Korean food? I think YASSSS. Click HERE to see my 2nd visit back to Manna! NEW FOOD! OKAY BEFORE I START, yes I know it's been exactly a year since I last posted (sorry lmao). I swear I still love food as much as I did a year before (and probably even more now, let's be real). Don't get me wrong, I really didn't mean to neglect this blog. I actually did write some drafts in between the last time I posted through now, but I just never felt like they were written well enough to post. SO, I'll be fixing them and hopefully posting them from time to time...starting now heh. ANYWAY, THREE DAY WEEKEND - hooray! Gives me another day to procrastinate on my work and waste time, am I right? Yikes, I know. BUT A SATURDAY WELL SPENT BECAUSE I GOT TO TRY THIS NEW KOREAN RESTAURANT THAT SERVES LIKE HOMESTYLE KOREAN FOOD. I could definitely tell that they weren't about fancying up Korean food, but just serving Korean food the way it's supposed to be. I guess I'm also not in the place to say so because I'm not Korean... but I will just conclude that I very much appreciate their cuisine. :) At Manna, the shop is pretty tiny yet very cozy. If I recall correctly, there may have only been around ten tables, which can feel a little cramped. However, the food definitely makes up for it and the workers are extremely kind, motherly, and friendly. The moment you walk in, a waft of the aroma from the food already makes your mouth salivate. This may be biased since I was also pretty hungry, but past that, it smelled sooo appetizing. Alrighty, so the full menu is pictured above (sorry you have to zoom in to see). The prices are surprisingly low for the location (San Francisco), and you get a good amount of food for what you pay. From what I have had before, I personally really love Korean flavors. I think their food can be bold, spicy, and flavorful and also clean and refreshing and filling, which is definitely a very hard combination to master. Whenever I go to Korean restaurants, we tend to get the basic Kalbi (BBQ beef short ribs) or the less popular spicy pork, and oh so good soft tofu soup. For my family, you could say that ordering a seafood pancake is a "luxury item" since it's pretty rare for us to get. But, I guess this really allows us to appreciate it the times we do get it. My mom really likes bibambap (hot stone rice with lots of toppings), but I'm more of a sucker for tofu soup and spicy pork. ^_^ At Manna, we decided to change it up and try a few new things and order a kimchi pancake ($10.99), kanpoongki (sweet & spicy chicken wings) ($10.99), mul naengmyon (cold buckwheat noodles in cold soup) ($9.99), and of course, a soft tofu soup (mild spicy) ($10.99). Usually at Korean restaurants, they serve you banchan, which are side dishes you can eat with rice. And the best thing is that you can (politely) ask for refills! WHAT?! We made sure to get a refill in haha. At Manna, their banchan included seasoned bean sprouts, potato strips, broccoli, kimchi, and fish cake. Although there were only five, they were a fantastic five?!?! Like I cannot stress how flavorful these side dishes were. The broccoli was cooked perfectly and had a subtle salty garlic flavor to it. The bean sprouts and potatoes had similar flavors as they tasted clean and refreshing. The fishcake was slightly sweet, spicy, and garlicky. The kimchi was a little sweeter than usual, which is what I prefer, but I know other people who like it super sour and some who like it super sweet. Up to you ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Pictured above is the kimchi pancake! It comes with a soy sauce vinegar dipping sauce, but we all thought it was super salty, so we went without it. The pancake itself has the flavors of the kimchi and its juices infused all over, giving a very uniform spicy, sour taste. The kimchi still held some of the crunch that it has. The pancake also did not feel super greasy and oily as some korean pancakes can. It held a slight crunch on the outside from the pan fry, yet had a chewy, slightly gooey texture on the inside. DELECTABLE. WOULD ORDER AGAIN. AHHHH SOFT TOFU SOUP. The ultimate comfort Korean dish for me. As long as you don't breathe in while you swallow this (unlike me sigh), you won't choke on this spicy concoction and have it burn your esophagus and you will be able to enjoy this fully haha (sorry TMI). BUT, this soup was so good! The tofu was silky and soft as it should be since it is the star of the dish. The soup, however, did not come with a raw egg (which I am used to), but the soup was definitely fine without it. It surprisingly gave me a slightly thick mouthfeel (maybe from all the red pepper seasoning inside), but that's not bad. If anything, I enjoyed it thoroughly. One of the new items we tried was the kanpoongki (sweet & spicy fried chicken wings). My Korean friends always tell me how the fried chicken in Korea is super juicy and tender and this dish just called my name. People who know me would know I LOVE FRIED CHICKEN. It’s definitely not an everyday meal, but yet again, a "luxury meal" haha. I think the sauce was tasty - it was sweet, spicy, tangy. However, I didn't think the chicken was "to die for". It was good, but it wasn't anything special to me. The chicken was a little tough/rough for me, but maybe my expectations were too high. The Mul Naengmyon has got to be my new favorite Korean dish so far. IT WAS SO DELICIOUS like I am salivating as I write and think about this. One of my best friends have recommended me to try this dish before, but I have never gotten around to it until now, especially because the weather was so nice and sunny in San Francisco.
These buckwheat noodles were like nothing I have ever tried. People usually freak about their noodles sitting in the broth too long or they get too soggy. THESE NOODLES DID NOT GET SOGGY. Maybe because they were sitting in a chilled, icy broth, but STILL, they were actually chewy the whole time. WHAT KIND OF SORCERY IS THIS. I NEED TO KNOW. The chilled soup was so refreshing yet deep in this savory, sweet flavor. I can't really pinpoint what ingredients they would use to get this flavor. I just know it was freaking yummy. It was topped with picked daikon, fresh sliced cucumbers, and half a boiled egg. I also asked for their house spicy gochujang (spicy fermented pepper paste) sauce on the side and GIRL, the combo of these two items added a totally new dimension to the noodles. I would literally eat the sauce with rice. THAT IS HOW GOOD IT WAS. I apologize for my extreme excitement for this dish, but I literally cannot stop thinking about it. Ridiculously delicious. Overall, 11/10 would visit again. Finding parking is a complete nightmare, but I know that it will be so worth it. Go go go! Also, random note, but my best friend recommended me to watch a k-drama called "Let's Eat". It's basically centered around food, with notes of suspense, romance, and drama between the characters. I liked it sooo much and I was constantly reminded of that the whole time I was eating. Highly recommend the drama as well - it's super cute and makes you hungry at 2AM if you're into that kind of stuff. ;)
2 Comments
Katherine Tsai
2/18/2018 07:17:00 pm
LOVE THIS ❤️_❤️
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J
2/18/2018 08:59:05 pm
Interesting
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