At the Mountain Top (Sahn Maru)
Nothing beats mom’s cooking. Things may come close, or they may be enchantingly as good as mom’s cooking albeit in some different way, but nothing can top a familiar taste that you grew up with, when you’re fed with love. Remember how Ego dropped his pen and dived into Remy’s ratatouille dish upon recalling the aromatic smell of his mother’s boiling pot? In episode 5 of Gourmet, tears of joy wet the eyes of a renowned food critic as he savored a bowl of boodae jjigae (부대 찌개), the kind his mother used to make for all poor children in the village and the taste he has longed for in several decades. The concept is universal: mom’s cooking is the best. Lately I’ve been steering away from Vietnamese restaurants, not because they aren’t good, but because my mom makes better. So I seek out to the food my mom has never made, yet a part in me still wants a sense of home. And what’s more home-like than the thin, ruffled floral cotton cushion pads loosely tied to some wooden chairs?
Korean food always makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I’m not talking about the chili heat and the bubbling sizzling dolsot and the oksusu cha (옥수수 차), even if that’s part of the reason. If you take off the tongue-torching taste, Korean food is actually very similar to some Northern Vietnamese food, especially the soups and the stir fries. Neither cuisines go down the slippery slope of lard overdose or drown the plates in curry sauces and coconut milk, and both embrace a sweet-savory harmony topping a lot of rice.
But above all, it’s the feel of a Korean restaurant that charms me. It always feels slow. Even if it’s like OB Chicken Town, where the lone waiter has to rush between tables, love songs blast all around, basketball players run across the big TV screen, time still goes by slowly at that wooden table where you’re sitting. Time swirls around in the tea cup. Time lingers like the steam above your dark stone bowl. Time precipitates in each little morsel of banchan that you get served a few minutes after placing your order. Maybe it feels slow because you don’t have to rush shoving food into your mouth, or clearing the table so that the later course can come. It feels slow just like eating at home, when each dinner would take hours because I talked to my mom instead of eating.
So I feel happy at every Korean restaurant I’ve been to, with every Korean dish I’ve tried. I feel happy at Sahn Maru (산 마루) in Oakland. This chulpan bulgogi (출판 불고기) is another pleasant find. I like my choice of mild sauce because the lack of chili paste lets other flavors flourish, but you can choose spicy. The ddeokbokki (떡볶기) is a playful texture that could be done without, while the cellophane noodle buried under a mountain of beef and soaked in marinade is just too great.
On the hot side we have bubbling soondubu jjigae (순도부 찌개). The soft tofu is creamy like scrambled eggs. Pour a few spoons on top of rice, mix it up. You won’t notice the meat, and the meat is totally dispensable. This stew is good because of the fish sauce, the heat, and the creamy tofu.
At the end, the bill gets served with a cup of cold sujeonggwa (수정과). I’m not a fan of cinnamon, but anything sweet and cold just cleanses the throat so nicely. There was no dried persimmon, though.
And I would have said that Sahn Maru was another pleasant experience. But something among the banchan (반찬) makes me change my mind.
The dried anchovies. I’ve had the other things before, odeng bokkeum (오뎅볶음 fried fish cake), buchu jeon (부추전 chive pancake), kimchis, nokdumuk (녹두묵 mungbean jelly), but this is the first time I have myulchi bokkeum (멸치 볶음), stir fried dried anchovies with heads intact. Whatever little flesh the fish used to have has crystallized into tiny perfections of salty sweetness. The fish taste like candied orange peel. I just can’t get enough of it.
Because of the anchovies, Sahn Maru is not just another pleasant experience. Sahn Maru is a place I will visit and revisit, even if it costs a notch above all other Korean diners I’ve come to like.
Those little fish provoke memories of my mom’s ca kho tieu.
See more pictures of Sahn Maru’s dishes at my web album Photon Flavors.
Address: Sahn Maru Korean BBQ
4315 Telegraph Avenue
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 653-3366
Dining dollars: chulpan bulgogi ($20.95) + soft tofu soup ($11.95) + tax = $36.10
UPDATE: We have also tried a variety of other dishes here, from the usual dolsot bibimbap, japchae, seafood pancake and kalbi tang to the less-known bibimnaengmyun (비빔 냉면, cold buckwheat noodle), joki gui (조기 구이, fried king fish), and duehji kamjajim (돼지 감자찜, braised pork in mild chili sauce with dates and sweet potato). So far, all of them are the best of their kind. 🙂
I really like your writing style, great information, appreciate it for posting :D. “All words are pegs to hang ideas on.” by Henry Ward Beecher.
1Hello. excellent job. I did not anticipate this. This is a great story. Thanks!
2I am glad to be one of the visitors on this great web site (:, thanks for putting up.
3SLIMTIDE SUPPLEMENT
4Is Slimtide Legit ?
5Thanks for another great article. Where else could anyone get that kind of info in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I am on the look for such info.
6Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
7Well I really liked reading it. This subject procured by you is very practical for good planning.
8Would love to always get updated outstanding blog! .
9Good day! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a marvellous job!
10Yay google is my world beater helped me to find this outstanding web site! .
11Very interesting topic, thank you for putting up.
12Hello, i read your blog from time to time and i own a similar one and i was just curious if you get a lot of spam remarks? If so how do you reduce it, any plugin or anything you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me mad so any assistance is very much appreciated.
13Very interesting info!Perfect just what I was looking for!
14I was wondering if you ever considered changing the page layout of your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say. But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two images. Maybe you could space it out better?
15Hello There. I found your blog the usage of msn. That is an extremely well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to read extra of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback.
16Thanks for sharing excellent informations. Your web-site is very cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this website. It reveals how nicely you perceive this subject. Bookmarked this website page, will come back for more articles. You, my friend, ROCK! I found just the info I already searched all over the place and just could not come across. What a great web site.
17Perfect piece of work you have done, this website is really cool with wonderful info .
18I’m not sure where you are getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more. Thanks for wonderful info I was looking for this info for my mission.
19I got what you intend,saved to favorites, very nice website .
20I was just seeking this information for some time. After 6 hours of continuous Googleing, at last I got it in your web site. I wonder what’s the lack of Google strategy that do not rank this type of informative sites in top of the list. Usually the top websites are full of garbage.
21You could definitely see your enthusiasm in the work you write. The arena hopes for even more passionate writers such as you who aren’t afraid to mention how they believe. All the time follow your heart.
22Lovely site! I am loving it!! Will come back again. I am bookmarking your feeds also.
23Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very hard to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appearance. I must say that you’ve done a great job with this. Also, the blog loads very fast for me on Safari. Superb Blog!
24I am glad to be a visitor of this stark web blog! , thanks for this rare information! .
25I am glad to be a visitant of this sodding web site! , appreciate it for this rare info ! .
26Would love to always get updated outstanding weblog! .
27Hi there very nice blog!! Guy .. Excellent .. Superb .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m glad to find a lot of useful information right here within the post, we need develop extra strategies on this regard, thank you for sharing. . . . . .
28I really enjoy looking through on this web site, it has got excellent blog posts. “Beware lest in your anxiety to avoid war you obtain a master.” by Demosthenes.
29The subsequent time I learn a blog, I hope that it doesnt disappoint me as much as this one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read, but I truly thought youd have something attention-grabbing to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about one thing that you can repair if you happen to werent too busy on the lookout for attention.
30JELLYFILL
31jellyfill review
32Hey there! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing several weeks of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any methods to prevent hackers?
33Some genuinely prize blog posts on this web site, saved to my bookmarks.
34