Two years after a fire that “totaled” the restaurant, the Korean classic Shin Jung is back in business and better than ever, according to the Orlando Fire Department. The last Orlando Weekly Review visit to the restaurant is still in our archives, but it happened more than 20 years ago, so we felt a visit to the new dig was long overdue. To illustrate how glad the town is to see Shin Jung return, we visited on a Thursday evening – usually a moderately slow night for restaurants – and the place was so crowded that groups of four or more were turned down. My companion and I were only two, so we got the only remaining grill table in the back of the restaurant near the server station. Not a great place, but it gave us a panoramic view of the striking redesign. Before the fire, Shin Jung’s interiors resembled the Pizza Hut dining rooms of the 1990s: subdued lighting, dark walls, hazy clouds of smoke wafting from the grill tables. The new Shin Jung is nothing like that. The bright white walls lift the entire room and make it appear much larger than its square footage. Screens on the wall loop BTS and other K-pop videos, which adds to the happy atmosphere. Industrial shelves above the front window are lined with brightly colored bottles of plum wine and cute odds and ends. Modern wooden booths replace the outdated maroon banquets of the old room. Modern lights fill the room with bright, lively light. Another improvement is an outdoor terrace on the west side of the building where you can enjoy both fresh air and KBBQ without the inlaid table grill – your Bulgogi is being prepared from the kitchen. click to enlarge We started with a zesty, flavorful bowl of tteokbokki ($ 15), which my dining companion referred to as Korean Gnocchi. It’s a fitting comparison – the thick rice cakes are pillow-like and easy to chew like a good Italian dumpling. Tofu skins and crispy pieces of pork in the lively sauce are infused with Gochujang, the Korean chili paste. We also went for the Shin Jung sampler ($ 15), a plate of the best dumplings in the house, served with sweet chili sauce and spicy soy sauce. On the plate were six vegetarian dumplings with cabbage and carrots, six pork dumplings with an intoxicating ginger aroma and six addictive seaweed buns wrapped in nori that were baked and fried with glass noodles in the middle. My only complaint about the BBQ experience at Shin Jung is that at least two people have to order grill plates at each table in order to cook at the table. This is not the case at other Korean BBQ restaurants, and I wish Shin Jung would lift that silly restriction. I would love to order Japchae or Kimchi Jjigae or Dolsot Bibimbap while my partner cooks his own meat. Oh. Since there were only two of us and the BBQ experience is hip at Shin Jung, we opted for the two products for which they are best known: Kalbi Beef Short Ribs ($ 32) and Beef Bulgogi ($ 25). Both options come with the wonderful rotating selection of unlimited banchan dishes. On this visit, we enjoyed cabbage and radish kimchi, wafer-thin slices of pickled daikon, mashed potatoes, bean sprouts, and pickled chayote, all of which we devoured almost immediately, so a second round appeared within minutes of the first. My hubs and I are KBBQ experts, but beginners should ask for a quick introduction before turning on the grill. If you’re typically not comfortable in front of a stove, the idea of cooking your own meat in a restaurant with limited tools can be daunting. Anyway, it’s fun, enforces real human interaction, and requires guests to put their phones down for a hot minute and be present with what they’re doing. A blessing and a luxury these days. It’s a mystery how Shin Jung’s chefs slice open the veal – generally a very chewy piece of meat that needs to be stewed for hours to get tender – to be so tender with just a few minutes on the grill, but for you pay for this expertise. The beef bulgogi was excellent too, perfect umami and sweet and salty at the same time. I like to slide my pieces in the middle of the grill, the hottest heat, for a nice char, before wrapping them in my lettuce leaf and sticky rice. All the dishes came out at once, so you can imagine how many dishes were on our table at the same time. While our waiter was nice and quite attentive, the restaurant was busy so getting their attention was a challenge at times. At some point we used a pile of napkins when we couldn’t make eye contact with her. (Sitting next to the server station can have its advantages.) When she walked by, she didn’t clear the empty plates until we asked. Even after we finished our starters, the plate of raw meat juices and bones from the veal stayed on the table – until dessert. Who wants a delicious dessert made from Hotteok ($ 9), sweet dessert pancakes with nuts and caramel, next to a plate of raw meat juices? Not me. Not you. Not everyone. Despite the dirty plates, we’re so lucky that this restaurant, which has been a fixture at Mills 50 since it opened in 1993, has reopened and received so much love. With chilly nights on the horizon, a cup of ginger and peach tea and a bubbly bowl of kimchi stew are just what I want to warm me up. I am pleased that the new, fresh, lively Shin Jung will be back to take my order. Dining@orlandoweekly.com
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