Sura in Oakland – A banchan chapter
The one thing you can be certain about when you go to Korean restaurants, regardless of their size and price and menu, is that you will always get full. I’ve never been to a Korean restaurant where I think “hmm, maybe I have room for some more” when I leave. Korean restaurants always give you big portions, and on top of that, there is the banchan (반찬). When you sit down all starving because of the steaming broth or the grilled meat smoke from nearby tables, the banchan is the first thing to nibble on and ebb the hunger. You can either get a lot of coleslaw and dongchimi (동치미, pickled white radish in this case), or an array of little bitty plates that look too colorfully appetizing to disturb. Naturally, the size of your bill corresponds to the variety you can sample. And the biggest sample of banchan I’ve had so far is at Sura.
Here’s what to prepare your tummy for when you’re at Sura: 1 starter, 18 side dishes, whatever you actually order (which comes with either brown rice or white rice), 1 dessert. If you order gogi gui (고기구 이barbecue), then you also get a heap of lettuce to wrap. If that’s not enough, you can ask for more side dishes. So let us begin.
Starter: gaeran jim (계란찜 steamed egg) in a dolsot (돌솥), still bubbly when brought out. It’s really mild, bland even, with dots of green onions and an airy texture.
Starter: a small ladle of thin juk (죽 rice porridge) with vegetable bits. Also very mild.
And here comes the banchan. There’s the usual stuff: tomato, broccoli, bok choy kimchi, oisobakki (오이소빅이 cucumber kimchi), ggakdugi (깍두기 radish kimchi), kongnamul (콩나물 boiled and seasoned soybean sprouts), pajeon (바전green onion pancake)…
… odaeng (오뎅 stir fried sweet fish cake), japchae (삽채 stir fried cellophane noodles), baechu kimchi (napa cabbage), sliced kohlrabi (the pink thing) and cabbage (the purple thing)…
… tofu, cauliflower, spinach, kongjaban (콩자반 sweet black beans), kaji kimchi (가지 김치 eggplant kimchi), and chwinamul (취나물 a crunchy stir fried leaf vegetable)…
… potato, sweet potato, fried chicken bits, and muk (묵 jelly). (Mudpie *really* liked the chicken and the potatoes.) Now, most of these side dishes didn’t set off any fireworks for me, the japchae was even a bit dull, but there were some BIG exceptions:
This is Carrot. AMAZING. AMAZING. AMAZING. Somehow it is sweet like honey and chewy like dried apricot. If I could have carrots like this everyday, I’d love carrots a lot more than I do now.
This is Clueless. On the left is something similar to the carrots, but a lot more dried-fruity, like a dried persimmon. The texture is denser and crispier, but it could just have been an older batch of carrots, who knows. On the right is some dried leafy thing dried kelp (dashima (다시마) in Korean, or kombu in Japanese), which was crunchy like Pringle’s chips, dusted with crystals of sugar and salt. When microwaved, it gets soggy and similar to chwinamul but I have no idea what kind of leaf it is.
Get on with the main course.
Doenjang samgyeopsal (삼겹살) – grilled pork belly with soybean paste ~ $18. Mudpie felt uneasy with the fatty layer, but really it wasn’t fatty fat, it’s crunchy fat, just like skin. The doenjang (된장 fermented soybean paste) has a distinctive flavor, and is most like the Vietnamese chao.
Jogi gui (조기구이) – grilled “king fish” on the menu ~ $18, Google says it can be either yellow corvina or yellow croaker, and I’m no ichthyologist to tell the difference. Look at those teeth. The head was hard and not so fun to eat (very little brain, and I suppose grilling drained all the liquid away), but the body was well seasoned and perfectly crisp. Have fun picking out the bones.
Bulgogi (불고기) – good old barbecue ~ $25 each. The one on the left is marinated in a sweet mushroom-onion sauce, while that on the right is green tea bulgogi with, naturally, a delicate herbal, grassy taste. The meat came with doenjang, chilipepper, and garlic, but I didn’t include any of those in my lettuce wraps.
And finally, complimentary dessert of the house is either green tea ice cream or shikhye (식혜) (sweet rice punch):
Lovely both.
I should add that this place has a huge menu, with inviting names like ginseng chicken soup (samgyetang (삼계탕)) and crab stew (kkotge jiggae (꽃계찌개)). The bill is wholesome too, of course, but it feels all better when the friendly staff smiles at you with the most soothing, genuine smile in their single-lidded eyes.
Address: Sura (Nulbom Korean Cuisine) (수라)
4869 Telegraph Ave.
Oakland, CA 94609
(510) 654-9292
Hey there! Quick question that’s completely off topic. Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly? My website looks weird when browsing from my iphone. I’m trying to find a theme or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem. If you have any recommendations, please share. Cheers!
1I am glad to be one of several visitors on this great website (:, thanks for posting.
2I’ve been surfing on-line more than three hours lately, yet I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It is pretty price sufficient for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content material as you did, the web can be much more useful than ever before.
3Today, I went to the beach front with my children. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had to tell someone!
4OLIVARO
5OLIVARO DROPS
6OLIVARO FOR DIABETES
7Howdy! This is kind of off topic but I need some advice from an established blog. Is it tough to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to begin. Do you have any ideas or suggestions? Appreciate it
8Yesterday, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iPad and tested to see if it can survive a 40 foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she has 83 views. I know this is completely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
9Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I will be sure to bookmark it and come back to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I’ll certainly comeback.
10Just desire to say your article is as astonishing. The clearness in your put up is simply spectacular and i could suppose you are a professional in this subject. Fine along with your permission allow me to seize your RSS feed to stay updated with imminent post. Thanks one million and please continue the rewarding work.
