bibimbap: carrots, cukes, bean sprouts, mushrooms, egg all covering some ground beef
Put a pair of chopsticks in my hand and I suddenly have the hand-eye coordination of a 2 year old. Despite J's numerous patient tutorials, I cannot master this tool. Stab, stab, stab. Pick-up. Oohh, yeah, almost to the mouth. Drop. Arrrghh...hand cramp. Can I have a fork please??
This doesn't mean I stop trying, but the thin, metal chopsticks at BCD Tofu House? That's not playing fair. These are ten times more difficult to use than the cheapo wood ones I'm used to. Despite the challenge, I have soldiered on through two meals at this Korean spot and it's well worth the effort.
Multiple, small dishes delight me. I'm still learning about the glut of condiments at BCD, and on my last trip, surreptious glances at other tables revealed that I should have cracked my raw egg into the tofu pot when it was set on the table in all its boiling, bubbling glory. Next time.
J raved about bibimbap when he returned from South Korea earlier this year, so that's my go-to dish. Similar to my love of all the small dishes, I'm also enamored with bowls full of multiple, chopped ingredients--the more the merrier. Bibimbap is a bowl of mixed vegetables and ground beef, into which you mix in gochujang, a hot paste made from soy. It's comfortingly delicious and a contrasting mix of textures and flavors. J brought me a jar of gochujang from Korea so next time I'll have to try this at home.
BCD is open 24 hours, and was very busy both times I went--once for a late-ish dinner and once for lunch. It is part of a small chain, but of the kind that prove how fab LA can be--the other spots include locations in Torrance, downtown LA, and --yeah, that's right--Japan and South Korea.
BCD Tofu House
3575 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel 213.382.6677
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