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Initial reports of Sik-gaek, a Korean restaurant in Flushing's Murray Hill, implied that it’s a buffet-style barbecue spot. After walking from the 7 train to the corner of 149 Pl. and Roosevelt Ave., an entirely different kind of restaurant was encountered.
Sik-gaek isn’t a barbecue joint, it’s the Korean equivalent of an izakaya. A quick Chowhound search reveals that this type of drinking establishment, known as po jang ma cha, can be found in basements and portable tents all over Seoul. And with its uncomfortable stools and graffiti-scarred walls, Sik-gaek certainly fits the bill.
It's like a funkier version of Village Yokocho, with soju and beer standing in for sake. There’s no banchan offered, but once you get situated the waiter fries up an egg or two over a sterno. While you’re mulling over the menu a plate of dduk bok e, chewy cylinders of rice cake in spicy red sauce lands on the table. If you’re wondering what’s up with the comic strip on the menu, Sik-gaek is named after a popular Korean graphic novel that’s since been turned into the film Le Grand Chef.
Mo dum jo gae is a steaming pot overflowing with clams, mussels, shrimp and gigantic snails. The latter prove especially difficult to extricate from their shells. If you've got any friends who are knitters, you might want to ask them to bring a crochet hook. Be sure to dip your mollusks in the accompanying hot sauce. Ssa sa mo, a huge platter of salty fried smelt packed with roe might be one of the best bar snacks ever, but why it's sided with a mountain of shredded cabbage drowned in Russian dressing is anybody's guess.
Feeling like you had a bit too much too drink? Get an order of bu dae jiigae, a sizzle platter loaded with bacon, sliced hot dogs, pepperoni, cabbage, green and red peppers and thin slices of steak. Dip the meat in a slurry of hot sauce and mustard and think of it as Korea's answer to the infamous Garbage Plate.
Sik-gaek, 40-01 149 Pl., Flushing, 718-460-4564
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The stuff with the Russian dressing looks dreadful. But otherwise I want to dig in. I hope they don't mind my bad table manners.
The food sucks at this place. It's a place to drink more than anything else, and they have the same 2 or 3 types of soju and beer as at any other Korean restaurant or bar. Pretty lame. And if you want to be ignored by the non-english speaking staff here, by all means check it out. Suffice to say I didnt really care for it. Crowded, noisy, and not really comfortable for me and my group.
By the way, budae jjigae's not a "sizzle platter". It's a stew that's filled with everything but the kitchen sink, including spam, ramen noodles, and other random stuff. It looks like they gave you "chop steak", as Koreans refer to the dish of stir-fried beef, onions, and peppers, but gussied it up with random s*it like the hot dog slices.
Jjigae means "stew" in Korean. So even if you ordered buday jjigae, that's not what you got.
"If you've got any friends who are knitters, you might want to ask them to bring a crochet hook."
think about that.
My bf who's korean took me to this place once and I fell in love with it. We then took our friends there and everybody kept asking when we were gonna go back again. Sadly we just found out that this place is closed and the store/space is for sale. Anyone know what happened to it? Have they moved to somewhere else?
Sik-Gaek's correct address should be 162nd St / Crocheron Ave, Flushing, NY not the 40-01 149 Pl., Flushing listed in this article. (if you google map it, it shows the previous restaurant at the same exact location at least 3 years ago)
Sik-Gaek is right across the Studley Square next to Northern Blvd.
However, the "initial reports of Sik-gaek, a Korean restaurant in Flushing's Murray Hill, implied that it’s a buffet-style barbecue spot" that Joe was talking about should be "Picnic Garden" which is another famous Korean Buffet located on Northern Blvd between 147th and 149th St.
Sik-Gaek is the Sik-Gaek is right across the Studley Triangle next to Northern Blvd not "Studley Square"
sorry~
hope it helps~