Eating out in Korea Town

This week while your grandparents are visiting us, we have been eating out every night in Manhattan's Korea Town which is located on 32nd Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue. The first night we went to Gahm Mi Oak which is located in the lobby of their hotel, Hotel Stanford. Your dad thinks it's funny that they named the hotel 'Stanford' because (i) Stanford is one of the top universities; (ii) he thinks only Koreans would name a hotel after a university that they want their kids to attend; and (iii) your dad went to Stanford for his Ph.D. I got a bit side-tracked -- so Gahm Mi Oak is famous for its oxtail soup (sul-long-tang) and spicy kimchee. Some of your grandpa's friends came to the restaurant so your dad and I ended up eating at another table. As we were finishing dinner, your grandpa fainted after taking a second shot of soju. It was the second time he passed out in a restaurant after drinking and while visiting us. We called 9-1-1 and the paramedics checked his vital signs in the ambulance. Luckily he was okay and was released. It was quite a scare for us, but you slept the entire time in the stroller so you had no idea what happened!

The second night we went to Seoul Garden which is known for its spicy tofu soup (soon-dubu). We put you to sleep in your black travel bed, but you did not want to sleep that night. Instead you were very curious and wanted to see what we were eating. You sat on your daddy's lap during most of the dinner and were checking out all of the side dishes (ban-chan) on the table.
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When we got back from Boston, we ate at two other restaurants on 32nd Street: Mandoo Bar for dumplings and Kum Ryong for handmade noodles. In the front window of Mandoo Bar, you can see the ladies making the dumplings. We ordered several different kinds of mandoos and shared them. In the front window of Kum Ryong, you can watch them make noodles. Kum Ryong is a Korean-Chinese restaurant which is food developed by the Chinese in Korea. Your dad and I shared a bowl of noodles in black bean sauce (kun jha jha myun) and your grandma ordered a bowl of noodles in a spicy seafood soup (jahng pohng). We also ordered two dishes of beef with broccoli and fried shrimp in spicy sauce. It was all very tasty -- your dad was so happy to try other Korean restaurants besides Won Jo where we always go to eat barbequed short ribs (kalbi) whenever I have a craving for Korean food.