Did you say fried chicken?

Korean fried chicken. It is a novel concept for me. I read an article in the NY Times a while back about a restaurant called Baden Baden, a Korean take on a German beer hall, and it sounded delicious! I was in NY during Christmas visting family but forgot to get some Korean fried chicken and since there is such a prominent Korean community here in Atlanta, I'm betting there has to be some good fried chicken here!

On the way back home from What the Pho? I stop in the Super H-mart shopping plaza. I mean this place looks nice and new and there are tons of Korean shops! There just may be a good chicken place in here right? Ok, I'm a little full at this point, but damn it! I'm already in the neighborhood. Besides I wanted to go explore the Super H-mart, since I've been hearing all about from my white co-workers. If they're expounding the goodness, then its gotta be pretty impressive right? Besides I've seen a couple of Super H-marts already and they all look huge. I step in and I am amazed! I've been to the markets in NY and they're pretty impressive, but this supermarket is neat, organized and has a food court! At this point I'm wishing I had 4 stomachs like cow, but I'm so full I leave without purchasing anything! I'll be back though!

I exit the and see the restaurant I had read about, Korean characters with "Chicken Wings" in English . I step in and speak with the lady...and I use the term speak loosely...it really was a lot of pointing and smiling. I order the #2 (Fried Chicken of course!) and am feeling like quite a glutton at this point, but having to deal with the traffic to get here on a Saturday, I'm not about to waste this opportunity.

The chicken comes hot out of the kitchen 15 minutes later in a small pizza box and a container of pickled daikon radish...interesting. It smelled so good, I had a piece in my car :). Yes, I am a glutton sometimes! I have to say though, it was amazingly good. I like my KFC, but this thing was crispy and juicy all at the same time...also burning hot! Well worth the extra calories I'll have to burn off tomorrow. I'll have to go back one day and eat in when I'm nice and hungry!

Chun Cheon
2550 Pleasant Hill Rd Suite 112
Duluth, GA 30096

Pho in Atlanta

So I woke up this morning with a hankering for some Pho. After my disappointing Pho experience with Phoenix Noodle Cafe, I decided to do some research. I located a place called "What the Pho?", I mean come on! I had to go just for the cool name!

I hopped in the car and headed East on Pleasant Hill Rd. and had to sit through some nightmare traffic due to a broken traffic light to get to the shopping complex. Not being familiar with the area, had to make a U-turn at Old Norcross Rd. The intersection had two left turn lanes and a sign that indicated U-turns were allowed and people making a right turn onto Pleasant Hill Rd. have a Yield sign. So when did Yield start meaning "I'm gonna freaking go anyway even when I don't have the right of way?!?! And I thought Florida drivers were bad...ok, I guess that is my first post about bad Georgia drivers...but from what I've seen, it won't be my last!

The restaurant was clean, filled with a diverse mixture of people. It seems to be quite the popular hangout with teens. I was seated promptly as I walked in and ordered the classic Pho, with meatballs, tendon, tripe, rare beef and ribeye.

Shortly after I had ordered a waiter came by and took my bottle Sriracha hot sauce to refill and never returned it! Only after I got my order did someone notice and give me a bottle of Sriracha. I believe in restaurants refilling condiments when the restaurants are less busy or during closing hours. At the very least, don't do it at tables where customers are dining!

After tasting the soup, I had to add some Sriracha and fish sauce to enhance the flavors. The soup is bold and strong enough to carry the bowl of Pho. This is what I had been craving. I had ordered a medium portion and it was still quite sizable. Make sure you're really hungry if you decide to order the large portion. I noticed a number of patrons were dining on the seafood Pho. That could be the one to try next time I return.

If you like Pho, you should definitely give this place a try!

What the Pho?
2442 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth, GA 30096
Tel 770-814-9396

Phoenix Noodle Cafe

The Phoenix Noodle Cafe, located on Peachtree Parkway across from Triangle Drive, is a mixture of Chinese and Vietnamese cooking. It is a clean and spacious restaurant that serves Bubble tea and traditional Cantonese style dishes and Vietnamese dishes. The Chinese owners are courteous and service is quick however service is not all that is important at a restaurant.


Having eaten here once before, their Chinese dishes were not overly impressive and this time around I can't say the Pho is all that great. The soup lacks body and richness that one would expect of a traditional Vietnamese soup noodle, and after all Pho is based on good soup!

The Chicken satay was a little dry and nothing special. I'm not sure I'll be going back anytime soon...there are too many other great places to explore in Atlanta!

New Pizza Joint

Ok, As I was driving around, and I saw a "New York Style" pizza joint "Johnny's New York Style Pizza, and I thought I'd try them for dinner. I ordered the Johnny's Italian Special, consisting of sausage, mushrooms (fresh...I checked before hand :)), pepperoni, onions and green peppers. The crust is good, but not quite up to the standards I would expect from a place that claims "NY style". The crust didn't stand up to the sauce and toppings very well. The sausage was not slice...but rather ground sausage. I'm not sure why it makes such a big difference, but I've found that sliced sausage tastes much better.

Ok, the picture is of only half a pizza...I was hungry! I paired the pizza with a pale ale by JW Dundee's. Nice, cool and palette cleansing!

Japanese Cheesecake

So this is my first real weekend in Atlanta. I decided to make a little trip down to Buckhead to check out this little Japanese Bakery I had heard about. Joli Kobe. It is located in a shopping center called The Prado.

I have to say the parking was atrocious. Very hard to get in and out, but they were building a new parking structure adjacent to this shopping center.

The front of Joli Kobe is fairly quaint. The left side of the store was reserved for the cafe. The right side is reserved for the bakery. The atmosphere in the cafe was pretty quite during my visit. Service was prompt and polite.

Lunch consisted of Jasmine Tea and an Almond Curry Chicken salad. The Almond Curry Chicken salad was quite good. Very unique. Other specials were quiche, crepes and Philly cheese steak...yeah I know...that struck me as odd too. Maybe I will try that cheese steak next time.


Dessert was of course consisted of a slice of Souffle Cheesecake. The slice of cheesecake came on a plate lightly dusted with caster sugar. It was light and airy and not too sweet, a pleasant contrast to a heavy New York Cheesecake. The top was glazed with some apricot glaze adding a slight sweetness. It was very well made, but may not be suitable for those with heavier tastes when it comes to sweets.

I'll definitely have to go back to try some of the other goods from the bakery!