Juski

3.5/5

One of B-boy's teachers recommended this restaurant to him. It's tucked away on the first floor of a building, not a place I could look up online or in magazines. A real local gem. We were at Taipei 101 wondering where to have dinner. Diamond Tony's or this Korean restaurant. Both figured we'll try something new, and he told me about this place last week. So at 5 PM, hungry as hell as we hadn't eaten all day, cabbed over to Brother Hotel and made our way over to this little Korean paradise.

Food: One of the finest things about Korean food is the side dishes. I'm a big fan of side dishes, I'm a picker. I like tapas, I like dim sum. I like to have an array of foods in front of me for me to pick 'n choose and chit chat in between. What can I say, I'm a people person. So back on track, we ordered bibim bap (not in stone pot), bibim neng myun ($220), grilled seafood plate cooked at your table ($300), fried rice cakes in spicy sauce, bottle of diet Coke and bottle of Apple Sidra. Total was just over $1100, and it was good! The grilled seafood was nothing extraordinary but ordered it cuz there wasn't enough on the menu we could both eat. All other grill items were marinated in soy sauce, or in the case of the unmarinated pork, B-boy thought it was too fatty. I saw they had kampoongi (deep fried chicken then covered in sauce) but me no eat meat, B no eat wheat. Now that, that woulda been good shit. Maybe one day I'll order it and just to look at it. And lick it.

The bibim neng myun was just like home. I have never ordered bibim neng myun in Taiwan, but this first time, it's on the same taste level as Chosun by Joyce and Kingsway. The pickled items were great, except for the kim chi daikon, which were not as crispy as they could have been. I really like Korean food, but ever since I went no meat, my choices have become extremely limited, as Korean is best when you can enjoy the staple meat-beef. The seafood plate was nothing special. I wouldn't order it again. Would prob look for something else, or another order of rice cakes or bibim bap.

The fried rice cakes in spicy sauce was really good, and not too spicy. We went to Kao Lee Bang, some celebrity-filled Korean restaurant, and I did not like the rice cakes there (and service, but that's another story). So the rice cakes at Kyung Ju were refreshing. Sweet chili sauce with rice cakes and fish cakes, good eating.

There were four too many mosquitoes. Marks off for that. It's a bare bones hole in the wall sort of place, but seems like the kind of place only regulars know of. And I definitely will become a "regular" there. I'm comparing this restaurant to other Korean restaurants I've had here, of the same ambience. Also, marks off for finding a piece of brillo pad in my side dish of seaweed.

Restroom:
-Tp? Yes, the roll kind
-Garbage bin: no sign telling you to throw tp in garbage bin (bonus points)
-Paper towels: Yes
-Soap: Yes, dispenser style
-Faucet neck: nice and far from basin.

Clean restroom. No pictures here, but two stalls. The bowl was at least 1.5 feet from the door, so when you open the door toward you to get out, you can still manage to not get any part of your body touching the bowl. No signs requesting you to throw your tp in the garbage can (bonus). Two washbasins outside the stalls, next to the kitchen (there is a curtain separating the handwash basins from the kitchen). Didn't check for hot water.

A return trip is scheduled. Will bring mosquito tennis racket. I killed two mosquitoes.

Kyung Ju is located on the 1st floor #62 Fu Shing North Road. It is inside a business building, behind the security guard. (Diagonally across from Brother Hotel.) 02.2776.9928/02.2776.2286/02.2781.4931. Credit cards accepted.