11I have been exploring for a bit for any high quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of space . Exploring in Yahoo I eventually stumbled upon this website. Reading this info So i’m happy to exhibit that I have an incredibly good uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I most definitely will make certain to do not fail to remember this website and give it a look on a relentless basis.
12I think this is among the most important info for me. And i am glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The site style is wonderful, the articles is really great :D. Good job, cheers
13It’s really a cool and useful piece of info. I am happy that you simply shared this useful information with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
14I’ve learn several just right stuff here. Certainly price bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how so much effort you set to make such a fantastic informative website.
15서울출장마사지와 서울출장안마 이용 안내. 강남·송파·마포 등 서울 지역의 홈타이 코스와 예약 절차를 확인하세요. 24시간 상담, 선입금 없는 후불제 타임케어. 방문 가능 여부와 최종 요금은 상담 시 안내합니다.
16Thanks so much for publishing such valuable post. I really like your website. Thank you for providing a space for me to comment on your blog post. I hope more informative publications from you in the future.
17Great write-up, I’m regular visitor of one’s web site, maintain up the nice operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
18Would love to incessantly get updated great weblog! .
19I’ve recently started a web site, the info you offer on this website has helped me tremendously. Thanks for all of your time & work.
20I carry on listening to the rumor speak about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one. Could you tell me please, where could i get some?
21Thank you for sharing superb informations. Your site is so cool. I’m impressed by the details that you’ve on this website. It reveals how nicely you understand this subject. Bookmarked this web page, will come back for extra articles. You, my pal, ROCK! I found just the info I already searched everywhere and simply could not come across. What a perfect web site.
22Would you be desirous about exchanging hyperlinks?
23Thank you for another fantastic article. Where else could anybody get that kind of information in such a perfect way of writing? I’ve a presentation next week, and I’m on the look for such information.
24Howdy this is somewhat of off topic but I was wanting to know if blogs use WYSIWYG editors or if you have to manually code with HTML. I’m starting a blog soon but have no coding experience so I wanted to get advice from someone with experience. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
25I believe this internet site has some very good information for everyone :D. “A friend might well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
26The next time I read 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 actually thought youd have something interesting to say. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something that you could fix if you werent too busy looking for attention.
27경기도 성남출장마사지 셀럽의 코스와 가격, 자택·호텔 방문 상담, 선입금 없는 예약 및 현장 결제 기준을 확인하세요. 방문 가능 여부와 예상 도착 시간은 주소와
28hello there and thank you for your info – I’ve certainly picked up something new from proper here. I did then again expertise several technical issues the use of this site, as I skilled to reload the web site a lot of instances previous to I could get it to load correctly. I have been thinking about in case your web host is OK? Not that I am complaining, however sluggish loading instances instances will often impact your placement in google and could injury your high-quality rating if ads and ***********|advertising|advertising|advertising and *********** with Adwords. Well I’m including this RSS to my email and could glance out for a lot more of your respective fascinating content. Ensure that you update this again soon..
29Hello, you used to write wonderful, but the last several posts have been kinda boring?K I miss your super writings. Past few posts are just a little out of track! come on!
30경기도 성남출장마사지 셀럽의 코스와 가격, 자택·호텔 방문 상담, 선입금 없는 예약 및 현장 결제 기준을 확인하세요. 방문 가능 여부와 예상 도착 시간은 주소와
31강남출장마사지 셀럽의 코스와 가격, 예약 방법을 확인하세요. 서울 강남구 역삼동·삼성동·논현동·신사동·압구정동·청담동·대치동·도곡동·개포동·수서동 등 주소별
32I like this web site so much, saved to fav.
33경기도 구리출장마사지 셀럽의 코스와 가격, 자택·호텔 방문 상담, 선입금 없는 예약 및 현장 결제 기준을 확인하세요. 방문 가능 여부와 예상 도착 시간은 주소와
34부산출장마사지 셀럽의 코스별 가격과 예약 방법을 확인하세요. 해운대·서면·광안리·동래 등 지역별 방문 가능 여부, 예상 도착 시간, 선입금 없는 현장 결제와 자택
35Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
36I enjoy, lead to I discovered exactly what I was having a look for. You have ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
37Fantastic blog you have here but I was curious if you knew of any forums that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of group where I can get suggestions from other knowledgeable individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Kudos!
38Great post. I am facing a couple of these problems.
39You need to participate in a contest for one of the best blogs on the web. I will suggest this site!
40I’m still learning from you, but I’m trying to achieve my goals. I definitely enjoy reading everything that is posted on your site.Keep the posts coming. I enjoyed it!
41This blog is definitely rather handy since I’m at the moment creating an internet floral website – although I am only starting out therefore it’s really fairly small, nothing like this site. Can link to a few of the posts here as they are quite. Thanks much. Zoey Olsen
42Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between user friendliness and visual appearance. I must say that you’ve done a awesome job with this. In addition, the blog loads very fast for me on Opera. Exceptional Blog!
43But wanna tell that this is extremely helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
44익숙한 일상에 새로운 취향을 더하는 여기여. 감각적인 공간과 다채로운 이야기, 오래 기억할 발견을 만나보세요. 나만의 속도로 머물며 당신에게 어울리는 특별한 순간을 찾아갑니다.
45익숙한 일상에 새로운 취향을 더하는 여기여. 감각적인 공간과 다채로운 이야기, 오래 기억할 발견을 만나보세요. 나만의 속도로 머물며 당신에게 어울리는 특별한 순간을 찾아갑니다.
46Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.
47Hello there, I found your website via Google while looking for a comparable subject, your website got here up, it appears great. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
48Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful info. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.
49I would like to thank you for providing this valuable article. I love your blog. Thank you for allowing me to comment on your blog post. I hope more engaging articles from you soon.
50