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Gamasot, Korean on Hechinger Drive in Springfield - Sul Leung Tang Cooked for 48 Hours - Closed


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I had lunch there today and am wondering is there a better lunch for $8 (plus tax and tip) around here? Nice hot bowl of yuk-gae-jang (not too spicy, just right) with a generous spread of banchan... yum yum.
You should have been there yesterday when I brought some of my co-workers for lunch...two Vietnamese, one Chinese, one Phillipina, one Jamacian and two boring American mutts...a great time was had by all and no one left hungry.
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Quick question, why is it that some soups require you to season it with salt yourself? What is the sign that tells you the soup isn't already salted? The salt that they bring out with your soup?

That's the way how Koreans eat Sullong Tang (Beef soup) and Sahm-Kye Tang (chicken soup).

Unfortunately, there is no sign but you will notice as soon as you taste the soup.

You season the soup with salt, pepper and chopped scallion and they are on the table all the time when you go to Sullong Tang places like Gamasot or Gom Ba Woo.

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I do believe it is time for the annual dduk gook free bowl-o-soup tomorrow at Gamasot and I think the festivities start at 11 am. I tried to go last year, but the sheer volume of people was daunting. I'll still try again, though!
Feel free to join us, we'll be there early...
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I do believe it is time for the annual dduk gook free bowl-o-soup tomorrow at Gamasot and I think the festivities start at 11 am. I tried to go last year, but the sheer volume of people was daunting. I'll still try again, though!

Wait what? They are giving out free soup?

I love the concept of a restaurant specializes in one particular dish and does it really really well. This is very popular in China and other Asian countries. If you want Sichuan crawfish, you go to a Sichuan crawfish restaurant; if you want hot pot, you go to a place that only serves hot pot; same with xiao long bao, grilled meat on a stick, etc.

I love the suleng tang at GAmasot. Its white, creamy, savory. The flavor and mouth feel of the dish just can't be duplecated at home.

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As is often the case, I was lost driving in Virginia when I realized that I was not lost at all! I had just found a shortcut to Gamasot! I am not a fan of their style of Seoul Long Tang, I find the broth too milky and thick (I prefer Yet Gol in wheaton and Ghan Me Oak in NYC for SLT.

In contrast to my last attempt at meal at Soon Dae Sundaee in Rockville, the waitress at Gamasot here did not bat an eye when I ordered the Soon Dae soup (At SDS in Rockville, I waas told, twice, to order Kalbi "Much better"- I left). It was quite spectacular.

The soup had at least 4 different kinds of greens in it, all distinctly flavored even after being long cooked. The "bits of pork" included liver, ear, hock and more. The broth was rich and crunchy from what appeared to be brown mustard seeds which added a nice crunch. The kim chee and kadugi were superb, there was a turnip in soy garlic & pepper that was very good too. The water kim chee was a little soft but tasty. The jello stuff was served in a huge serving. I love the stuff and left over half of it behind. All this for $8.00! And now they have meat & noodle combinations on the menu for $9.99.

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I've tried other SLTs and I like Gamasot's better. I suppose it's the chef's style of making the broth. I also agree about the soondae soup. I tried it once and was impressed...if a bit overwhelmed by all the odd pig bits.

I also recently got their gop dor bi bim bap. I'm not sure why I got that at a soup place, but I'm glad I did. It was quite good, and man was the stone bowl hot!

I still have to get their bo yang tang. I like goat, I like their soups...yet I always seem to forget about it!

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I still have to get their bo yang tang. I like goat, I like their soups...yet I always seem to forget about it!

If I hadn't had goat curry the night before I would have tried it. I will be back if I can find the effing place, I mean now that I know how to get there!

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Bibimbop is almost standard Korean dish. It is very difficult to find a restaurant which doesn't serve it. Dean and Matt, please try the hangover soup (Hae Jahng Kook) next time. It is very good. If you guys don't like the solidfied chunk of blood in it, tell the waitress to remove it.

