Ever thought… ‘Where are all the Koreans hiding in this city?’ OK, probably not. But maybe you have thought that you are tired of empanadas and pizza. Although it might seem like Buenos Aires has a limited spectrum in terms of cuisine, you just need to know where to look to find something, well, different.
Buenos Aires has the second largest Korean community in Latin America. Korean immigration was in full swing in the 1980s and has since slowed, but has eventually amounted to some 50,000 people. Most of the community currently reside in the neighbourhoods of Flores and Once, so that’s where our search for something out of the ordinary began…
Bi Won (Photo: Lili Kocsis)
1. Bi Won
The best-known Korean restaurant in the city for a reason; The Korean owners of Bi Won have developed an extensive menu comprised of both classic and contemporary dishes. Dining is on the formal side, and the décor follows suit. There’s no need to throw on heels or a suit, but the environment sets the tone for the meal. In the afternoons you can choose from a selection of more traditional plates, and in the evenings you’ll find almost every Korean delight you can think of among the pages of the menu.
Wanting to try a few staples, I chose an afternoon meal. Don’t trust the online listings for opening hours, the waiters tell me they’ve been meaning to change them for years. If you arrive after 2pm expecting to eat, you might be told the kitchen has closed.
But if you call in advance or get there in time, try some traditional food. A classic is bibimbap, which literally means ‘mixed meal’, and consists of a bowl of rice with vegetables. Bibimbap is prepared at your table, and before serving, a final touch of sesame oil and gochujang, a spicy red pepper and chili paste, is added.
A second dish you shouldn’t skip ordering here is bulgogi - thin slices of sirloin beef marinated with soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, pepper, scallions, mushrooms and other “secret” spices that neither the chef or the waiter would reveal. They even denied bribes. I only ordered one, but given time and a second stomach, I could have happily eaten two. The flavor combination was exquisite and the meat was extremely tender.
Bi Won’s prices range from $60-$100. For more information, click here.
Bo Sung (Photo: Lili Kocsis)
2. Bo- Sung (Formerly Mido)
Marked only by a sign that says 보 줄도, the stairs behind the plastic butcher’s curtain that hangs over the door look like they lead to nowhere. In reality those stairs lead to the meat heaven that is Korean barbecue.
The restaurant is a lot to take in if you have never had the experience before. There are about 15 rows of tables, with silver exhaust fans hanging from the ceiling over a charcoal grill that is built in to the table itself. Korean barbecue, gogi gui, literally means ‘roasted meat’, and refers to the Korean method of grilling beef, pork, chicken or other types of meat.
At Bo-Sung there’s no menu. Just pick a table and sit down. After the waiter brings the hot coals over and lights the fire in the tiny stove, he places a metal grill over the coals and it’s time to eat.
The table fills up before your eyes. Little bowls or banchan, filled with tripe, rice, bean sprouts, pickled parsnip, various forms of seaweed, sautéed spinach, peanuts marinated in soy and the most traditional kimchi are the normal accompaniments to Korean barbecue. Along with ten or so side dishes, come steamed pork dumplings, oysters and some sort of fried white fish that the waiter’s wouldn’t name.
Nonetheless, the centerpiece of the whole meal is meat. Meat. Meat. A plate piled high of raw beef and spicy pork. But what makes Korean barbecue so unique is that you cook the meat yourself.
The way your meal tastes is also up to you, with flavours like soy, miso with soy, garlic and chili on hand, for $80 you can have all the food you can handle.
For more information, click here.
Sinko Cafe (Photo: Lili Kocsis)
3. Sinko
If your palate is lacking some fire, Sinko can light it. Specializing in family-style meals and as a place to hold events, the restaurant itself is huge. A location often chosen for celebrations within the Korean community, the space feels festive. And the entire menu is made for sharing.
One of the dishes was a meeting of cultures, so to speak. “A Korean picada” as owner Roberto Chung called it, the real name is a little harder to pronounce. Ra bok ki, a combination of white fish, cabbage, bok choy, rice and ramen noodles and a lot of gochujang spicy red pepper and chili paste, made tears well up in my eyes.
Another elusive item besides hot hot hot spice, that’s hard to find here in BA, is iced coffee. Sinko has it, along with many other delicious cold drinks. This is a place to share and come with friends. Just make sure they can handle spicy, otherwise they’ll leave crying.
Sinko’s prices range from $50-$100. For more information, click here.
Estilo Coreano (Photo: Lili Kocsis)
4. Estilo Coreano
Who said Puerto Madero was the most expensive place to eat out in BA? Enter Estilo Coreano.
On the quest to find the best of the best for Korean food, this restaurant definitely wins for the best price. In this instance, the saying ‘you get what you pay for’ is true.
With $40 you can eat in semi-Korean food in a non-Korean environment. The plus side of this? Estilo Coreano is the most accessible Korean restaurant and has the most modern feel. You get everything you would expect with the Puerto Madero scene; lavish chandeliers with black crystal accents, chic floor-standing paper lanterns and paintings adorning every wall.
The fixed price lunch menu was basic but affordable. A complimentary soup and rolls start the meal, very porteño, not very Coreano. The dish of the day includes a take on a traditional dish with rice, and a choice of dessert is included in the deal. My choice of a wok style chicken bulogogi was average, but then wok is not a traditional cooking style for bulogogi, and chicken is not often used as the selection of meat.
At night the menu shifts up a gear, and perhaps so does the quality. For $65 you can enjoy a chef’s tasting menu with a small sampling of the various main dishes on offer. Whilst the food isn’t the most traditional, the location certainly makes up for it.
For more information click here.
Casa Feliz (Photo: Lili Kocsis)
5. Casa Feliz: 행복한 가정
A happy find: Walking off the streets of Barrio Flores into Casa Feliz, was like going from Buenos Aires to Seoul. The walls are a pastel green, and bamboo plants growing out of rectangular pots line the front windows of the restaurant. With not a porteño in sight, this was clearly a spot in the barrio that only people who live nearby would ever find… unless you are a gringa wandering around Flores looking for some fine Korean food.
The specialty at Casa Feliz is soup. Koreans eat soup with almost every meal of the day and almost every customer had a bowl of steaming soup in front of them - a sure sign that it’s the thing to order. Tteok-manduguk dumpling soup was my selection and the beef broth came with mandu, Korean stuffed dumplings, chives, pork, rice noodles and egg.
The only way to really understand the menu is to read Korean, but if you’re far from fluent, there are pictures to guide you in your selection, and some choices have a brief explanation in Spanish.
Don’t be surprised if you get funny looks on entering – you’ll almost certainly be the only non-Korean customer. After your soup, walk down the street a little to the nearest kiosko and get a Korean ice cream to top off your meal. But don’t expect to find any Bon-Bon frozen goodies - only mango, watermelon and aloe vera treats fill those freezers.
Casa Feliz’s prices range from $40-$60. For more information, click here.
