Some friends from my badminton group told me about this restaurant a while ago, and mentioned that the Banchan (side dishes) are very fresh there, as well as the food being quite good.

So I asked a Korean friend to join me in exploring this place. It was Thursday, around noon time, there were not a lot of people, which was good in the sense that it was less smoky, being that it is a BBQ restaurant.

I picked the Spicy Kim-chi Pork and Tofu Stew since it sounded hearty and I was really hungry. My friend ordered her usual Bi Bim Bap, which is a vegetable and beef egg rice bowl.

My meal started with a plain salad in a slightly sweet dressing. The banchan were indeed fresh and had a couple of items that I had not tried before, such as one that was this long, thin strips of what seemed to be burdock root in a piquant red sauce. I sampled each of the side dishes and ordered more of my favorites which included the bean sprouts, the eggplant and small slices of chives pancake.

The pork slices in the stew were not too big and were half fat and half meat. I took out the fatty part, the rest was tender and juicy. The kimchi had a deep aged flavor that was exquisite. The tofu was in long rectangular chunks and medium firmness which absorbed the essence of the soup. I only wish they had the option of brown rice instead of  just white rice.

The Bi Bim Bap looked enticingly fresh and appealing with all the different colors of shredded vegetables arranged neatly inside the big metallic bowl. I would like to try the Spicy Cold Buckwheat Noodle and the Sliced Rice Cake Soup next time I come back.

Yang San Park: 22757 Hawthrone Blvd. Torrance, CA 90505  Phone: 310-373-8340