Third Floor Cafe Bar and Lounge
Third Floor Cafe
315 5th Ave
(Between W. 31st and W. 32nd Street)
3rd Floor
(212) 481-3669
After dinner at Lips, my friends Sarah and Katherine decided to bring us to a Korean bar and lounge for a few drinks since the night was still early. I apologize for not taking a lot of photos, but I can say is that this lounge is very fancy and definitely a hidden gem in the city! The atmosphere is very chilled and relaxed with low lighting and couches everywhere. The crowd was filled with young sophisticated and good looking Koreans between the ages of 21-35 and the music was half Korean and have hip -hop r&b. There’s this sleekness and modernness about the lounge that I loved so much. There are tables for dining and the Korean waitresses are very nice and accommodating.
Katherine decided to order a watermelon soju for everyone which I have never had before. But just the thought of it sounds so exciting and delicious to me!
Watermelon Soju at Third Floor Cafe
Even though I pretty much sworn off of alcohol, I wanted to have a taste of this. Sarah, who’s hand is in the picture with the little shot glass, was so adament on getting everyone to drink. This soju tastes like sweet fresh watermelon juice with a hint of soju which tasted great. I’m sure a few of these will get you buzzed, like two of our girls, and I will definitely recommend it!
Fruit Platter
Don’t forget to order a delicious fruit platter to help dilute the alcohol in your system!
Virgin Mango Daiquiri
What I love about this place is that they cater to people who don’t drink alcohol. I jumped at the chance of getting this mango daiquiri because it is my all time favorite! It is delicious as it looks!
Overall, if you want to have a good time with your friends, definitely come visit this Bar and Lounge. It does not get too packed, like how so bars are, and it is very chilled and enjoyable to be in. The music isn’t pumping loud, so you can definitely hold a conversation with your friends!
Until next time,
- FCG
Kunjip Korean Restaurant & BBQ
KUNJIP RESTAURANT
9 West 32 St
(212) 216-9487
Wow, I’ve been meaning to update my post. Sorry I haven’t been doing that because I’ve been so preoccupied! And when I had time, all I can do is sleep. But anyways, finally here’s a post on one of the many Korean restaurants that I need to do a post on.
I came here for a friend’s birthday this past April looking for something that’s not entirely BBQ and not entirely Korean, so I found this! Kunjip is a mixture of both, especially if you don’t want to spend so much on the barbeque or have too much of it. I did do research before I decided to come to this place, and there are a lot of reviews who totally digg this place. Of course I couldn’t totally trust them, but it did really motivate me to try this place out. Then I learned that one of my friends went there and told me that their bbq isn’t all that great and that’s it’s quite expensive — about $46 for two people for the bbq there. Yeah that sounds really expensive, but I figure that for that price you can split it with four people. I mean like for that price, they should totally give a lot of meat right? She told me she was really full, but thought it was expensive. She paid like $30, which I didn’t think it was bad. I think Korean in general is very expensive, because again it does take a lot of time to prepare, and I wouldn’t mind one bit to pay a little more.
When I first walked into the restaurant, I was missing a friend but figured we can still sit down since we were all hungry. With a party of 4 at that time, we walked in and asked the maitre’d if that was alright, which she told us that it was. At that time, the whole restaurant was entirely packed. I didn’t see a lot of people having barbecue, which made me wonder why. Maybe because the bbq is expensive? lol. I did see some tables with a metal top and figured that we needed that table for the bbq. But then we were directed to a regular table, which I asked the waiter why that was and he said the bbq will be served on a little hot pot?? Interesting. After we were seated, we told the waiter we needed a bigger table because another one of my friends were coming, and he was really nice and courtesy, and prepared another table there and then!! Great great service!!! More points to them really!
Alright, first off, appetizers!
Appetizers
All this was for free. At some places they give you more, but this is still pretty good. The kimichi was very good here and well as the stringbeans. I wasn’t a fan of the white jelly drenched in soy sauce and scallions, but I was told that it is cool and smooth to eat.
