Kal gook soo from Palace Home Style Noodle INC (Rey Lopez)

Palace Home Style Noodle INC

Sometimes initial reactions to food can come out quite elegant and poignant, and sometimes, like when taking a first sip of kal gook soo, I just think, “This tastes like liquid cheesesteak.” I mean that in the best way possible.

Palace Home Style Noodle INC is a little room inside the Fairfax location of Lotte grocery store. The soup was ready in five minutes and placed in a bowl so big, low and wide it could have worked as a water vessel for two Saint Bernards simultaneously. Instead of the squat, short spoon served with Japanese and Chinese soups, this silver spoon’s handle is thin and long enough not to fall into the pale yellow broth. The noodles are extremely chewy, maybe even more so then the strips of beef (that look similar to the shaved meat in a cheesesteak). There’s a plastic cup of chunky chili sauce with scallions served alongside the obligatory cabbage and radish kimchee, but while the allure of a spicy soup is hard to deny, you’ll miss the pure meatiness found within the bowl. Resist the heat, just this once.

▶ Korean; Order: Kal gook soo
Palace Home Style Noodle INC, 3250 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax

(January 2015)