mattshafferHP wrote:Thanks Ronnie. I certainly wasn't trying to bash. On our next visit we will stick to the soups/stews. In fact there was a seafood stew on the menu that looked quite interesting.

Some places have a specific area that is unique and enjoyed. Go away from it and it is less enjoyable experience. You didn't bash, you reported an experience.

There are few places I visit where my order is rooted in experience. Whenever I drift from my tried-and-trues, I am very sorry.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

mattshafferHP wrote:Thanks Ronnie. I certainly wasn't trying to bash. On our next visit we will stick to the soups/stews. In fact there was a seafood stew on the menu that looked quite interesting.

Some places have a specific area that is unique and enjoyed. Go away from it and it is less enjoyable experience. You didn't bash, you reported an experience.

There are few places I visit where my order is rooted in experience. Whenever I drift from my tried-and-trues, I am very sorry.

Regards,

Exactly. However, if Matt enjoyed those dishes in the past, the fact that he didn't this time might be indicative of something else. He also mentioned that the panchan were not as good as on previous visits. Again, this is probably just a one-off but could mean something more.

Still, I think it's always worth mentioning what a place's strengths are, especially with a place like Cho Jung, where I've eaten dozens of times. Happily, Cho Jung has a lot of great soups (I've had at least a half-dozen there that have been excellent), so it's easy to return there over and over without having to constantly repeat the same couple of orders.

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mattshafferHP wrote:On our next visit we will stick to the soups/stews. In fact there was a seafood stew on the menu that looked quite interesting.

Soondubu (spicy, please!) at today's lunch may have been the best bowl I've ever had at Cho Jung, and I've had dozens. The seafood and the spicy broth came together perfectly to create one of the most satisfying workday lunches I've had in a long time. It was one of the spiciest bowls I can remember having at Cho Jung and it was astonishingly delicious.

There are a few relatively new faces working in the restaurant these days, which I'm guessing is a function of their increased busy-ness. The lady who's been there as long as I can remember (one of the owners) is still there but she's more in the background than she used to be. Still, she came out today to bring me an extra napkin, as she usually does, to help prevent the red broth from getting on my shirt.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Soondubu (spicy, please!) at today's lunch may have been the best bowl I've ever had at Cho Jung, and I've had dozens. The seafood and the spicy broth came together perfectly to create one of the most satisfying workday lunches I've had in a long time. It was one of the spiciest bowls I can remember having at Cho Jung and it was astonishingly delicious.

I was there last week and had the soondubu and I agree that it was better than ever. The panchan, which is always delicious, also seemed particularly good that day.

Cho Jung continues to deliver excellent bowls of soup and stew on a consistent basis but there's much more to the place. Last week I was there with a business associate who'd never had Korean food before. I wanted him to be able to try a few items, so even though there were just 2 of us, I ordered the seafood pajeon in addition to each of our bowls. A few moments after we ordered, our server returned with a stem of green herb that I did not recognize. She asked me to taste it. It was initially tart, with an almost lemony flavor but finished sort of bitter. It was explained that the owner wanted to make sure I liked it because she wanted to make our pajeon with it, rather than seafood. Of course, we agreed. It was described by our server as water green but I'm guessing it goes by another name. In any case, I managed to take a pic of the finished pajeon. Can anyone identify the green?


'Water Green' Pajeon

It was served with a small bowl of gochujang (shown in the top left corner of the frame) and I have to say it was a really delicious combination, with the bitterness of the water greens in the pajeon balanced perfectly by the tanginess and heat of the gochujang.

Needless to say, our bowls were also delectable. I had the soondubu, which was spicier than any bowl I can remember having there (apparently, after dozens of visits, they now have zero concern that I will ever send a bowl back for being too spicy!) and my companion was thrilled with his spicy pork neck stew.

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ronnie_suburban wrote: Can anyone identify the green?

I think I found a picture of it accompanying an article about Korean vegetables. Unfortunately, the article doesn't say what it is. It looks like a kind of parsley or coriander.
http://www.allag.com/korean_vegetables.html

d4v3 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote: Can anyone identify the green?

