Chungdam
3180 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051
To celebrate the re-activation of my food blog, I just had to write about my amazing experience at ChungDam in Santa Clara.
I’ve honestly never had amazing quality Korean BBQ outside of Los Angeles, but Chungdam serves up some incredible dishes that makes it stand out from other Korean establishments. Everything we had was amazing quality, but what really stood out to me was how much thought was put into each dish. Even super traditional dishes were elevated through attention to detail or subtle additions to enhance the flavors/textures.
Anyway, here’s a look at what we tried throughout the night!
-note-
Before I delve into the tasty dishes we tried, I have to say that the hospitality here is amazing! We ordered a lot of food and there was no confusion at all.
Of course we had to try the 해물 파전 (seafood and scallion pancake)
The pancake was not what I had imagined. The outside had a super crispy shell (imagine little crispy noodles) and the inside was the perfect fluffy texture with noticeable pieces of seafood and scallion.
(above: Seafood and scallion pancake)
Next up we had the fish roe and uni rice bowl. I like to dub this one the “tri-fecta bowl.” The bowl consisted of multiple types of fish roe, fresh sea urchin, and perfectly broiled unagi. The flavors went so well together, a super balanced bite with the salinity from the roe, the creaminess of the uni and the buttery unagi. Definitely get this bowl if you come here!
(above: Fish roe and uni plate / below: uni, unagi, roe with rice)
Our final starter was the marinated tiger prawns. The texture was not like the typical tenderness of ebi you would get at a japanese restaurant. These prawns had more of a bite and a creamy taste. The manager told us that it was a very traditional Korean way or preparing these prawns; and it was super tasty!
(above: prawns, pancake, banchan)
ALSO. I can not get over how amazing the side dishes were! Most places only give one or two typical side dishes, but Chungdam had at least 10 side dishes that varied from vegetables to seafood!
The dish I loved the most was the 단호박갈비찜 (braised short ribs with kabocha). I think I died and went to heaven because everything from the seasoning to the tenderness of the short ribs was PERFECT- literally melt in your mouth. Don’t make the mistake of not getting this.
(above: short ribs and countless side dishes)
Next, we ordered a spicy monkfish stew (a special of the night). The broth was flavorful and packed just the right amount of spice.
Finally, we finished up the entrees with 해물우동볶음 (spicy sautéed seafood and udon noodles). This dish had chewy udon noodles with a great variety of seafood. Honestly, everything is in the details and I loved that Chungdam actually cut the mussels in half and all the seafood was devoid of shells.
(above: seafood udon noodles)
We can’t forget the star of the night, the KBBQ!
The two proteins we ordered were 허브로스삼겹살 (herbed pork belly) and 생갈비 (galbi, beef). Both the meats were incredibly fresh and high quality (the pork belly is organic too). Honestly, pictures speak a thousand words, so here ya go!
(above: galbi / below: stews, uni, bbq)
Of course, we had to get a couple bts shots *haha*
(above: when foodies and photogs dine / below: obligatory iphone shot)
Thank you so much to the team at Chungdam for hosting us and giving us impeccable service and delicious food!
