I’ll sum up this review in the following sentence — eating at Fusion Café reminds me of eating at home, but it’s better than my mom’s cooking.  Please don’t tell my mom that I said that. She might cry.

From the outside, the restaurant is pretty non-descript with the exception of the obvious orange signs outside.  The ambience inside is a stark contrast to the plain exterior. You can come here for a meal or just come to read a book while sampling the various flavored teas or milk teas on their inviting sofa or typically empty tables.  This is a café after all.

However, if you’re going to come to Fusion Café just to enjoy their drink bar, then you’re totally missing out!  This is one of only a few restaurants in OKC that offers teriyaki bowls ($6.95-7.95) or Bento “rice boxes” (also $6.95-7.95).  For the most part, this place is a fusion of Korean and Japanese-style food with a pretty equal distribution of the two cuisines from sushi to bulgogi.

The ultimate stars of this restaurant, however, are the spicy potato stew ($6.95) and Chef’s Specialty ($10.95) — aka “goat” stew.  I’ve had the pleasure of trying both and I must say that both are superb!  The owner mentioned that once you try the goat stew, you won’t want to go back to the spicy potato. I have to agree. Their menu describes the Chef’s Specialty this way — “Rich soup made with tender goat meat and traditional Korean spices and seasonings.”  I can’t really figure out all the ingredients that go into the dish, but the one ingredient that has a prominent presence is perilla leaves (an herb that is a member of the mint family with an aroma reminiscent of apples and mint).  The slow-boiled goat meat is super tender and absolutely delicious.  I ordered it with medium spice and it had just the perfect blend of seasoning and heat (of course, I like things spicy, so keep that in mind).  If you prefer less heat, the spicyness can be adjusted when you order but Korean food is generally known to be pretty spicy.

The spicy potato stew is described this way — “Traditional Korean hearty stew with rich savory broth. Made with pork neck bones and potatoes.”  It’s not as delicious as the goat stew, plus this dish requires a bit of work to get all the meat out of the neckbones.  Depending on how meaty the neck bones are you might get more or less meat. Nonetheless, I usually go home pretty satisfied with the portions. Each bowl includes an entire potato, sliced onions, and chilis. 

I went to get the goat stew the other day and they had run out (which goes to show you that if you’re REALLY craving the goat stew, it’s best to call ahead to make sure they have some ready). Since my mom and I drove all the way down there to try the goat stew and came up lacking, I think they gave us extra meat portions in the Potato Stew we ordered. I must say, I was quite happy with that addition.

If you happen to come with a friend or a significant other, you can go off menu and get the ”jung-goal” or family-style versions of the stews that can easily feed 2-3 people.  The stew is actually cooked on your tabletop with one of those portable butane cooktops.  Once you’ve dished out most of the stew, the server comes with a platter of veggies and rice to stir fry into the pot and finish up whatever is left.  My friend and I were pretty full from the stew already and didn’t realize how much more food would come with the stir-frying.  Family-style prices for the the spicy potato and goat stews are $20 and $29 respectively.

Both stews come with a bowl of rice and an accompaniment of Korean side dishes.

Fusion Café is a family run business with good service. They are proud of the fact that none of their food contains any MSG — just like mom would like.  One would be hard-pressed to find tastier potato or goat stews even among the larger Korean communities in LA or New York.  Let us know what you think about it in the comments section below.

Ok, so I know I just did a review of the OK Ko Mart which is just around the corner, but Seoul Garden offers selections that the Ko Mart doesn’t have and is actually a good supplement to the food you can find at the Ko Mart.  So, if you’re not in the mood for Jja Jjang Myun or Jjam Ppong, drive around the east side of the building to Seoul Garden.

The ownership of this restaurant has actually changed twice in the last year.  The original owner sold it and then bought it back a few months ago. The ordering process changed with each iteration of ownership.  Currently, ordering is done up at the front counter and then you sit and wait for the food. Service is similar to the Ko Mart in that you make your own miso soup and help yourself to drinks and table settings.  They have iced barley tea in water pitchers. It’s really quite refreshing if you’ve never tried it before.  I think it goes really well with Korean food.  One unique thing about Seoul Garden is that they also have a nice selection of novelty Japanese sodas if you’re into that sort of stuff.

Every meal comes with a complimentary egg roll and two pork tempura balls with a bland sweet and sour sauce.  Seoul Garden has beef/pork bulgogi and bibimbap like the Ko Mart and, honestly, I prefer eating these at Seoul Garden because they offer a wider variety of traditional side dishes called ban-chan.  They also offer different menu choices like tang-soo-yook (battered pork in sweet and sour sauce), pan fried seafood (mixture of squid, octopus legs, carrots, and onions — this can get pretty spicy), gal-bi-jjim (slow cooked beef and vegetables marinated in soy sauce marinade), jap chae (sauteed vermicelli glass noodles with onions, carrots, shittake mushrooms and garlic — more of a side dish than a meal), pork and chicken cutlets, kim-bap (Korean-style California rolls), California and Tuna maki, fried fish, various soups and a few more obscure items.  Dishes range from $6-7 and this is a pretty good deal in my opinion.

