Hahm Ji Bach Restaurant

Reviews 7

FO

Food Republic

As one of the few Korean restaurants blessed with a coveted Michelin Guide "recommended" status three years running (not a star, but pretty damn close), its no wonder this nondescript Murray Hill barbecue destination is crowded with plenty of non-Koreans who have made the journey to Queens. (The restaurant sits kitty-corner from the Murray Hill station on the Long Island Rail Road, or its a mile walk from the 7 train, through a mostly residential neighborhood.) Banchan, the small plates by which Koreans often judge a barbecue restaurant, is far superior to typical 32nd Street fare: Silver dollar-size kimchi pajeon (pancakes), gyeran jjim (steamed egg custard), cabbage and white radish kimchi, marinated blue crabs, eggplant and marinated tofu will land on your table as soon as you place your order with the friendly servers who lack English skills but make up for this with speed and efficiency. Though some have called Hahm Ji Bach a pork specialist, the beef barbecue is equally special. Galbi (short rib) proves well-marinated and tender after the servers finish their duties on the well-ventilated grilling surface. But its the samgyeopsal (thick-cut pork belly) that most people make the pilgrimage for. Once the strips are grilled and sheared by the servers, diners dip the pieces of tender pork first in a combination of sesame oil and salt, and then a soy bean powder that adds an extra dimension of earthiness. Next, eaters wrap the hunks in crunchy, slightly funky, pickled daikon radish discs and pile on marinated scallions, or the large strips of cabbage kimchi that have been grilling simultaneously. When its good, there is no place better in all of New York City for this type of eating. Also go for a bubbling bowl of kimchi jjigae, a spicy stew of over-aged kimchi, pork and tofu. Or the soy-glazed sablefish — which slightly resembles the miso black cod made famous at Nobu (and likely copied at your favorite sushi bar). Order it here for an oily and sweet fish, cooked firm and finished with a heady sauce. Its a sleeper hit among all that barbecue.

---

RI

Rita L

Came here again for my friends birthday, wasnt sure if I wanted to come knowing last time I was here the service sucked. Not surprised theyre still the same. Our waitress wasnt friendly at all, she didnt respond when we asked her to refill our water and it took us 5 tries until she finally gave us some water (dying of thirst here... ahhh!). She had no patience when we were ordering our food and had this attitude when we asked for recommendations. Dont bother asking because she will just point to the most expensive items on the list or tell you to stick to the barbecue section. Now to the food, we got seafood pancake, pork belly, japchae, spicy pork, galbi and squid. The portion was waaay too small for the price and the flavor for spicy pork and squid were exactly the same. Pork belly had no flavor at all so youll just have to use the dipping sauce they provided (umm.. not great). Seafood pancake was kinda bland and if you want to find better seafood pancake I recommend checking out arirang near 163st, they make it so much better there. Japjae was decent but also small in portion. They wouldnt refill our banchan when we asked, the lady was like oh you have to finish them all before we give you a new batch. That never happened and we didnt bother asking again. When we got the bill they calculated tips post tax and demand that amount even if you dont want to pay that much (tbh for the service we got, I didnt even want to tip!) Overall I wouldnt recommend coming to this place (might be better if youre korean), there are other places nearby that provides way better service and better food. Googong Tan next door is good or kang ho dong baekjeong is good for Korean barbeque. I dont usually give any restaurants 1 star but this experience was the worst! wont be coming back again.

---

JU

justin justin

诅咒在这里的15岁以上的人在劳动节派对，在纽约市一大音乐节之后。虽然我没有饮酒参加，许多人组中没有和我吓得服务员/女服务员会惹恼了我们，但他们实际上在沉迷的乐趣与出色的，非常周到的服务为我们提供。地下室有很多额外的座位，这就是我们的。他们做了出色的工作容纳我们和我们的粗暴行为。 吃韩国烧烤的经验对我们来说有点长，但我们并不介意。他们先用吨附带的饭食微小镀开胃菜就出来了。我本来可以全关的这些小菜（豆腐，凤尾鱼，泡菜，茄子，凉拌等）。 菜单是广泛的有这么多不同的选择。我爱我们的女服务员直言不讳，她说我们的选择不是最好的，她给了什么，以获得更好的建议，我很高兴我们去她的选秀权。将腌好的排骨甚至没有需要咀嚼，肉是那么的温柔。我们得到的一切实际上只是完美。有点价格昂贵，但它的使用随餐的一切是值得的。 这家餐厅是最好的结局在纽约一个很好的周末。

