Endo Edibles

Yangban

Bindaeteok Falafel – mung bean, white kimchi, soybean hummus, minari, chrysanthemum

Blue Crab Tostada – gochujang, perilla, red leaf lettuce, creme fraiche

Golden Prawn Toast – Ama Ebi, brown butter, YANGBAN makgeolli, cherry tomato, golden sauce, cured egg yolk

Fried Lobster Claw – chojang mayo, tarragon, meyer lemon

Steamed Broccoli – yuzu, chicken skin furikake

YANGBAN Kimchi – Kae Sung Market, habanero, roasted sesame oil

Grilled Cucumber – YANGBAN chili oil, toasted cumin, meyer lemon juice

Honey Glazed Carrots – whipped yogurt, fresh date, walnut oil, herbs

Brokaw Avocado & Shinko Pear – hot mustard, California almonds, toasted ggim, yeast

Tteok – king trumpet and shimeji mushrooms, doenjang cream, preserved black truffle

Matzoh Ball Mantu – stuffed with Grandma Sindy’s matzoh ball, chicken broth, shmaltz

Lobster Congee Pot Pie – poached lobster tail, fine herbs, marigold, lobster brown butter

YANGBAN Wings – cucumber and Korean radish pickles, kimchi hot sauce, black rice

YANGBAN Garlic Butter Black Rice – steamed California Koshihikari and black rice

Sujeongwa Sundae – double 8 buffalo milk soft serve, cinnamon, crystalized ginger and toasted pine nut caramel

Matang Goguma Custard Pie – roasted white sweet potato, condensed milk, vanilla, burnt sugar

YANGBAN Cheesecake – coconut biscuit and brown butter crust, coconut cream, local strawberry jam

Described as a “culinary conversation” from husband-and-wife chefs John Hong and Katianna Hong Yangban has dropped “society” and upped the ante in terms of it’s cuisine, space and service with results rivaling the best of Los Angeles.

Now fully occupying the old Bon Temps space in Downtown’s Art District, an overhead kitchen still fully visible while the dining room has undergone a modest face-lift, guests will find the former casual eatery replaced by full service and dim lighting befitting elevated Cuisine.

Still offering Modern-Korean American fare with casual flair, every member of the staff professional yet pleasant, guests will find the menu divided into sections ranging from Starters and Banchan to larger “Plates” and Sides.

Priced appropriate to Ingredients and environs, starters sold per-piece served before five Banchan for $28, Falafel proves inspired thanks to Mung Beans and Kimchi while fried Lobster and Blue Crab on a Tortilla are complex bites of fusion done right.

Not forgetting Golden Prawn Toast, as fine a composition as one will find at Saison or Brooklyn Fare, larger servings include Korean Dumplings gone “Jewish Penicillin” and Rice Cakes slick and chewy in aromatic Mushroom gravy.

Happy to find Kimchi less abrasive than many, while Honey Glazed Carrots and Yangban’s Avocado & Pear Salad benefit from California’s bounty, the word “decadent” barely covers the Hong’s Congee Pot Pie beneath perfect Puff Pastry with what must be at least a stick of Butter.

Trained by the likes of Josiah Citrin, where the couple first met before moving to Northern California 3* Restaurant at Meadowood, Yangban Wings are most certainly not the sort of things one would describe as “Bar Food” given their crunch and complexity further magnified by housemade Pickles.

Taking it easy on fluffy Rice, a trio of Desserts making themselves mandatory, Yangban’s Sujeongwa Sundae arrives expectedly creamy thanks to a high Milk-Fat base while the signature Cheesecake standing tall with a silky texture currently finds itself outpaced by Sweet Potato Pie that eats like Southern Chess meets Creme Brulee.

www.yangbanla.com