The Dish: BBQ at Imperial Seoul

While many Asian cuisines such as Chinese, Thai and Indian have found their way into the Long Island culinary scene, Korean food is a relative newcomer and lesser known. Seeking to remedy that situation is Imperial Seoul on Hillside Avenue where traditional Korean food can be appreciated. New Hyde Park Patch asked owner Sharon Kim to educate us and she presented Korean barbecue, a great way to begin exploring this cuisine.

The Dish: Korean BBQ at the Table

What’s Inside: The tables at slide open to reveal a small BBQ pit for cooking the meat. The possibilities include boneless beef short ribs in a variety of sauces as well as sirloin, short rib patties, rib-eye, brisket, pork belly, chicken, lamb, duck or jumbo shrimp. The slices of meat are placed in the BBQ and can be fished out with chopsticks when they are ready.

How’s It Taste: Our short ribs had been marinated in a delicate sauce and the meat was extremely tender and very flavorful.

Sides: The BBQ is served with several little dishes, which vary from day to day. Ours included sautéed onions, kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), broccoli with crab, radishes, bok choy, clear noodles with chilies and cucumbers and fried tofu balls.

A traditional way to eat the grilled meat is to place it on a lettuce leaf, add whatever sides you wish and fold up the leaf into a little packet.

If you have an issue with spicy food, fear not. The grilled meat was not spicy and there are mildly-flavored side dishes.

New Hyde Park Patch spoke with other diners, Steve and Priscilla Rosner from Roslyn Heights. As Steve Rosner’s business often takes him to Asia, he knows Korean food well and used to travel to Flushing to get what he wanted—now he is a regular at Imperial Seoul. 

Imperial Seoul, 3365 Hillside Avenue, 516-741-2340