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Bibimbop is almost standard Korean dish. It is very difficult to find a restaurant which doesn't serve it. Dean and Matt, please try the hangover soup (Hae Jahng Kook) next time. It is very good. If you guys don't like the solidfied chunk of blood in it, tell the waitress to remove it.
Oh, I know it's standard, I'm just surprised I got it there. What with all the yummy soups!
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I still have to get their bo yang tang. I like goat, I like their soups...yet I always seem to forget about it!
Kay and I made it our late night destination. Kay tried to find out if they were still open late and they seemed to be saying we close at 11.

We got there (without getting lost at all!) to an empty restaurant at 10:30 but on inquiry, the lady said they close at 11 and we sat down and over ordered! Soo Yuk was superb, nicely cooked shank, brisket, tongue and liver. The liver was too intense for me to really enjoy more than a single piece. The meats were cut thicker than typical and the dipping sauce and the chile infused green onions and other stuff was superb. I had the goat and it was incredible. It comes with a side dish of sauce, green onions and more stuff which you use to dip the goat in. Kay had a soup whose name I didn't really catch. Good broth, lots of veggies, a few bit s of pork blood and big chunks of fatty meat. Again really good. The panchan were superb and, since Kay doesn't like soon dae, I got to eat it all!

We wanted dong dong ju to drink but they didnt have it but reccomended something with a name that sounded like mackoli. It is a cloudy brew with a strong bite but a sake-ish flavor. It is shaken and poured into a bowl like dong dong ju and you spoon it our into little bowls to drink. The bowls are the same as the bowls with the water kimchee in it and so, inevitably, I picked up the water kimchee juice thinking it was the mackoli and got a surprise. Expecting raspy booze and getting vinegary, salty brine is an eye opener.

Under $50 and we took over half of the soups/stews to go. It was really enough food for 3!

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Gamasot is a solid place but SLT has never been a favorite of of mine. Other soups are solid but you can find better examples else where.

If out in Chantilly, try a place called Go Yang Jip by Dullas expo center. Hole in the was but serves some of the best korean soup around. BTW, this place also serves Soon Dae Gook with just the Soon Dae (none of the other bits) in addition to the regular Soon Dae gook with all the other stuff (which I love) in it.

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It comes with a side dish of sauce, green onions and more stuff which you use to dip the goat in. Kay had a soup whose name I didn't really catch. Good broth, lots of veggies, a few bit s of pork blood and big chunks of fatty meat. Again really good.

I guess that she got a hangover soup (hae-Jang guk). It became my favorite, too. If you don't like the blood, ask them to remove as much as possible.

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Barbara is feeling puny tonight, and whenever she's not feeling good she craves sollongtang. So, off to Gamasot we go. I hadn't had the Bo Yang Tang (goat soup) yet, and I was feeling adventurous. It was interesting. I'm still trying to get a handle on the flavors in the soup. There were several large chunks of goat, mostly boneless, some meaty, some more tendony. The soup itself reminded me of a thicker yuk gae jang and I could recognize mustard seeds see wild sesame seeds on top of the broth, plus a big sprig of dandelion greens on top. It was a rich soup, almost stew-like (No, I'm not going to call it a 'stoup'.)

I've noticed that the older gentleman who used to always be in the glass kitchen hasn't been there the past few times, and also that the kimchee is no longer cut at the table.

If you have enough soju, the Jinro frog logo on the bottle will start singing "Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal..." Or you might. Just sayin'.

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The soup itself reminded me of a thicker yuk gae jang and I could recognize mustard seeds on top of the broth, plus a big sprig of dandelion greens on top. It was a rich soup, almost stew-like (No, I'm not going to call it a 'stoup'.)

I've noticed that the older gentleman who used to always be in the glass kitchen hasn't been there the past few times, and also that the kimchee is no longer cut at the table.

Were the seeds black and a bit rounder than sesame seeds? I believed that it might be wild sesame seeds in order to get rid of the smell from the meat.

A couple of month ago, I overheard that the soup master had a neck surgery (neck disc problem) so he can't work in the kitchen any more. On the lunar new year day, I saw him seating at the table talking to the staff.

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Were the seeds black and a bit rounder than sesame seeds? I believed that it might be wild sesame seeds in order to get rid of the smell from the meat.

