Big Rice Korean Cuisine

There are times when I wake from a fever dream of eating rabbokki from a Seoul street vendor. The halmoni is leaning in to whisper in my ear exactly what the key to true happiness is when I suddenly bolt awake in a cold sweat, alone in my room and completely rabbokki-less. Despite that disappointing state of waking up at a time when Big Rice is closed to rabbokki lovers, I’ve only made it there a couple of times to indulge in the mess that is a giant mishmash of ramen noodles and fat squishy rice noodles in a fiery sauce. Big Rice gives you the option of adding udong and/or glass noodles. I’m not a fan of the modern “Just douse it in massive amounts of gross substandard mozz” that is the hallmark of Korean fast-food cooking these days, but at Big Rice, it just makes sense. Under the watchful eye of a maneki neko, you’re here to indulge in food that is fun, fast, and colorful. The cheese corn is so gooey that your chopsticks get stuck in it, and even the don katsu is smothered in an excessive amount of cheese. Expertly-rolled kimbap comes in tuna, bulgogi, kimchi, and roe, and the drinks include banana milk, strawberry milk, and Milkis, the Korean drink that tastes like milky rice.

photo credit: Andrea D'Agosto