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kim bap that feels homemade
Sometimes I feel such a let down when transitioning from one blog post to the next. Alas, I did not drop this lunch item on the ground, it all went hygienically into my stomach. Nothing to see here! The first time I encountered this myserious thing called kim bap was a few months ago when I had to kill time around k-town. Actually I was waiting for my friends to belt out Sweet Caroline and hunger got the best of me (as it always does.) And I knew Zach of Midtown Lunch was a fan of Woorjip, but somehow I ended up two doors down from Woorjip, at this place called E-Mo Kim Bap.
E-Mo Kim bap offers no seating at all, and if they served up a different kind of food, I would call it a shack. The thing is, I do not know any Korean food shacks... do you? If you do, we should be friends, best friends. The menu is very simple and it is on the wall. They do kim baps and the make it fresh, right in front of you. This is what separates E-Mo Kim bap from the pre-made packaged kim baps at Woorjip.
The price is slightly higher at E-Mo, but somehow I like the freshness of the kim bap. If you are familiar with left over Chinese take-out, you know refrigerated rice has a different texture than freshly made rice. There is just no getting around it. Although E-Mo does lose out to Woorjip if you get the beef kim bap because there is very little beef in the E-Mo version.
One kim bap will not fill you up, unless you are the size of dwarf bunny. I am a lot bigger than a dwarf bunny which is why one kim bap is not enough for lunch. Maybe it is for you but probably not. So you cannot settle on this for lunch, you will have to buy other stuff somewhere else or get two kim baps. Do something, you are smart. I think I like E-Mo so much because in my three trips there, it is also the same husband and wife making the kim bap and tying a knot in my plastic bag. Little things like that are cool. Oh, but I would still pick sushi over kim bap even though E-Mo is a great place to try. Ok, this last paragraph is horrible.
Like what you've read today? Subscribe to my RSS and never miss a post!Posted by Danny on May 13 2008 at 5:44 pm
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Well stuff happens, the cupcake still look delicious =)
I was hoping for some more description on how this kimbap tasted but the pictures are great. I usually eat at Woojip when I'm around 34th, but always stayed away from kimbaps due to one bad experience with a big sushi roll in the Manhattan mall. (Think it was the picked vegetable that tasted funny?) Anyhow the place seems nice and how sweet to see a husband and wife working together xD
Kumi on May 13 2008 at 9:35 pm
Korean sushi?! Is it your camera or is the seaweed really shiny???
thateatconomist on May 14 2008 at 1:15 pm
Kumi,
Yea, you can tell the yellow pickle is super pale in Woorjip's version of kim bap, while the yellow pickle at E-Mo is yellow and vibrant. That is what you get for freshness! The main difference is mouth feel of the rice but it is subtle and I am not sure what kind of difference it makes.
thateatconomist,
Yes! Korean sushi! Well, it always has cooked foods in it like kim chi and beef. I think the seaweed was doing a good job of reflecting the light... :)
Danny on May 15 2008 at 9:53 am
I think she brushes sesame oil on the top (which makes it shiny). I really like the spicy tuna and the squid kimbap, better than the beef one actually. and i'm pretty sure they don't think it's so sweet to be working together in such close quarters all day long! that place is TINY!
Jane on May 20 2008 at 10:54 am
Jane,
oooh ok, good point about the sesame oil on top. I will have to try the squid one next time!
Danny on May 21 2008 at 11:31 am
There's a little take out place called Kofoo on 8th Ave between 26th and 27th street, which has good kim bap and decent soon du bu.
Ang on May 28 2008 at 8:10 pm
The color of the yellow pickle has nothing to do with freshness. They are just different kinds, with different food dye. And yes, it is sesame oil on the kim, it's used for flavor and looks, but also because it makes it much easier to cut the kimbap.
H on May 31 2008 at 12:01 am