Today’s chilly weather egged on my craving for a hot, steaming bowl of soup. And I wanted to venture out of my usual sandwich-for-lunch rut. The Korean District’s Cho Dang Soft Tofu, which serves Korean soon dubu, or spicy silken tofu stew, sounded perfect.

I danced between the oyster tofu soup or the mushroom one, and picked the latter. There are 12 kinds of tofu soup, all $9, with the same red pepper paste-anchovy broth base but with different ingredients, including clams, beef, pork, tripe, dumpling, octopus and more. If you’re feeling especially hungry, you can also get a combination ($15) of soup and various types of Korean barbecue.

There isn’t really an art of eating soon dubu, but there are a few steps to remember. The meal comes with a raw egg that you crack into the boiling bowl of soup. The soup is incredibly hot and cooks the egg immediately. My soup didn’t have as many oysters as I wanted; I fished out five pieces. After you eat the rice, there will be a layer of rice clinging to the bowl. Pour water into the bowl, then scrape and eat the crunchy rice and water mixture. Though it sounds funky, it’s my favorite part of the whole meal.

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I didn’t think I’d hit this so early – I think I’ve found fried chicken that’s more delicious than Popeyes’.

Kat clued me in last week to the trend of “Korean Fried Chicken” and found a restaurant in Buena Park where I could try some called BBQ Chicken. BBQ stands for “Best of the Best Quality Chicken,” and the chain has 3,500 locations in more than 37 countries.

BBQ’s shtick is it deep fries its chicken in extra virgin olive oil. I was skeptical about this – an investigation by Tom Mueller in the New Yorker published August 2007 showed olive oil fraud is rampant. One olive oil importer estimates 90 percent of olive oil sold in Italy as extra-virgin isn’t of premium grade. In America, there’s hardly any government regulation. And even if the restaurant used 100 percent virgin oil, I’m not sure it’s good to consume so MUCH oil on a regular basis.

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There are few things as fun as skipping out of work a little early to grab dessert BEFORE dinner. Yum. Thanks to Yelp, I got wind of a Korean catering truck that sells $1 cinnamon-flavored rice pancakes and went there last Friday.

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Let me start this blog with a disclaimer: Tasting new food and discovering new restaurants is right up there with falling in love, karaoke and world travel in my book. As in, it’s awesome.

But there are just some cravings that no new restaurant can satiate: those unrefined, familiar eateries that make me want to stuff my face until I have to unbutton my jeans. Among my favorites: Big Slice Pizza with ranch. A breakfast burrito from Nick’s Deli. Chicken avocado salad from Rutabegorz.

And then there’s Shik Do Rak, better known among my friends as Korean barbecue crack.

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I was dazzled when I stepped into Wako Honey Pig. I’d expected a low-key Korean BBQ restaurant in Buena Park’s tourist district. Instead, I found cheerful interiors brightened with dozens of pendant lights. Young Korean waiters chimed welcomes – there are enough pretty boys here to make two Asian NSyncs – and the restaurant was filled with the sizzles of meat.

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You won’t find french fries and buttered pretzels at this food court.

In one nook of the Freshia supermarket in Tustin — a Korean grocery store — you can find an array of Korean, Japanese and Chinese dishes at affordable prices.

Ching Restaurant, Corea B.B.Q., and Niko are food stalls that feature anything from kalbi (marinated beef ribs) to sushi rolls to bibimbop (a hotpot of rice and vegetables and meat). Families usually stop in to get quick, homestyle meals here before picking up their groceries. (more…)

Just last week, I reviewed a new Korean barbecue restaurant in Tustin, Nam Dae Gam. I almost immediately wrote off the place, finding it too polished - the kitchen staff cooks your food - to bother with. But that initial reaction changed after I actually ate there.

A few of us from this orange building went a few months ago when this particular diner had a birthday to celebrate. The interior is very new with glossy wooden tables, designer wallpaper and two flat-screen televisions. Each table has a small call button you press when you want a waiter. But what’s missing are table-top grills. Here, they grill your order in the kitchen.

You can read my full review here. But I didn’t mention the bibimbap, which was just OK (the best is still at Tsuruhashi in Fountain Valley.) Beneath all these colorful elements is rice and in the center is a poached egg. You stir the whole thing together, the yolk of the egg creating a creamy binder.

But the barbecued pork (bulgogi), served on a sizzling cast iron plate, is very good.

Nam Dae Gam, 654 El Camino Real, Tustin. 714-734-0029.

Tsuruhashi, 18798 Brookhurst St., Fountain Valley. 714-593-8393.