Adam Erace has a very different take on Sammy Chon’s KTown BBQ than Philadelphia Weekly’s Brian Freedman.

The kitchen kept pace, except for the steamed dumplings, which needed more salt and less water in their chive-greened pork fillings. But from the kalbi and wings to the wicked black-bean noodles, everything else delivered. There was a pleasant seaweed salad dressed with sesame, and gochujang-enflamed bulgogi made with flavor-packed chicken thighs. The banchan featured rock-your-world bok choi kimchi and nutty Korean black beans.

My favorite was the soon dubu, a bubbling cauldron of beef broth and silky soft tofu spiced with a mix of gochujang, ground jalapeño and Thai bird chilies. The mushroom version introduced meaty shiitakes and delicate enokis, all crowned with a raw egg cracked onto the soup’s blood-red surface.

Also of note: Sammy Chon’s Facebook page discusses seasoning and the dolsot bibimbap original, a criticism of Brian Freedman’s.

My Ktown [City Paper]
Sammy Chon’s KTown BBQ [Official Site]