A couple of month ago, I overheard that the soup master had a neck surgery (neck disc problem) so he can't work in the kitchen any more. On the lunar new year day, I saw him seating at the table talking to the staff.

Thanks, I'll bet that was what they were.

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No posts since 2008....?

The dining guide blurb indicates renovations are underway, but it looks like the renovations are completed. Gamasot has a nice tidy interior on the smallish side. I must admit, I know next to nothing about Korean cuisine, and Lady Kibbee and I were the only two non-Koreans in a mostly full restaurant on a Friday night. I couldn't quite understand the waitress, but we did some menu pointing and got to a comfortable assortment of items. I'm stuffed, but I can't say I did justice to the menu or the kitchen's strengths.

The menu appears strong on soups, but August in the DC area is not my idea of prime time for hot soup. We started with dark pork sausages, fried meat dumplings, the standard table full of ban chan and sauces, and two bowls of white soup that I asked the waitress to identify for me about three times, and I still don't know what it was. But add lots of chopped scallions to it and some salt, and at other tables add all the ban chan as well, and it turns out to be a nice starter. The pork sausage was a nice surprise, and it looked to be darkened by blood. Very pleasant with each bite accompanied by a bit of kimchee or pickled radish. The dumplings were a bit oily but otherwise had a nice crunch and a pleasant filling, and the soy dipping sauce brought out the flavor nicely.

(At the next table, a Korean group of four each had a larger bowl of the white broth in front of them, and anything from scallions to shaved beef to ban chan and the contents of their attic went into each bowl. I think they ate with a lot of enjoyment at a fraction of the price of our meal....and our meal was not expensive.)

I went with bulgogi as a main, which was nice and meaty, maybe a bit sweet. Lady Kibbee had a bibimbap with seafood, and the rice crust at the bottom of the stone bowl was a hit.

Next time I'll need some assistance from a native speaker who gets Korean cuisine better than I do. My verdict is that this place is very good, and that observation is apparently shared by the few dozen Koreans eating with more understanding than me. Lots of smiles all over the place.

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There are still signs saying Gamasot, but there is a big banner over the entrance announcing the rebranding as GäMA.  They're also serving Korean Fried Chicken wings.  They have added a fixed partition in the middle of the dining room with 5 tvs on one side (I didn't look on the other side).  Today I was in the mood for seollongtang, and stopped in for lunch.  It was missing something.  The soup itself was thinner than it used to be, and needed more salt added to it.  The banchan were similar to what was served before, but the kkakduki wasn't as good as before either, with the radish itself being soft but not having the sour-fizzy taste from pickling, and the spicy juice on it was thin.

I was mildly disappointed, but I hope it was a one-off occasion.  Does anyone else have any recent experience with GäMA?

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There are still signs saying Gamasot, but there is a big banner over the entrance announcing the rebranding as GäMA.  They're also serving Korean Fried Chicken wings.  They have added a fixed partition in the middle of the dining room with 5 tvs on one side (I didn't look on the other side).  Today I was in the mood for seollongtang, and stopped in for lunch.  It was missing something.  The soup itself was thinner than it used to be, and needed more salt added to it.  The banchan were similar to what was served before, but the kkakduki wasn't as good as before either, with the radish itself being soft but not having the sour-fizzy taste from pickling, and the spicy juice on it was thin.

I was mildly disappointed, but I hope it was a one-off occasion.  Does anyone else have any recent experience with GäMA?

Boy this sounds like a rebranding - these names are just too similar - but assuming you had every name in the world to choose from, GäMA doesn't seem like the greatest possible choice - it sounds pretty close to being Danish (a secret outpost of Noma?)

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Stopped by to (finally) check this place out and found this taped up to the door.

But did you get in?

I.E., is it closing, or is it closed?

If the former, is it still Gamasot, and will GäMA be under the new management?

Thank you, sir!

Their online presence worries me:

1) It's called www.gamarestaurants.com (plural)

2) It says "Korean and Asian-inspired cuisine"

3) Their Facebook page has a picture of KFC.

4) It hasn't been updated in almost six months.

For now, I'm going to go ahead and mark Gamasot as being closed in the Dining Guide, assuming it will be reopening as GäMA.

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