the entire meal.

The taste was what I had been hoping for: full of that savory umami flavor. The ingredients are fairly simple on their own- delicious roasted veggies, nice tender beef, rich egg yolk. The chili paste is quite spicy but you can use your own discretion when mixing it in.

I also enjoyed the presentation of the meal which started with the presentation of many sides to share at the table. Most of them were kimchi, which I always thought only applied to cabbage but can apparently mean any fermented vegetable. I will admit that I did not like possibly any of them, but I enjoyed the opportunity to try so many different things. Some were unexpectedly crunchy or cold or hot- we just had no idea what we were trying. And that was half the fun.

If I had one complaint it would be the metal chopsticks! I understand that this is the traditional way to eat Korean food and read up on some reasons- more hygienic; lack of wood in Korea; I even read one article that claimed it started as a way for royalty to know whether their food was poisoned (as certain metals would react to certain poisons). I'm sure it would just take some getting used to, but I found them slippery, hard to use, and adding a slight tang to the food. Not to mention I kept leaving them against my hot stone bowl which meant they were hot when I picked them up again.

All in all I would definitely eat bibimbap again, and perhaps go back to try some other dishes. Although just thinking about all that MSG is making my heart race already.