---

UU

uu you

最近,我和朋友去吃韩国烧烤晚餐。 我们听说过厚Cut很有名,这里的五花肉,还去了腌制辣子鸡和小牛排（kalbi）。 前面是有停车的地方。 在湖上,女服务员都很友好,我们喜欢这里的食物。 这里的美国人不是很多,大多是韩国人。 班禅Table的是,不能要求更多。 我们的牛肉饺子,太,这些都很棒,外面很脆,里面多汁。 我们很喜欢这里的烧烤,尤其是牛肉和猪肉。 我要喝烧酒,这是很棒的,我老公和韩国的啤酒。 餐厅很拥挤,我们不得不等了大约15分钟才能进去,不过这完全是值得的。 这是一个炉灶,不是木炭,这点我很喜欢,但是一切都很好,很嫩,味道很好。 下一次我们的炖肉,这看起来也很不错。 我们得到了一个去,还没吃过,但他们甚至还包括在班禅Take Bkup-in。 超凡脱俗,试试！

---

YU

yu new

Blasted in here with a party of 15+ people on Labor Day, after a big music festival in NYC. Although I did not partake in drinking, many people in the group did and I was scared the waiters/waitresses would be annoyed with us, but they actually indulged in the fun and provided us with excellent and very attentive service. The basement had lots of extra seating, which is where we were. They did an excellent job accommodating us and our rowdy behavior. The experience of eating Korean BBQ was a little long for us, but we didnt mind. They first came out with tons of tiny plated appetizers that were included with the meals. I could have gotten full off of these little dishes (tofu, anchovies, kimchi, eggplant, salad, etc). The menu was extensive with so many different choices. I LOVE that our waitress was blunt when she said our choices werent the best and she gave better suggestions on what to get, and Im glad we went with her picks. The marinated short ribs didnt even need to be chewed, the meat was so tender. Everything that we got was actually just perfect. A little pricy, but its worth it with everything that comes with the meal. This restaurant was the best ending to an excellent weekend in NYC.

---

SU

Susan Sterling

Went for the Korean BBQ cooked at your table by friendly smiling host ladies. Had pork belly, rib eye and especially duck. Also had a short rib and rice casserole, a squid plate and a big seafood pancake. The table was filled with dozens of vegetable and spice accompaniments like sea weed, peanuts with tiny anchovies, fish, tofu, bean paste, seaweed salad, of course Kim chi, plus dustings and sauces. Lots of fun to roll your meat in the greens, spice em up and bite. Favorite was the rib eye sliced thin and chopped - tender and flavorful. Similar for the duck. Pork belly was OK but Ive had better. Two of us loved the short rib rice casserole and two wished it had more meat. Most of us didnt like the squid so much, kind of spicy and chewy - next time Ill pick the octopus I think and stick with bbq. The egg seafood pancake was almost a meal alone: quite delicious. Also among the extras was an egg custard bowl almost dessert to offset the spices - great comfort food. So much fun - will go back for sure. The staff is just the best, they made us feel so comfortable. We appreciate that!

---

SA

Sandy Leung

If youre willing to venture out of Manhattans K-town, this is the place to be. The ban chan are fresh, plentiful and never-ending. They dont just give you 3-4 small dishes, you get more like 9-10 side dishes that could honestly fill you up before you get your main dishes. Pace yourself! Lettuce, salad, spinach, pickled cucumbers, bean sprouts, tofu cake, kimchi, prepared bean curd, many sauces... I dont even think I listed everything! The meat isnt some dinky frozen stuff, its HUGE SLABS of meat, plentiful and very very very tasty. We ordered the thick slices of pork and LA kalbi. They help to cook your raw meat on the hot stove and for NOOBS like myself, are willing to teach you how to properly eat the various types of meat that you order. Everything is very well marinated and full of flavor. They make sure that you dont overcook the meat and are very attentive to make sure you have everything that you need. It is premium prices but its worth paying for the quality. Its hard to find that in Manhattan.

---

---