Its placement within a cramped strip mall on Convoy Street makes Min Sok Chon easy to overlook — it sits next to Travel Land, a dentist’s office and State Farm Insurance. Once inside, however, diners are treated to a charming re-creation of a Korean folk village (which is what “Min Sok Chon” literally means) where boisterous guests enjoy a traditional Korean meal to the musical styling of anyone brave enough to pick up a microphone.
Authenticity is a priority from the moment guests are escorted to one of many hut-like dining areas, where they sit at low wooden tables beneath hanging paper lamps. For privacy diners can draw their bamboo shades. Min Sok Chon’s impressive menu seems an endless list of dishes and drinks all numbered for efficiency. While the eatery does away with the Western custom of incessantly checking on the progress of a guest’s meal, this in no way detracts from their service. Waiters are prompt and attentive when buzzed, bringing carts of stir-fries and seafood.
For the Asian cuisine aficionado — or simply those with more adventurous taste buds — Min Sok Chon offers heuk yum so jungol (black goat meat with vegetable soup), agu chim (stir-fried monkfish) or jang uh gui (grilled eel). For first-timers or those more reluctant in their eating endeavors, the savory bulgogi (marinated beef) and crunchy goonmandoo (fried homemade dumplings) are great starters. Each dish is served with a plethora of banchan (side dishes) including individual rice bowls, kimchi and a variety of dipping sauces.
Open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. nightly, it’s the perfect place for group outings. The food, which comes in sharable portions, runs the gamut from cheap — $8.95 for dumplings — to overpriced — $29.95 for black goat meat and veggie soup. Min Sok Chon’s drink selection is enough to start any party. The swanky bar serves the familiar whiskies, beers, wines and cocktails as well as authentic favorites like soju (Korean rice vodka). Soju, brought by the pitcher to your table,
comes in 16 fruity flavors. But the reason Min Sok Chon trumps the average night hangout spot is its five private karaoke rooms that span the perimeter of the restaurant, all rentable by the hour — $25 if your party sings, more if you don’t to ensure that rooms are always available for karaoke enthusiasts.
Providing an authentic place to eat, drink and sing like no one’s business, Min Sok Chon is the perfect place for a late night adventure with friends.
