Hwa Shin Kim and her family opened the first Hamjipark in 1993 on a grungy stretch of Pico that can only loosely be described as Koreatown. She prepared a number of specialties, but her customers anointed barbecued pork spare ribs as the must-order dish. A decade later, Hwa Shin opened a modernized branch in the heart of K-town with daughter Eunji. Since the food is equally delicious and the stylish confines are infinitely more inviting, I see no reason to return to the Pico flagship.
Two dining rooms are divided by glass walls stenciled with what may or may not be hamjiparks, which Eunji told me is a traditional carved wooden vessel used to hold food. To celebrate her porcine-fueled success, Hwa Shin has peppered her restaurant with pig figurines. Strangely, the oinker with angel wings in the yellow coat and top hat disappeared since my previous visit. I suspect pig-napping. Where’s Anthony LaPaglia when you need him?
Hamjipark offers six banchan per day, with minimal variation in three recent visits. We received turnip strands bathed in chile sauce, pungent radish chunks, bean sprouts tossed with chilies, crunchy little cucumbers seasoned with raw garlic, pickled broccoli with shaved carrots and daikon, and of course kimchi, the spicy fermented cabbage that is a Korean staple.
To drink, every table receives a pitcher of iced barley tea, which helped to extinguish the food’s chile heat.
Hamjipark is dessert-free, but if you like shaved ice topped with green tea ice cream, fresh fruit and Fruity Pebbles, Ice Kiss is located next door.
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