POT is Roy Choi’s newest establishment for LA Korean food. According to the site, “Koreatown and Korean food through the eyes of an American with Korean blood. Hot pots, blood soups, frenetic energy, BBQ. It’s the late nights on the streets, it’s a joyous celebration of life. Most of all, it’s good times and good food in the hood.” I wouldn’t say it’s a celebration, but if you are yearning for a new hip Korean place, then this is it.
This is #13 of 52 on my 2014 LA food expedition. Quarter of the way through!
Note for 2022 migration: this is an old post from my other defunct blog. I remember Roy Choi being a super star in Los Angeles around this time. The Kogi taco truck took off, and he started opening a slew of businesses. This was his first restaurant inside the Line Hotel in Koreatown. The major problem I had with his stuff was that everything was excessively and uncomfortably over-seasoned. His food was simply not good. This restaurant closed in 2018.
Ambiance
The wait time for a party of 2 on a Thursday at 8 PM was about 35 minutes. When you sign in your name, they give you one of those vibrating pagers. You’re free to move around the hotel, so we went to the bar right outside of the restaurant area. The decor of this hotel felt a mixture of old and modern. It was amusing to see how many people were out and about when they probably aren’t even staying in the hotel. What was also interesting was that the dining ware was nestled beneath the table top. They also give you an apron to protect you from the occasional soup splash.
I wanted to order the Redondo Beach which has some crab in it, but they were out of stock. They were also out of stock of the “Beep Beep”, which is the uni rice bowl due to an apparent uni shortage. The waiter tried hard to convince us to get substituted version of it which had spicy tuna. For that price, I rather not.
Food
Complimentary side dishes. The banchan is ok. You have the typical cucumbers, bean sprouts, and kimchi style vegetables.
Kat Man Doo. Steamed dumplings with dipping sauce. These dumplings were pretty good. They remind me of home cooked dumplings. It’s very similar to what my grandma used to make when I was little. The sauce has the salty and sweet spices that are commonly found in many Korean dishes.
Old School. Marinated prime bulgogi, noodles, kimchi, and sesame. This pretty much tastes what you would think it tastes. The noodles are the glass kind, so they are pretty slippery. Whether it’s prime meat bulgogi or not, it doesn’t really matter as the meat is thoroughly cooked. The soup base is similar to a tomato based stew. It’s slightly spicy, but not too much. Originally, we wanted to order our own personal bowls, so that we can try multiple types. The waiter really wanted us to order the 1 pot on a stove thing because that would be the best experience. Honestly, I have to say there is nothing special about it, so don’t let the waiter fool you if you wanted to order your own personal pot.
Final Verdict
Roy Choi was walking around taking pictures and greeting people. It is a cool place, and it totally met my expectations especially for a hip Korean style hang out place. The food is reminiscent of Korean home cooking, but honestly there is nothing really special about it that hasn’t done before. Nonetheless, it definitely is a place to check out if you haven’t done so already.
Revisions
- Nov 13, 2022 - Migrated post from other blog.
- Apr 6, 2014 - Initial revision.