South Philly Review

Cousin Carl has a sense of adventure. He has traveled the world and is always up to try a new cuisine. I told him about Miga, a new Korean barbecue restaurant on South 15th Street. I've eaten Korean food only twice. The best was when my Korean-born friend, Sunny, and I dined at Giwa. She explained all the intricacies that make it different from other Asian styles of cooking.

Miga is awaiting its liquor license; for now, it's BYOB. There is a $5 corkage fee. Carl brought along a bottle of Chardonnay, not one of my favorites, but it drank well with the spicy fare.

Miga is on the site of Pasion, a marvelous South American restaurant that closed a few years ago. There is a sushi bar off the entrance and it has several comfortable rooms. Since we were interested in trying the barbecue, Justin showed us to a roomy table with an electric barbecue built into its center.

Esther, our server, explained the menu and made recommendations. Although it was humid, I was in the mood for soup. Gyoza ($5) is the Korean version of dumpling soup. The broth was light and mild, but needed a bit of salt and pepper. The dumplings were filled with spiced beef that we liked. Sliced scallions and thinly-sliced brisket enhanced it.

Unfortunately, the sizzling seafood pancake ($8) was so greasy neither Carl nor I could eat it. It imparted an unusual aroma of cooking oil that was not pleasant. Esther politely removed it from the table and advised us the price would be taken off our bill.

Since soft-shell crabs are in season, we sampled the soft shell tempura ($10). One good-sized crab was coated in heavy tempura batter and fried. Greasy and lacking seasoning, it was set upon a bed of cool Asian seaweed and thin strands of radish and carrot.

There are three styles of barbecue from which to choose. Esther recommended the short ribs. She explained they are marinated in a honey mixture for several days, which makes this tough piece of beef tender.

I assumed Carl and I were going to cook our dinner, but Esther orchestrated this task. She set two large slices of boneless beef on the grill and turned them until the meat was medium, but still a bit pink, inside. She snipped the entree into slices and set them on our plates.

Now the real fun of Korean food began. The barbecue included about a dozen condiments. A basket of green leaf lettuce leaves were on the table to wrap the beef and top with an item or two. Carl and I tried this, but we also liked to simply bite off a piece of lettuce and pop some meat in our mouths.

The condiments, which are served in small white bowls, included seaweed, cucumber, grated radish, cool potatoes, steamed white rice, bits of dried anchovy, grated, slightly pickled zucchini, spicy cabbage, turnips and, of course, kimchee. The spicy, hot condiment truly defines Korean cuisine. It is made with fermented vegetables like cabbage and turnips, pickled before being stored in glass jars. Miga's version was not really spicy, so I was able to enjoy it.

After we finished the beef, we received the short rib bones the chefs cooked for us. It was as tender, juicy and tasty as the boneless version.

Next up was an appetizer portion of beef jabchae ($8) made with sweet potato pasta. I could not visualize a thin noodle made with this New World tuber. They were sweet and clear in color with bits of beef were added to the mix along with some vegetables. Carl and I found the dish too greasy.

Complimentary watermelon, honeydew and sweet strawberries ended our culinary trip to Korea.

Service was about as fine as you can get. Justin filled our water glasses, helped clear the table, gave us fresh utensils (we kept our chopsticks) and extra share plates.

Although Miga has only been open a few months, the dining rooms were quite full, mostly with young people. Miga is very moderately priced and portions are good sized.

I recommend steering clear of the fried foods and sample soups, salads, barbecue and Korean casserole dishes. At Miga, they were prepared just right.

One-and-a-half tips of the toque to Miga.

Miga
211 South 15th St.
215-732-1616

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