Shaking Duck Butt - CLOSED

[crackers]

This is what the sign says on the road, in the 7500 block of Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie.

And this is what the sign says on the wall. Either way, there is minimal English spoken either outside or inside. Fortunately one person of the nine of us in our party speaks Korean so we were able to muddle through the approximately 639 pages of the menu that were almost all in Korean with minimal English descriptions of some of the dishes.

We were also the only people in the restaurant from 8:15pm when we arrived until we left a couple of hours later. This is not a BBQ place, though the menu did show kalbi and bulgoki dishes, presumably prepared in the kitchen. Some of the dishes were quite tasty, but it is hard to know if what we ate was among their highlights. The panchan were unremarkable - six or seven of the standards dishes with the highlight for me being the tiny shell on shrimp, and the seafood pancake:

The grilled prawn dish was particularly fun to look at:

Total damage, including tax and tip (no drinks) was a whopping $16 per. Certainly at those prices it will be worth returning to explore more dishes.

Edited January 7, 2006 by crackers

[DanielK]

How accessible is this place for non-Korean speakers? It's 10 minutes from my office.

If the menu is mostly in Korean, and the staff isn't great with English, is this a tough sell for a group lunch with colleagues? My friends are a reasonably experimental lot, but it doesn't sound like they've made it easy for English speakers there.

[crackers]

How accessible is this place for non-Korean speakers?

There are plenty of choices with ingredient descriptions - just not elaborate ones. If you've been to Korean restaurants before you will recognize the standards. Give yourselves a few extra minutes to peruse the lengthy menu, (longer than a Greek diner!) be ready with hand gestures and pointing (there are a few photos you can always point to) and you will be fine.

[DanielK]

I took a group of folks today from my office.

I think the only real criticism is that nothing was blazingly hot, like we normally expect from some Korean dishes. Panchan, as noted, were decent but unremarkable. The pancake for us did not have seafood, and was actually a bit soggy. We did have this egg casserole that came to the table still boiling, and once it finished cooking, was basically scrambled eggs in broth. Was that supposed to be sauce for the pancake? That and the green bean kimchee I think were the best of the panchan. We also ordered the GoonManDoo, fried dumplings, as an appetizer. Very tasty, and not too greasy.

We got a good mix of soups, stews, and other dishes, and everyone enjoyed the food. I had a chicken soup with vegetables, beef, and cellophane noodles. More food than I could eat at one sitting. They also brought out a very large fruit plate right before the check. I don't know if this is normally part of the meal, or something they just did for a large table.

Service was on the slow side - there were only 2 other tables, and at lunchtime, it took us almost 90 minutes. Language was definitely a hurdle - there was a lot of pointing, and when someone wanted lemon for their water, we had to go to the bar and point to it! Note for ordering - when the waiter repeats back what you order, memorize what he says. That way, when he shows up later with a bowl of food and states the title of the dish in Korean, you know which one is yours...

I did notice portable BBQ grills going out to one of the tables, so they will grill tableside if you order BBQ. Also, the takeout menu is an interesting mix of some dishes listed only in Korean, and others with poorly translated English. The name of the place is still listed only in Korean on the menu!

Total damage, after tax, tip, and a few soft drinks, was $15/person. We will definitely return.

[crackers]

Closed.

[DanielK]

Closed.

Yeah, I saw the thread over on Chowhound. Several months ago, I believe, and some Mexican joint has already opened up in the spot.

Of course, I don't work out there anymore, so it didn't matter much to me!

[grover]

We did have this egg casserole that came to the table still boiling, and once it finished cooking, was basically scrambled eggs in broth. Was that supposed to be sauce for the pancake?

All Korean casseroles are supposed to be very hot (temperature wise). Rolling-boiling hot so the warmness lasts until your meal is finished.

Most restaurants bring sauce for pancake. Probably the waiter forgot to bring it to you.

It is soy sauce + vinegar + sugar + green pepper pieces. (it can be varied)

If you go there next time and would like to order seafood pancake, just let them know that you need sauce.

Also print out the following Korean sentence and show it to waiting staff:

"지난번에 왔을때 해물파전에 해물이 거의 없었어요. 해물 좀 많이 넣어주세요." (go to 'View' and select 'Encoding' with 'Korean' on your browser)

It means that there was not much seafood in the pancake last time. Please put more seafood in it.

See how it works.

[DanielK]

Grover, you're an absolute dear, but I think you missed the reason why this topic was active today...

[grover]

Grover, you're an absolute dear, but I think you missed the reason why this topic was active today...

Yeah, I skipped reading your last post before I posted.

[treznor]

Though great hilarity may ensue if you try and hand that sentence to the Mexican restaurant and see what happens.