Kimchi Panjun – kimchi pancake, Price: $12.95
My god, all I have to say is this pancake is mucho mucho spicy!! I know Kimchi is supposed to be spicy, but this was burning my mouth like crazy!! It was a painful experience, but strangely it tasted pretty alright. Maybe because I was really hungry. Hey, Lol, doesn’t this look like a pizza? It does come in a whole pie, not that big like you would with a pizza, but it’s certainly not worth the $13.
Recommended: No, unless you feel like splurging a little and love spicy food.
Rating: 3/5 – Good
Man Doo Gui – Fried dumplings, Price: Small (shown below) – $8.95 // Large – $12.95
Honestly, these are the best korean dumplings I have ever had in my whole entire life. It’s nice and crispy on the outside, but not too crispy, and soft and juicy on the inside. I think the inside has marinated pork, leek, and something else. There is a fair share of meat inside and it meshes very well with its crispy skin.
Recommended: Yes!
Rating: 5/5
Entrees
Gobdol Bibimbob – rice on the heated stone pot with assorted vegetables, ground beef and egg, served with red pepper paste on the side, Price: $ 12.95
I didn’t have this personally, but I did have a little taste of it. My friend who ordered this thought it was pretty good. A lot of places would cook it pretty bland, but this place does it pretty well. It can definitely be better, but it’s alright.
Recommended: Yes
Rating: 4/5 – Very good
Barbecue
My bf and I decided not to get the $50 bbq for two, because we didnt want the ox-tongue or the beef briskets:
Bbq Combination (For 2) Sang Sam Gyup Sal & Chadol Baeki & Hyu Mit Gui – grilled slices of pork, beef briskets and thin slices of ox-tongue.
So instead we ordered the Doi Ji Gal Bi Gui:
Doi Ji Gal Bi Gui – grilled boneless pork ribs marinated in soy sauce, $17.95
Je Yook Gui – grilled sliced pork strips marinated in spicy sauce, $18.95
A waitress will come and periodically check on the meat to see if it’s done. As she’s cooking it, let me tell you how strong that aroma is!! People from other tables are looking at our table with envy, I’m sure, and even the new people that came ordered the bbq as well! Let me tell you, oh man, both the meats are so sweet and succulent! Trust me, you gotta have it with a side of rice. Even though the rice was purple, it still tastes like rice and it went well with the meat. Oh my gosh. Wow, it was the best pieces of meats thanks to them marinating it! But it really wasn’t enough for 4 people.
Recommended: Yes to both! But it’s pretty pricey.
Rating: 4/5 – Very good
I probably would not come here for bbq because it’s not worth the price, but I will definitely come here for the korean food. I do highly recommend people to come here, especially if they want a mixture of both bbq and korean.
KUNJIP RESTAURANT
9 WEST 32 STREET, MANHATTAN 10001
212-216-9485
NYC Health Inspection
Current violation points: 25/28
Inspection Date: 10/26/2006
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Food contact surface not properly maintained.
3.) Thawing procedures improper.
4.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
5.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
6.) Food worker does not use proper utensil to eliminate bare hand contact with food that will not receive adequate additional heat treatment.
Previous Inspection Results
Koryodang: Korean Dessert (K-Town 32nd St.)
Koryodang
31 W 32 St
(btw Broadway and 5th Ave)
(212) 967-9661
It has been a while that I’ve been back in Korea-town. I believe it’s been over 3 years and you cannot believe how much this neighborhood has changed. There are more new and exciting shops opening around for young adults and hipsters to come here to hang out. I remember there was a day that this neighborhood was bombarded with many expensive korean bbq restaurants that was glowing with red neon lights to attract customers. But now not only are there korean bbq restaurants at competitively good prices, but there are local korean restaurants w/o the bbq and ones that have both. Added to that list are korean bakeries, cell phone stores, and lots more up and rising stores. This is a great time to be in K-town!
After my dinner at Gahm Mi Oak which was literally next store, we decided to come here. From what my friend Danny tells me, there’s a Koryodang bakery in Flushing and now there’s one here. It looked really nice, and what sealed the deal was a man flipping ice cream on a pan! I thought, how cool was that.
I really love how the koreans come up with new and innovative treats for me to eat. As a first timer, I knew I would not be disappointed here.
