Korean food, known for amazing barbecued meats cooked on a brazier and anchored by the notoriously stinky fermented cabbage called kimchi, may be the most intimidating Asian cuisine for the American market. Now it’s being made more accessible by a great new place called San-Toki, which means “wild hare” in Korean. No worries: Hare is not one of the options here.
The restaurant belongs to the supermodel-gorgeous couple Brian and Emily Kim, who also own a small sushi and fusion-roll chain called Kaizen, a branch of which is just next door in a strip mall at the crossroads of Harmon and Paradise. Also in this mall is the new frozen-yogurt concept Red Mango, a franchise import from Korea that I’ll describe at the end of this piece.
After only one meal here, I can say with impunity that this is my favorite Korean place in Vegas, despite the fact that a few of the dishes have been somewhat toned down. This is, for one thing, a beautifully designed restaurant, all gleaming stainless-steel hoods over rustic wooden booths and crimson red tables offset by high-BTU gas grills set into them.
If you aren’t here for barbecue, the Kims have installed a handsome shabu-shabu bar at one end of the restaurant, where you can boil meats and veggies in individual pots. There is also a private room with a karaoke system, which should get going after midnight. This is going to be a late-night hot spot when it catches on. It stays open until 4 a.m.
I hate to beat a dead horse, but up until now, Korean food in this city has been fairly grim. The typical Korean restaurant here offers a set menu of dishes that don’t vary much from place to place, and usually in a dreary setting. San-Toki wants to cater to non-Koreans, but there is a terrific Korean chef here, and some of the dishes are authentic in the extreme.
What they call kimchi pancake, for example. You’ll barely taste the cabbage in this, a crisp golden Frisbee with crunchy edges that the chef cuts into four symmetrical pieces. In Korean, it’s called pin dae ttok, and the operative ingredient is the mung bean. It’s the perfect beer dish, so try one with a Hite or OB, two Korean lagers that give German beers a run for the money.
Another appetizer to try is pan-fried dumpling, aka mandu. Koreans love the pot-sticker-sized dumplings in soup, steamed or fried. Here, you get four pieces, delicate, beautifully crisped around the sides and stuffed with a juicy filling of minced pork. Jap chae noodles are eaten cold, slippery things dressed with sesame oil and vegetables. Now you’re ready to start the barbecue, so here are a few things to note.
First, you’ll be brought wooden chopsticks, little side dishes and a few squeeze bottles of sauce, such as ponzu, a Japanese citrus-based soy sauce, and a spicy red bean sauce. It might be a good idea to ask for a side of sesame oil, if you like a more authentic flavor to your meat, or the house hot sauce, a red chili sauce that kicks like a mule. The last two sauces are only brought to the table on request.
Various cuts of beef, chicken, pork and seafood are available, as are better-known items such as galbi, Korean short ribs, available marinated or plain, and prime rib eye. But there are also choices such as brisket, beef tongue and sam gyup sal, a type of bacon, cut into thin strips, the better to cook them at your table.
It might be a good idea to order fresh vegetables, especially a combo that includes corn, onion, tofu, carrot, zucchini and mushrooms. Just put the meat and vegetables on the grill and cook to the desired degree of doneness, and season to taste. That’s basically all there is to it.
Korean meals are always eaten with something called pan chan, little side dishes. Here is where you get that kimchi, if you wish, because the pan chan are not included with the price of the meats. At present, San-Toki offers a choice of 10, and I recommend rice wrap, rice noodles in which the meats can be wrapped, bean sprouts, anchovies or a spicy cucumber dish that you won’t soon forget.
One more possibility is to order one of the house ji gae, or stews. I understand that beef ji gae is the specialty of the chef, but I’ll have to try that another time.
There are sorbets and frozen cream puffs for dessert, but personally, I’d go across to the frozen-yogurt place, the aforementioned Red Mango. Did I omit the fact that the Kims own it as well? Yes, they do.
If you haven’t experienced the yogurt craze sweeping New York and LA at Pinkberry and other such places, be aware that this product is on the tart side and made with active cultures. Toppings could be mango chunks, fresh raspberries, crushed Graham cracker or nibs of Ghirardelli chocolate, to name just a few.
Don’t be surprised to see more of Red Mango—or San-Toki, for that matter.
San-Toki
4480 S. Paradise Road No. 600. 732-8654. Open daily, 5 p.m.-4 a.m.
Suggested dishes: pan-fried dumpling, $4.95; kimchi pancake, $7.95; pan chan, $1.95, ($5.50 for three); meats for barbecue, $6.95-$22.95.
Red Mango
4480 S. Paradise Rd. No. 1000. 795-0004.