*** Update: BH Chung has closed and is now a location of Yu's Garden
I usually get into work at around 6 in the morning.....this means that I'm actually able to spend more time with the Missus and Da Boyz during the evenings and I get a ton of work done before other folks get into work. One drawback of going to work so early is that I can get pretty hungry by the time 1030 rolls around. So I'm always looking for places that open by 1030 or 11. A couple of years back, Cathy posted on BH Chung, I also know of a few people who enjoy the Katsu Curry here as well. An added bonus is that even though BH Chung is housed in the Convoy strip mall with the parking lot from hell, they, along with Tofu House open pretty early.
Frankly, I'm not a big fan of most of those Korean-Japanese "Hwe" type places, though it's really hard to screw up katsu too badly.
The older Korean woman who works here is very nice; always offering me seconds of panchan. The service is very mom-and-pop, though I've only eaten here before 11am.
On my first visit I ordered the Chicken Katsu Curry....not cheap at $9.99. Though you do get some standard panchan with your meal. And as I mentioned before, the nice woman working here has always asked me if I wanted more.
The curry itself was not exactly photogenic, brown gloppiness poured over some form of fried protein.
The chicken itself was on the dry side, though I noticed that the cooking and prep was done correctly since the breading wasn't peeling off the chicken. I prefer my katsu on the crisp and lighter side, this one was very hard and in my opinion a bit over-fried. The curry wasn't anything to write home about, though I've had worse....it was kind of lumpy though.
Still it was quite a bit of food. I later mentioned this meal to an acquaintance...who told me to try the Tonkatsu Curry instead. So a couple of weeks later....famished at 10am, I marched on over to BH Chung and had the pork version.
You gotta hand it to these folks, they seem to be pretty consistent. This was pretty much a replay of my previous meal, except the curry was a little bit less gloppy and had a more pronounced flavor.
With a sprig of parsley and slice of orange as garnish, there's something unabashedly "diner-like" in the presentation. So I thought, "well that's that....." and moved on. But a couple of days later, I had gone into work at around 530, by 1000 I was starving. I jumped in the car and headed to Convoy. I intended on grabbing a bite from Tofu House, but for some reason, I just ended up walking into BH Chung. On my previous visit, I noticed a young lady having the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap. It looked decent, so I decided to get that..... I guess you get five panchan with the Bi Bim Bap.
It looked pretty good overall, but after further investigation, this really didn't pass muster. Bi Bim Bap is a humble dish, so I don't expect a huge amount of meat, though the amount here was good. It was however, very bland bulgogi. So I quickly banished any thought of having that. For some reason, no matter how long I waited, the rice in this stone bowl just never really crusted up. The cho-gochujang tasted kind of weak and watered down as well. This just didn't do it for me.
Well, after three meals here, I think I'll give the place a rest. I'll resist temptation and just head over to Tofu House like I intended. Unless someone has a great recommendation????
BH Chung
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111
Do re mi? Have not been there in while but Ms. PedMa seems to enjoy.
Been working like a dog, how are things with you?
Posted by: PedMa | Monday, 04 March 2013 at 08:31 PM
Ah, I too have heard of their katsu curry and tried with much disappointment. Never posted on it.
Posted by: Dennis | Monday, 04 March 2013 at 09:07 PM
Too funny b/c when I saw your post I literally was scratching my head thinking "where in the WORLD is this place?" I have been here only once and never knew the name of the restaurant until now! The curry color is a bit sad and I also like my katsu on the crisp/lighter side. Do you think they make their curry sauce from scratch? I always feel bad when I see this place b/c it seems mostly empty most of the times :(
Posted by: Faye | Monday, 04 March 2013 at 10:48 PM
aw too bad about that katsu & curry
Posted by: kat | Monday, 04 March 2013 at 11:52 PM
Oddly, I crave the Hiyashi/cold noodles here; it's different than other places. No matter which side of the menu we order from, we always get panchan. The weather lately has been more amenable to curry though...
Posted by: Cathy | Tuesday, 05 March 2013 at 03:01 AM
i remember eating there before i started blogging and not liking the service. it was super slow from what i remember. i truly hate that parking lot!
Posted by: caninecologne | Tuesday, 05 March 2013 at 06:45 AM
Hi PedMa - I hope things calm down for you! Haven't been to Do Re Mi in a while....I should go check them out.
Hi Dennis - Yeah, kind of super hard.....
I doubt it Faye.
Hi Kat - Some folks really hyped it up....I didn't quite enjoy it as much.
Hi Cathy - Yeah, I saw that in your post.
Hi CC - It is indeed the parking lot from hell.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 05 March 2013 at 08:51 PM
Seen this place for YEARS. Never ate there. If you're looking for a fulling lunch that's good, go to BABS. They do some awesome burgers and sandwiches. ;D
Posted by: Jayson | Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 12:31 AM
Hi Jayson - Thanks for the rec, though I've got to say that I'm not a big fan of Babs
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 12 March 2013 at 11:12 AM