EMC Seafood & Raw Bar in Koreatown: Solid Oysters, Scallop Carpaccio and Best of All, Luscious Uni Pasta

It's true. Oyster bars are the latest foodie trend du jour. But EMC Seafood & Raw Bar is in Ktown and I had heard so much about it that I wanted to go see for myself how good it really is. The oysters were great and at $1 a pop during happy hour, it was no wonder that it was a zoo with people waiting hours for a table or circling the bar to nab a seat. My fave dish overall: the uni pasta. The uni was fresh -- throw some light cream into the pasta with some dry seaweed and chives and you have a winner. My only complaint was that the pasta was a tad overcooked. But overall thumbs up.

I also loved the scallop carpaccio, which was fresh, sweet and drizzled with some extra virgin olive oil, yuzu kosho, a paste made from chili peppers, a citrus used in Korean and Japanese cooking called yuzu and salt, smoked salt and some greens on the side. It was so refreshing on a hot summer day. Perfect with your happy hour drink!

The oyster of the day was Misty Point from the state of Washington. They were fresh and delicious -- some subtle sweetness in them. They came with a chili sauce topped with lemon wedges, freshly grated horseradish or a vinegary sauce with jalapenos floating. I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to oysters so I'm happy with the lemon but also enjoyed the horseradish sauce for some kick. These were addictive. I think our party of four collectively had over a dozen. 

I wasn't as impressed with the soft-shell crab sliders. Fantastic in concept, which is why we ordered it. I'm a soft-shell crab fiend if there ever was one. But these just didn't deliver. They were over-breaded and so greasy that I couldn't even taste the sweet flesh of the crab. They tried to balance out the fried with some slaw but it just fell flat. It made it even more bland. The best soft-shell crab I've had was very lightly breaded and lightly fried.  

The brussel sprouts were ok but nothing to write home about. They were on the salty side.

A word of caution: come early, as in 4pm when HH begins to avoid crowds. The place is loud, crowded and warm. It has good food and fresh seafood but it isn't a place you could just stop by at peak hours and get a table, even a seat at the bar. 

Parking is free and is in the same building.