You can build your own foie gras instant ramen bowls at the new Korean Mkt. in Sawtelle
Name: The Korean Mkt. (yes, it’s abbreviated) is the new name for Seoul Sausage, the Korean street food restaurant from chef Chris Oh off Sawtelle Boulevard. Seoul Sausage, which opened in 2012, was known for its rice balls and sausages — one or two of which are on the menu. In addition, now you can order rice bowls, beef and pork dip sandwiches and build-your-own ramen bowls.
Oh shifted the menu and the space into the Korean Mkt. on Feb. 1, adding a small market area where he sells Korean grocery items such as instant ramen packs, candy and corn and cheese chips.
The chefs: Joining Oh in the project is co-chef and co-owner Vincent Domingo, previously the chef at Ramen Yamadaya in Culver City. Oh is one of the original three founders of Seoul Sausage (there is also a location in downtown L.A. that is still focused on the sausages), and is also the chef at Hanjip, the Korean barbecue restaurant in Culver City.
Order this: If you’re into roe, maybe get the Rockin’ Roe. It’s a bowl of rice covered in what looks like a color wheel of pink pickled ginger, green seaweed, orange, green, red and black tobiko (flying fish roe), and orange ikura (salmon roe), with uni in the center. And for those of you who don’t want to wait in line for Tsujita around the corner, the Korean Mkt. has an option to build your own ramen bowl. Grab a “build-a-ramen†sheet by the cash register and check off what you’d like in your bowl of instant ramen. Yes, you choose an instant ramen from more than 10 different kinds, then pick your toppings. Vienna sausage, pork belly, foie gras ($10), Spam, kimchi and rice cakes are all options.
If you’re in the mood for bibimbap, they’ve got a fairly traditional version of that too. It’s a bowl of warm rice topped with sections of shredded carrot, cabbage, crunchy seaweed, bean sprouts, marinated bulgolgi rib-eye and a runny egg yolk. Do as the cool kids do and use your chopsticks to mix everything into a mess of egg, rice and vegetables. Then proceed with your choice of hot sauce, which in this case was a bottle of Sriracha.
Dip this: There’s also a Korean BBQ dip sandwich on the menu: Just think of it as a French dip sandwich on steroids. Squares of brisket in what tastes like a bulgolgi marinade (soy sauce, sugar, garlic, sesame oil), are piled onto a French baguette with plenty of mayonnaise. It’s perfectly acceptable to dig in without the dip, but the sandwich is served with a bowl of beef jus and a sous vide egg in the middle of the bowl. If you order the pork dip sandwich, it’s the same bread as the beef, only stuffed with strips of roast pork, served alongside a bowl of extra pork-y tonkotsu broth for dipping.
Maybe drink this: There’s plenty of cans of the sparkling beverage La Croix, but the market also stocks Chilsing Cider, a Korean lemon-lime drink. It’s a heavily carbonated soda that tastes vaguely like Sprite.
Info: 11313 Mississippi Ave., Los Angeles, (310) 477-7739,
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