April 22-28, 2004

food

Tabletop Class

by Elisa Ludwig

Han Chon 1720 Route 70 E., Cherry Hill, N.J., 856-751-7388 Daily, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.

Appetizers, $2- $10.95; entrees, $7.95-$19.99

Wheelchair accessible. Smoking is permitted. Reservations accepted. All major credit cards.

It is still shamefully difficult to find good Korean food in Center City, and somebody is clearly not doing their market research. Almost anywhere you go for barbecue in the outlying suburbs, you can see a sizeable crowd chowing down on short ribs and kimchee. On a recent Sunday night, Cherry Hill’s Han Chon packed them in by the dozen.

Han Chon is an enormous complex of a restaurant in the D&Q shopping plaza (named for the sporting goods store). Almost in spite of its size, its atmosphere is pleasant and stylish, though not obnoxiously so. Pulses of electronic music and high-tech tabletop barbecues signal tasteful futurism. The expansive dining room is broken into intimate sections by latticework and a bamboo-lined pathway to the sushi bar.

Han Chon offers both Japanese and Korean specialties but we hardly ventured into the Japanese side of things -- we were told the sushi bar was very busy, it was no use ordering some if we didn't want to wait. We did, however, sample the agedashi tofu. Ordinarily, this dish is made with tofu dipped in cornstarch but here it was breaded in panko (Japanese bread crumbs) which gave it a deliciously sweet crunch. The pajun, or seafood crepe, was very pleasing. Inside the crisp folds of egg batter were firm nuggets of scallops and shrimp interwoven with little ribbons of fried scallion. Both appetizers arrived so fast that one of my companions commented, "Thank God we didn't get the sushi: It might have taken three minutes to get here."

And then, just as quickly, the panchan (small accompanying dishes) were upon us. This was a particularly impressive spread, including kimichi, pickled daikon, cold sprouts, potato salad and sesame greens.

The bulgogi, marinated and barbecued strips of beef , was rather underwhelming. The meat was nicely tender, but it tasted bland, as though its soy sauce never really sank in. Not so for the jjampong, garlicky seafood soup: It was worthwhile to untangle the extra-long udon noodles from the octopus tentacles, squid and plump, pink New Zealand mussels floating in the smoky, spicy broth. Bibimbap, which literally means mixed rice, was another table favorite. A ceramic bowl of sticky rice, sprouts, scallions, carrots and crumbles of ground beef came topped with a fried egg, and with a bit of stirring, the various elements melded into a hearty casserole. It was so good that when the conscientious, anti-sushi waiter us advised against doggy-bagging it we forged ahead, dreaming of next-day leftovers. After all, he probably lives in Jersey. He can get this stuff all the time.

--Elisa Ludwig