I normally like to get the pan fried seafood and the kim-bap to share with others at my table. I know a plate of octopus legs and pieces of squid might sound creepy to you but it’s actually quite delicious. If you’re too scared to try it then just go ahead and select from numbers one through five off of the menu to be safe.

While many other people go to Korea House (map) for lunch, Seoul Garden is a lot less crowded, cheaper and better tasting in my opinion.  On the other hand, ordering food can become a little problematic if it gets too busy because the owner wears multiple hats including cashier, server, clean up crew, and, on occasion, cook.  I’m sure if it gets consistently busier she’ll hire additional staff, but their slightly obscure location hinders people from locating this place. Luckily, you now know about it, so give it a try, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Growing up on Korean food all my life, the thought of living without it, especially Kimchi, is unbearable.  Luckily, we have a small community of Koreans spread throughout the area who also have the same insatiable desire for Korean food.  Upon a recommendation from a Korean friend of mine who grew up here in Oklahoma City, I decided to check out his favorite Korean restaurant, Ok Ko Mart.

Ok Ko Mart’s main business is their fairly small market.  From the signage outside, you would never expect to find a restaurant inside, but I think of it as a pearl hidden inside an oyster.  The restaurant is towards the back of the market and it was recently expanded, doubling the seating area from about 10 seats to 18-20 now.  I believe it’s run by a husband and wife team with the guy doing all the cooking and the lady operating the market and busing the tables as time permits.

There are no menus besides 8 pictures on the wall that separates the seating area from the kitchen.  From left to right are: Kalbi oogoji tang (cabbage leaves with short ribs in bean curd soup), hot bowl Bibimbap, regular bibimbap, beef bulgogi, pork bulgogi, soybean noodle soup,  jja-jjang myun and cham-pong.  There are also a few items without pictures that I have yet to order but will definitely try to get next time.  There are no prices posted (which I find a little annoying) but the prices range between $7-9 with the meat dishes being the more expensive.

The most popular dishes appear to be the cham-pong and the jja-jjang myun.  Cham-pong is my favorite.  It’s a spicy rice noodle soup made with onions, kimchi, baby octopus, jalapenos, shrimp, carrots, zucchini, oysters, green onions and red pepper powder.  If you have no affinity for spicy food, I would suggest you pass on this and stick with the jja-jjang myun.  It is also a rice noodle dish, but made with a black bean curd sauce and a mixture of beef and vegetables.  Beware of eating these while wearing anything white because they have a tendency to splatter on clothes as you slurp the noodles.  All of the noodles are made in-house which adds to the quality of both these dishes. These two dishes are also served with kimchi and pickled radish.  

This brings me to my biggest gripe.  The kimchi here is pretty bad.  Ok, I know most Americans can’t even stand the smell of it, let alone eat it, but even a seasoned kimchi eater like myself prefers to avoid their kimchi.  There is a Korean market in Moore (1224 N. Eastern Ave, 405. 799.1945) that has excellent Kimchi and if only Ok Ko Mart could somehow use their Kimchi to complement their food I would be in heaven. But I digress.

For a more typical Korean meal, beef bulgogi and bibimbap are excellent choices.  Bulgogi (literally translated “fire beef”) is a dish made with thin slices of beef (typically ribeye) and onions in a soy-sauce marinade and served with rice.  This comes with a more expanded set of side dishes than the noodle dishes.  If you’re in the mood for something healthy with lots of veggies, bibimbap is the way to go.  It includes rice topped with julienned carrots, cucumbers, radish, kimchi, spinach, and pieces of bulgogi.  This is usually mixed around with red pepper paste and sesame oil.  For a crunchier version, get it in the heated stone bowl as the bowl crisps the rice and keeps the food warm as you eat it.

Ok Ko Mart’s restaurant is pretty much self-serve. So, if you expect stellar service, don’t.  Help yourself to the table settings and drinks (water or sodas from the adjacent fridge).   It’s pretty much a no-frills place that just serves good food (sans the kimchi).

A couple of final notes. First, not all of the dishes will be available during the lunch hour as I had some trouble ordering the kalbi oogoji tang. Also, another quirk is that you pay up at the front cash register as if you’re buying groceries from the market. Just tell the cashier what you ordered.  It’s typically cash only with the exception of orders more than $10, which is their required minimum to use your Visa or Mastercard.

Now, go forth and eat Korean food! And, of course, let us know what you think in the comments.