I think I found a picture of it accompanying an article about Korean vegetables. Unfortunately, the article doesn't say what it is. It looks like a kind of parsley or coriander.
http://www.allag.com/korean_vegetables.html

Thanks! That really does look like it. The stems were much tougher than parsley but maybe it was coriander, especially based on the flavor.

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Maybe it is a type of Chrysanthemum. The article does talk about Chrysanthemums and there is a Korean type called "Ssukgat", which is also known as "Crown Daisy" and is sometimes used in Jeon. I always thought Chrysanthemum was pretty bitter, but this is described as "fresh" tasting.
Here is a link to a recipe for Crown Daisy Jeon: http://aeriskitchen.com/2011/07/crown-daisy-jeon/ (this is a very cool website)
Here is a link to pictures of the plant in bloom: http://www.oceanlight.com/lightbox.php? ... coronarium
I must try this dish.

I just picked up Water Spinach (En Choy) and it looks a lot more like what's in the panjeon than the green pictured below it. It also has the lemony, slightly bitter with long reedy stems. And it fries up sweet and delicious!

boudreaulicious wrote:I just picked up Water Spinach (En Choy) and it looks a lot more like what's in the panjeon than the green pictured below it. It also has the lemony, slightly bitter with long reedy stems. And it fries up sweet and delicious!

I think you actually mean Ong Choy (AKA water spinach, which would make sense from the waiter's description). I ate a lot of this in Taiwan. It was much more leafy, but I always ate it cooked and well trimmed, and never saw it whole. According to Wiki, it is also indeed eaten in Korea where it is called "shigumchi namool". In fact, I think it is a very common ban chan. It is that boiled green leafy veg that is served cold with sesame seeds and red pepper paste. I have seen it many places around town, but always as a side dish and never in Jeon, but I guess you can make Jeon with anything. Some of the pictures actually do look more like what is pictured above than the Crown Daisy greens. Maybe somebody more familiar with the cuisine can chime in. I love Korean food, and have eaten it since I was in the Army many years ago, but much of it remains a mystery to me. It is always cool to learn the name of the stuff in all those little bowls. BTW, where did you buy it?
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/IMG_1617.JPG

Ong choi is pretty readily available at H-Mart. I've also seen it at Fresh Farms.

Yeah--was too lazy to look up the correct spelling last night--I knew it didn't look right! I bought mine at Tai Nam on Broadway.

It wasn't ong choi -- not nearly leafy enough, and much lighter green. It looked a lot like the picture posted upthread by d4v3.

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I'm Korean and I've never seen ong choy used in Korean dishes. We use plain old spinach for our spinach namul. I think it might have been ssukgat, the Chrysanthemum green.

Sharona wrote:I'm Korean and I've never seen ong choy used in Korean dishes. We use plain old spinach for our spinach namul. I think it might have been ssukgat, the Chrysanthemum green.

Thanks, Sharona. I was hoping you'd pop in.

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Not this week's NYTimes food section, but last. Peter Wells did a fine piece on Korean food in Queens, NY. One of the key takeaways was that every place, no matter how lengthy their menu, had one or two key house specialties. Moreover, he stated, the house speciality did not necessarily match the title of the restaurant or what was pictured on signs, etc. In other words, at the Happy Duck (not real, just an example), one should get the raw fish. So, I'm wondering what IS the speciality of Cho Jung?

I know some would say the stews or soft tofu soups, but is that true or just what people like? I like to think maybe, slyly, the realy deal is the ssam. I mean when you get that plate of greens to go with your bowl of meat, you know, as Jim Leff once famously said (kinda), you've been served some love.



This is what's left AFTER I ate pretty much the who thing of spicy pork, and I have pretty good rabbit tendencies based on all that local food I consume*. I was astonished, really, at the amount of greens given for one. What truly, really, is the expectation for all that greenery. Is it like an Arabian spread where it is actually bad form to finish?