When me and my group came in, the place was literally packed with Korean people. 
Really packed. The waiter had to grab us 2 extra crappy seats for a table supposedly for 2, but it was alright. Nice gesture instead of having us to wait. Luckily I sat on their nice leather seat and Kim and Dawen sat on the “patio” chairs as Kim would put it.
After we were seated down, we received a framed menu with choices on both sides. I was already excited about the Icepan Icecream and Danny was excited about a Pear tart. I never had one, but I was excited to see one! Kim and Dawen ordered bubble tea, but I was curious on how the Korean’s take on it.
The Icepan Ice Cream! It comes with strawberry, kiwi, mango, green tea, pineapple, banana or raspberry. Price: $6.49
Beautiful isn’t it? I chose banana ice cream because I haven’t had that in a long time and I was so craving it. The ice cream is buried underneath all the fruit. My god, this is one of the BEST dessert I have ever had. My mouth was watering for more and my mood was excellent after getting into a fight with the bf. After we both had a taste of this, all the negative energies dissipated into thin air and we were both smiling and feeding each other. I loved this so incredibly much. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND you guys to try it! HIGHLY.
Here comes the honeydew bubble tea! It’s very expensive – $6.99. And I thought Ten Ren is expensive!
Honestly, this is not worth the $6.99. At Ten Ren’s, it tastes a whole lot richer and thicker than this. It’s better that all the other bubble teas, but this is not worth the price. I wouldn’t recommend this.
Next on the list is the Pear Tart! Price: $3.25 I’ve never had a Pear Tart before, but I know dam well that it sounds like a sweeeeet treat! Let’s see!
My god, gorgeous. Gorgeous. When I digged into this magnificent tart, it was like I was in heaven. This treat is so rich in sweetness that it drives my mouth wild. You have to try it to believe it. The tart itself as you can see is sweet too, which I wished it wasn’t, but it was still a very very delicious treat. At this time, Danny was bouncing off the walls because he’s very sensitive to sweets.
Overall it was an excellent idea to come here. I would definitely come here again to try their other treats. If you want to know what else is on their menu, let me a comment and I’ll show you. I don’t believe there is a menu online now but that doesn’t matter.
Ok, the NYS health inspection results!
KORYODANG
31 WEST 32 STREET, MANHATTAN 10001
212-967-9661
Current violation points: 25 – PASSED (27 to pass)
Inspection Date: 01/11/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Toilet facility not maintained and provided with toilet paper, waste receptacle and self-closing door.
2.) Sanitized equipment or utensil, including in-use food dispensing utensil, improperly used or stored.
3.) Sufficient refrigerated or hot holding equipment not provided to meet proper time and temperature requirements for potentially hazardous foods.
4.) Cold food held above 41°F (smoked fish above 38°F) except during necessary preparation.
Gahm Mi Oak Korean Restaurant
Gahm Mi Oak
43 W 32nd St
(Btw 5th Ave & Broadway)
(212) 695-4113
24-hours, but there’s a limited menu after a certain time.
On this day, my Korean friend Danny came back from Boston for spring break and was going to take us (Kim, Dawen, and I) to a tasty place for “local korean food.” No, none of that fake american crap that gets pumped out everywhere else. I was so looking forward to this day that I literally starved myself, waiting for this fantastic delight. And when the time came, Danny-boy forgot where on earth it was and decided to call his homeboy. No one picked up. So after walking up and down and around the block, he decided to go in a korean cell phone store and asked where it was. Long story short, that man gave us wrong directions and we didn’t know where to go. We couldn’t stay out in the freezing cold anymore so we picked something that was price affordable and shared the korean experience.
Alright when we first came in, it looked like a nice cozy place. 
There was a couple in front of us, but after when Danny spoke with the waiter in Korean, we were off to a traditional table where there’s no chairs and only pillows on an elevated platform towards the back of the restaurant where the kitchen is. See it would have been nice if Danny boy told me we were gonna sit traditional style because then I could mentally prepare myself to sit with my legs crossed. Because of my thick ass thighs, usually the blood flow to my legs get cut and I have to recross my legs. Very annoying, but it happens to the best [fattier] of us.
