Now that I've lived here for over a year, I have finally (almost) gotten enough French food to want another kind of cuisine. I had a craving for Korean. Although I knew that the open grills found all over Los Angeles don't exist here, I was willing to at least try to find something good. The Fork is like OpenTable, and when diners ranked Sodam 9.2 out of 10 in picky Paris, I gambled and tried it.
Like all true treasures, I had to venture outside my known world to find this gem. Their lunch menu is only 13 € ($16 US) and includes a drink (in France that means a glass of wine), appetizer and main course. Their salad is not only beautiful, but their sesame dressing is superb.
Their pot sticker appetizer was extraordinary, filled with minced pork and vegetables in a light wrapping, I could have easily made a meal of these
which were served with a sesame soy dipping sauce.
Of course all Korean restaurants include side dishes, and Sodam was no different, except that I missed having kimchee as one of my sides. Kimchee can be ordered as a separate side for 3€ ($5 US) but I found it hard to pay that much for what is a free side in the US. Imagine having to pay for ketchup for your fries :/ It looked good and maybe one day I will order it, but today wasn't that day.
Extra points that their rice was not your average plain white.
On one visit I got the bulgogi or marinated BBQ beef which came with it's own personal sized "grill".
Yes, the beef came raw so that you could cook it as long as you wanted. The shallots, garlic, and beef serving was copious and the flavor was very good, although not as pronounced as I would have liked.
On another visit I ordered the spicy (I asked for spiciest) chicken sautéed with vegetables which had a subtly sweet flavor. This was perfect for someone venturing out of their normal comfort zones, but it left me wanting much more heat.
Every time I went, the service was extremely friendly and there were large tables of Korean families who were regulars. I would definitely go back to try more of their menu because it seems this is one of the rare places in Paris that comes close to bringing a taste of Korea to the city of lights.
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