Miari Noodle House: Comfort Food at its Best with Excellent Veggie Rice Bowl and Fermented Soy Bean Stew

I found a good, old-school spot in Koreatown that serves rustic classic like fermented soy bean paste stew and garlic chive rice bowl, also known as buchu bibimbab. It's called Miari Noodle House (Miari Son Kalguksoo in Korean) in the mini-mall right next to Koreatown Galleria, my go-to market to buy Korean ingredients. I wasn't expecting a whole lot (yes, I judged a book by its cover) but got encouraged by the constant inflow of Korean families spanning three or more generations waiting for a table. The rice dish was nourishing (felt healthy too) and very refreshing -- perfect for LA's current heat wave. A mix of white and black rice topped with raw, glistening garlic chives (looks like grass), steamed bean sprouts, pickled radish strips, romaine lettuce and dried seaweed strips -- all brought together with some red pepper paste (see the after image below), sesame oil and sesame seeds. I know. Hard to go wrong, right?

The fermented soy bean paste stew, duenjang jjigae, was another nice surprise. Visually, it didn't look as thick so I expected it to taste watered down. Even though the broth was on the clear side, which is unusual for good stew, the flavor was very strong. I attribute that to a solid foundation of the broth using dried baby anchovies and kelp. The stew came with potatoes, zucchini, enoki mushrooms and scallions. I really liked this one, even better than Jang-an Duenjang, where the restaurant is named after this dish but the quality has deteriorated a bit over the years.

The kimchi was good. My only beef with this place is that the rice had been pre-made far too long ago so it was cakey and not as fluffy as it should.

I'd love to return to try its namesake, kalgooksu, or knife noodles, when it gets colder.