꿀돼지 Honey Pig

SOUTH KOREA 🇰🇷

COVID-19 UPDATE: The dining room is open, tables are separated by screens and each have their own little nook for groups of four.

📍 7212 Orangethorpe Avenue, Buena Park, Orange County

The Honey Pig franchise has been around long enough that some locations have come and gone since the original in Koreatown opened long ago. While that one can leave some customers with less than stellar experiences sometimes these days, the Buena Park location is a bit more low key, tucked in a strip mall just north of the 91.

While it can still get busy, and seems perennially understaffed, the folks that tend tables do their best and even are running back and forth when overwhelmed. So if there is anything to criticize on Yelp and Google Maps like many do, it is the bosses that let such a thing happen in the first place, not the kids that are doing their best.

When you are taken to your table, it will have already been prepared with bean sprouts and kimchi on the inverted grill. as well as dipping sauces for each diner, a scallion salad called pa muchim (파무침, below), and a pickled radish water kimchi soup called dongchimi (동치미, below).

The kimchi will probably not win any awards, but this is a workaday version that is meant to be eaten inside of the rice paper wraps with bits of meat and later with the fried rice at the end of the meal. The pa muchim and dongchimi are both delicious, and a treat to eat in between (and with) meaty chunks for the duration of your time at the table.

The main event here, and something you find on almost every table is samgyupsal 삼겹살 ($31.99, below), thick slices of unmarinated pork belly. This is usually placed on the grill first so that all of the fatty juices can be cooked out of them, caught by the kimchi and bean sprouts for later usage in the fried rice.

By this time you will notice that the staff has taken over preparation of everything as usual at Korean barbecue, and will let you know when meats are ready to eat. Due to the understaffed nature of the restaurant already described, it is probably acceptable here to keep an eye on things yourself, and turn some things over if they start to burn.

While listed prices for meat might seem high to the brain, remember that they are inclusive of all the items set on the table before you sit down, which you can always ask for more of during the meal if necessary.

And do not forget the soju, because eating samgyupsal without it is like enjoying a perfectly cooked steak without a glass of wine. The rules are the rules.

Two portions of meat are required per table, so you can either make your meal more porcine with pork jowel, black pork belly, or pork skin, or add a different meat (or vegetable) with mushrooms, shrimp, and a few different cuts of beef available.

During this visit the boneless marinated galbi 갈비 (beef short rib, $34.99, below) was selected, a worthy option especially when joined with the greens and sauces. This cut is not premium like you can find at galbi specialists and might leave some dissatisfaction. On future visits it was confirmed that a return to the pork jowel will be in the cards or trying out one of the other pork options.

Hard not to look forward to the whole meal, when you finally start slowing down the servers will ask if you want fried rice. This is part of the price as well, and is something that should never be turned down no matter how full you are, as you can stick it all in takeout containers immediately even if you cannot eat one bite.

The remaining meats, kimchi, and some bean sprouts will be tossed and cut up with a large portion of rice before all being thrown back on the grill. This can burn quite easily so keep moving it around and further away from the center as necessary. The whole ending is somehow so much more satisfying than dessert, and usually leads to a nice round of leftovers the next day.

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