When we finally sat down, we had korean menus!! I’m like, what in the hell is this? Danny literally had to recommend some of the things he thought was good. Apparently he didn’t translate the entire menu or asked for an english menu, which would be good!! I knew what I wanted, well the only thing I can eat and that’s the bibimbap. I wanted to see how their take is like here in comparison to Li Hua in chinatown. But yeah, after seconds of settling down, 3 waiters at different times came to us and asked what we wanted. I found that very annoying and I absolute HATE to be rushed. I really do. I know it’s all in good faith, but still, give me some time.
So Danny recommended the Sul Long Tang, which is snowy white ox-bone soup with white rice and white noodle, add scallion, salt and pepper to taste. I wasn’t in a soupy mood since I was famished, so the three of them decided on this since we had came out of the cold.
Okay, time for appetizers which came out the second we finished ordering! Wow, talk about fast fast service!
Kim Chi. Of course you get it in all korean restaurants, but I must say this is the best Kim Chi I have ever had. Usually I would get them in tiny portions which I can hardly get the taste of, but this, oh my god, it is really good. Really! It’s for free, so you must as well wolf down a lot of it. The free warm hot cup of barely tea helps tame the hotness from the kim chi too.
Sul Long Tang Snowy white ox-bone soup with white rice and white noodles. Carefully chosen bone and meat are cooked together more than 12 hours in a giant cast-iron pot to remove the fat and oil. Add scallion, salt
Price: $6.95
So I had a taste, seeing how desperately hungry I was, and this is one of the blandest soup I have ever had. Yes you can taste how pure and hearty it is, but it lacked a whole lotta taste even though if you add a sheit load of scallion and salt! Tasteless, my god, tasteless. You can taste how healthy it is. But if you want to come here for grease and taste, avoid this one. I didn’t like it, I’d have it for an afternoon snack, but definitely not for dinner.
Ahh, here comes my bibimbap. Bibimbap korean style jambalaya of rice, assorted vegetables and ground beef. Add long hot pepper paste to your taste and mix them in your bowl. Price: $10.95
I was hoping that it would be in a stone bowl like how it was at Li Hua and Bonjoo, which I need to do a post on that. Ok, so there’s no stone bowl, shouldn’t be a big deal right? Well…after mixing it and without the pepper because I’m scared of it, I had a taste and it was pretty bland. I had to add salt, which didn’t helped much and it was still bland! My gosh, Li Hua was starting to look better and that restaurant is based in Chinatown!
At this time our pancakes came, Bin Dae Dduk 
korean style fried pancake made of ground mung beans, carrot, onion, scallion, bean sprouts and ground pork — Price: $8.95.
This unfortunately tastes bland as well, and I had better ones before. I had to put a lot of salt on this to make this tastes better. It wasn’t all bad and this seems to be the hottest plate since I see it being pumped out a lot from the kitchen. Usually the waiter would only serve two big pancakes, but seeing how nice he was, he gave us 4 and didn’t charge us extra which was very nice!
My legs were getting numb at this time and the check came to us when we were done. I actually liked the traditional experience, even though my fat legs were gone. Would I recommend this place? Sure. It’s relatively inexpensive, but the taste is really really lacking. If you don’t mind, sure come and eat bland. But I care and probably would never come back. There are so many restaurants in k-town that there’s bound to be one that’s not korean bbq and that it’s rich in flavor. I will definitely find it.
Health Inspection report by the NYS:
GMO RESTAURANT
43 WEST 32 STREET, MANHATTAN 10001
Current violation points: 8 -PASSED
Inspection Date: 04/12/2006
No violations that present a threat to the public health or relate directly to factors which lead to foodborne illness were recorded at the time of this inspection.
1.) Immersion basket not provided, used or of incorrect size. Incorrect manual technique. Test kit and thermometer not provided or used. Improper drying practices.
2.) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
3.) Garbage receptacles not provided or inadequate. Garbage storage area not properly constructed or maintained; grinder or compactor dirty.
Man, a clean restaurant equals to a bland restaurant? Hm… I am seeing a link….
Anyways, look forward to my review on korean dessert. Oh man….absolutely amazing.
