This is one of the items that is not all-you-can-eat, though frankly, I wouldn't want another serving! Mine wasn't great either, while Christine's uni tasted the freshest. I like the idea behind the dish, but execution was lacking to say the least-Ryan complained that his uni tasted "rancid." Live urchin can be hit-or-miss I suppose. We have a hemisphere of urchin, complete with five portions of uni, along with rice and masago (capelin roe). Next was one of Neptune's most well-known dishes, the sea urchin bowl. I actually enjoyed this course, appreciating the texture of the squid as well as its delicate flavor, heightened by the spicy accompaniment. Sea squirts, or tunicates, are underwater filter feeders they're known for their pungent taste, which I found slightly astringent and very briny here.Īlong with the previous course came a dish of squid topped with chili sauce, with miyeok seaweed ( wakame in Japanese) and broccoli. Next to it was the notorious sea squirt ( meongge). On the right is conch, which had an almost abalone-esque texture and a flavor that was surprisingly mild. Here we have one of the more interesting plates of the night. It wasn't bad, with the dressing proving a nice accent to the fish and lettuce. I believe this next course amounted to a slices of fish, mixed with lettuce, and dressed with a spicy-sour sauce. I should've requested another bowl of this. Jeonbokjuk is a porridge of rice and abalone, and here it demonstrated a salty, hearty, almost ham-like flavor, with the essence of abalone on the finish. The soy beans were as expected, while the shrimp lacked flavor.īits of lettuce, dressed with a sweet-tangy sauce. Our first course was quickly brought to the table, consisting of a duet of boiled shrimp ( saeu) and edamame. If you've never had Hite before, just think of it as Korea's answer to American macrobrew lagers-Bud, Coors, and the ilk-not great nor interesting, but drinkable. We went through a dozen large bottles, priced at $5 each. The libation of choice here was Korea's omnipresent brew, Hite. There are also cheaper $29.99 and $24.99 options, though I'm not sure exactly what they entail. Upgrading to the $49.99 Mermaid Package includes live shrimp and live abalone, while the $69.99 Neptune Package adds live mirugai (geoduck) and toro. The so-called Basic Package runs $34.99 per person, and is probably all that you need. The restaurant is well-known for their prix fix all-you-can-eat deals (first photo click for a larger version), and that's what we were here for. I didn't try to decipher it, and Christine quickly took charge of the ordering, being the only Korean speaker in the party (the staff's English left much to be desired). Neptune's menu is a contradictory mishmash of Korean-Japanese fare, with some oddball items thrown in for good measure (did I see onion rings?). And while we were there, the sound system was playing K-pop, which Danny seemed to enjoy (I believe he hinted at knowing the dance routine to the Wonder Girls' song Nobody). The space is the antithesis of cohesive, but it is fun and festive. The south wall is taken up by private rooms, while the north houses a large projection screen, showing whatever sporting event might be on at the time. Opposite that is a view into the semi-open kitchen. One side of the room is dominated by the sushi bar, replete with fish tanks and awash in hues of blue light. Inside, it's a different story altogether. Valet was $2 I believe, or you could always try your hand at street parking. If it weren't for the glaring neon sign, one might mistake the entrance for that of a business of lesser repute. Neptune's Lounge is situated on the south-west corner of Western and 6th, in a building that might be described as decrepit. She'd organized a small get-together with Danny of Kung Food Panda, Mike of Right Way to Eat, Noelle of Drink ‘n’ Dive, Ryan of Only Eat What Feeds Your Soul, Wesley (sans Evelina) of Two Hungry Pandas, and Will of FoodDigger. It's not the type of place that I would visit on my own volition, so I was brought here by Christine of Folie à Choisauce. There are certain restaurants that specialize in live and raw, such as the subject of this post: Neptune's Lounge in Koreatown, which opened in February 2008. However, Koreans also have a tradition of eating raw fish and shellfish, specifically with saengseon hoe, basically raw seafood prepared in the same vein as sashimi. When people think of consuming raw seafood, most think of the Japanese, with their ubiquitous iterations of sushi and sashimi.
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