I was mostly a pork neck stew guy at Cho Jung until my daughter once got the pork ssam. Now I know it is the true house dish

BTW, I also post this in reference to the herb question somewhat left inchoate in this thread. I believe, but am not sure, that the herb Ronnie spoke of is the one just above the lettuce and below the chrysanthemum greens--it looks a bit like cilantro. As Ronnie described it, it was tart, with a little bitterness. It reminded me of sorrel, but with no where close the intensity. It is definitely not parsley or cilantro. Some of these leaves, like the shiso, are so strong on their own, but against the pork, the bean paste sauce, the raw garlic, etc., it really balances out. Like a say, a great dish.

*Afterwards, they asked me if I wanted to take what was left home. At first I hesitated, and then I thought why not!

Vital Information wrote:I was mostly a pork neck stew guy at Cho Jung until my daughter once got the pork ssam. Now I know it is the true house dish

Yes (and no )! It's certainly one of them. I've had it there numerous times and I agree that it's tremendous. And the way they serve it is noteworthy. But I was in last week for a bowl of soondubu and I'm still convinced it's the best thing on their menu (and the best rendition in all of Chicagoland).

We were also served a warm panchan that I'd never had before. It was some very small, whole, shell-on shrimp and cloves of garlic that had been cooked until soft. The entire thing was kind of sticky but not sweet. Here's a shot of it after we'd worked our way through most of the generous portion we were served . . .


Tiny Shrimp & Garlic Clove

Now that the weather is cold, my desire to eat at Cho Jung is at peak levels.

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Cho Jung is one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, although I think it's well worth a drive. The panchan are made with care, there are many delicious items on the menu, and the servers are friendly.

I'd encourage anyone with little ones to frequent Cho Jung. They've been accomodating, making us and our toddler feel welcome -- providing warm rice to keep him busy until the arrival of panchan/entrees, preparing a small special noodle dish just for him, giving him surprise desserts, etc. And the food always arrives surprisingly quickly.

I hope folks will continue to go. On weeknights in particular, it can be a ghost town, with no more than another table or two occupied.

Ronna

RAB, Max, and I were finishing up perhaps our favorite meal yet at Cho Jung tonight (solid versions of our favorite dishes, with two notable and new-to-us panchan: a wonderful dried radish pickle and a purslane-like herb), when we learned that they are closing at the end of the month for "remodeling." They are scheduled to reopen on June 16, but under new ownership with a new staff.

As we were leaving, the lovely owner came out of the kitchen to say goodbye and chat with us for a few wistful moments. She let us know that she is retiring. Cho Jung has been one of our very favorite restaurants over the past two years, and while we can hope that the new owners will continue the delicious legacy, Cho Jung's warmth and heart will be sorely missed.

Ronna

Wow. It's a sad week for me. First Kow Kow, and now Cho Jung. I'll have to get over there one more time before they close.

Getting to the point where I get nervous seeing favorite places appear in the new posts...this just sucks.

Wow indeed. My wife and I had an early-ish dinner there on Sunday. Stellar as always. We were the only diners in the house. Though it looked like they were tables set up for a large group.

We also had the new-ish panchan items. We asked for a description and we had a bit of a language barrier. But we managed.

Sad to see the change in ownership. Looking forward to Cho Jung 2.0

Had my first trip since the ownership change and felt like things were pretty close to how they've always been. Pajeon was a bit subpar but tasty and well within spec. Soondubu was identical to previous trips. Service was friendly and our server remembered me and my usual ordrer, which was nice. Happy to report that all seems well at Cho Jung 2.0.

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Things here, at least today, were not even close to how they've been in the past.

Soondubu was weak, thin and one-dimensional. It was seriously lacking in seafood and was barely warm enough to cook my egg. What happened to the bubbling bowls?! Nothing about this bowl resembled the one that I fell in love with years back. If this were my first time having it, I'd likely never order it again.

I'm really hoping today was a one-off bad experience.

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Lousy traffic there and back, there's no way I'd drive for that again. Eating my second lunch (kuhdo) as i write this.