28 - Sura - Oakland

4869 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94620, (510) 654-9292

Last visit - August 2009

(image from SFcitizen.com) As for safe Korean cuisine, Sura will be a pleasant choice. You're definitely going to be treated to a cornucopia of "banchan" side dishes as appetizers. I just have to say that of them all, I didn't enjoy that many of them. The kobocha pumpkin were good, but they didn't have the caramelized potatoes and I didn't find their kim chi very tasty. So I guess that makes it so-so at best. They usually give you a free steamed egg dish if you go in large parties and for birthdays you might get another treat.

I went with a huge party of ten and we ordered a bit of everything. The BBQ spicy chicken is a must, and I think it's their most delicious dish. Their bogulgi beef on a sizzling platter is pretty good too. The Bi bim bab is always safe when ordering Korean food, but it was not spectacular. I tried some of their clay pot soups, spicy tofu with mixed seafood, and that tasted pretty good. It gave my stomach a bad feeling though.

Now here's the thing that gets most people, their service IS slow. No matter how many times people try to be nice about it, they will fail to give you that "rest assured, you're in good hands" feeling that better restaurants can give you. They even have the service call button on every table, but pressing it will only alleviate your urge to press something. Not only that, they tend to mix up their orders. I have only been there twice, but both times they either gave us something extra or forgot to give us everything; albeit I went with big groups on both occasions.

I heard they have a grand ladies' restroom, but that never gave me a reason to visit a restaurant.

08 - Ohgane Korean Barbeque Restaurant - Oakland

Ohgane Korean Barbeque Restaurant - 3915 Broadway, (between 38th St & 40th St), Oakland, CA 94611, (510) 594-8300

Last visit - July 5th, 2008

Ohgane's website

Serendipitous food findings are always welcome in world. We were looking for some Vietnamese pho place for dinner after a movie at Emeryville, but it was a bit too late for that. For some reason, most Vietnamese restaurants don't open late (there's supposed to be this pho noodle house that stays up past midnight in San Jose area, but I haven't verified this). Our next thought was Korean, but not the same ones that we are used to going. I remembered a Korean place across from Momma's Cafe on Broadway, so we decided to go there ~ which turns out to be Ohgane.

We go in from the wrong door, the front door. Yes, if you don't want to make our mistake, go through the parking lot. That's where the real entrance is. The place is big, bigger than we expected. All I am hoping for is something quick and hot, and perhaps two or three tables taken. Nobody wants to eat at a restaurant as the only table attended to. We walk pass a glass cabinet of liquor; not super top shelf, but they had Johnny Walker Red label. Not too shabby I think. Maybe it's going to be more than $10 bucks. Then they seat us at a table under a bbq vent and present us with a tome-like leather menu . OK, $20 bucks it's going to be. There are eight or nine tables full of people, so I am glad.

We order the Jab-chae and sauteed beef and vegetables, we aren't too hungry, and a large bottle of Hite. Not "hi-te", but "height"; I am corrected by the Korean waitress. We sit for a bit, watching the baseball scores on the Samsung LCD, and the waitress returns with a platter of appetizers. I guess they are trying to outdo the Koreal house? There are 15 mini dishes of appetizers, ranging from kimchi and carmelized potatoes to steamed vegetables and seaweed.

After the beer came, we just decide to just enjoy the meal. It's been awhile since we had Korean food anyway. The spicy sauteed beef dish is really good, just enough flavor for the beef and authentic kim chi sauces. The Jab-chae can be a bit spicier, but it really complimented the spicy stuff well. They bring out complimentary seaweed soup (much like miso) and a bowl of rice for each of us. That's always nice, rice should always be complimentary. Even when it's costing up to a dollar a pound now.

We talk and eat, and drink some more beer. When the time comes to pay for the bill, I notice a knob on the side of the table. There is one on every table. Might it be a service button? I press it comes a digital "25" on their table monitor and a waitress comes up to us. We tell her we want the check. Amazing, I haven't seen a service bell in the U.S. for a long time. A great feature in Asia, and almost every Japanese restaurant.

We pay for the bill and think of what to do with the leftovers for the night.

Yelp's two cents