Busan Daeji Gukbap

I really hate when a restaurant closes and/or changes name before I get a chance to post about my visit.  What a waste!  That was the case with Chom Chom Korean Fusion out on North Road on the Coquitlam side.  Too bad on another note as the owner was super-friendly and the prices were fair.  Well, I hope Busan Daeji Gukbap (the replacement) will last longer because I'm getting this post as fast as I can!  Viv and I stopped by for lunch one day and the reasonable prices appeared to carry over.

Prior to our order, we were serve the obligatory Banchan consisting of kimchi, pickled daikon and spicy daikon.  These were pretty standard, especially the pickled daikon due to the simple ingredients involved.  However, I did enjoy the spicy daikon as it was crunchy and appealingly flavourful.  The kimchi was okay, but more sour than spicy.  Our first dish was the Cold Buckwheat Noodles which were ice cold as it should be.  They were nicely chewy and nicely flavoured by the vinegary broth.  Loved the plethora of pickled daikon, Asian pear and cucumber.  The few slices of beef were a touch dry, but still fairly tender.

From cold, we went to boiling hot with the Spicy Pork Bone Soup.  It sported 4 large bones with tender and flavourful meat.  As much as the broth didn't look promising in colour nor viscosity, it was ultimately tasty with only a purposeful amount of spice accented by a real meatiness.  We could really taste the perilla seeds despite not seeing any.  Lastly, we got a small order of Fried Chicken, which was rather generous in portion size.  With completely rendered and crunchy skin, this was prepared expertly.  Also, the chicken was succulent and juicy.  We only wished there was more seasoning involved.  Overall, we felt the food at BDG was more than acceptable especially for the price.  We only hope that it lasts longer than Chom Chom.

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Generous portions
- Okay service

The Bad:
- Place is a bit dingy, could use renos
- Fairly small menu