Kang's Kitchen

Awhile back, I had visited Nadri tucked away in a deserted food court beside Hannam Market on the Burnaby side of North Road.  I was completely shocked at the excellent homemade comfort food they served.  Now they have expanded by opening up Kang's Kitchen on the Coquitlam side of North Road right beside H-Mart.  There is a theme here...  Anyways, we were invited to try the place out on a busy Sunday.

So the first dish to arrive was their Clam Kalguksoo.  This arrived steaming hot (as pictured) with a bevy of hand-pulled noodles.  These noodles were al dente with good elasticity.  The broth was mild, yet still flavourful with a hint of brininess from the clams.  I could've used more clam flavour, but then they would've needed to add more of clams and it would no longer be $13.99!  About those clams, they were buttery and cooked perfectly.

For good measure, we also got the Beef Rib Kalguksoo that curiously came with only one rib despite the picture showing two.  Maybe an error?  Whatever the case, it was just as good as the clam version with the same chewy hand-pulled noodles.  The broth was quite similar to the previous dish but maybe, just maybe a bit more meatiness.  The beef rib was delicious though being tender and fatty.

Next, we had 2 hotplates including the Spicy Squid & Pork Belly.  This was a pretty large portion with lots of ingredients.  The sliced pork belly was fried up so that it was firm, but still tender.  I particularly liked the squid, especially the tentacles.  They had an appealing chewiness that gave way to an ultimately tender texture.  Lots of flavour here, but only a bit of spice.  Balanced sweetness too.

The next skillet was the Cheese Bul-Dak featuring onions, chicken and cheese.  This was plenty hearty and zesty.  The ample amount of chicken was succulent while the spice and sweetness of the sauce helped provide impact.  Let's not forget the rice cakes nestled within.  They were soft with a nice chew.  They also soaked up some of the flavours of the sauce.  Finally, we couldn't forget about the stringy cheese on top.

We decided to go classic with the next dish in the Seafood Pancake.  This is quite the staple in many Korean restaurants, but the difference here was both the execution and amount of seafood.  As you can see, the pancake was the beneficiary of a hard sear hence being crunchy and nutty on the outside.  Inside, it was fluffy and loaded with seafood and only a balanced amount of green onion.

Continuing on with defaultish dishes, we had the Dolset Bibimbap.  As you can see, they did not skimp on the ingredients that included carrot, shiitake, sprouts, spinach, daikon, beef, egg yolk and nori.  When mixed together, I swear there was more ingredients than rice.  The rice itself was just wet enough so it could crisp up on the sides of the hot stone bowl (remember to smush it against the sides!).

Lastly and possibly my favourite dish of the meal, we had the Chicken Tangsooyuk.  These massive pieces of deep-fried chicken thighs were super juicy.  Moreover, the starch coating on the outside was super crispy and light.  Unlike some other versions, it wasn't overly greasy.  The side of sweet & sour was the right viscosity (to coat each piece) and balanced.  In the end, we all agreed that the food at Kang's was top-notch served in large portions at reasonable prices.  We especially enjoyed the hand-pulled noodles.

*This post features complimentary dishes

The Good:

- Excellent hand-pulled noodles

- Large portions

- Delicious

The Bad:

- That parking lot...

- Table legs are very close to the seats