Mirror of Korea

Friday evening we met another couple at Mirror of Korea in St. Paul. (An area along University Avenue that boasts several Korean restaurants locally referred to as Koreatown.) I've had very limited exposure to Korean food and have not had any in the Twin Cities area.

We selected the following from the large and extensive menu:

• Appetizers: Man Du Twee Gim (fried dumplings) and Dong Gu Rang Tang (Meat Filled Pancakes) - both were crispy, meaty and delicious.

• Entrees: Kim Chee Jeon (kim chee pancake with pork) and Samm Sum Jjahm Bbong (noodles with spicy soup and five different seafood and vegetables). The kim chee jeon was crispy and mild with a rich tasting pork. The soup was a beautiful red treasure bowl filled with lucious seafood including shrimp, crab legs, oyster and is filling enough for two.

• Side dishes: At least eight side dishes filled our table with various kinds of kim chee including pickled mung beans with sesame oil and spicy red pickled cabbage. These items don't appear on the menu so it will be another trip (or several) to discover what each of these condiments is.

• Dessert: Two of us had a luscious little red velvet cake that contained a small cake layer, a layer of rich vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. Really beautiful!

• Drinks: The drinks menu includes wine and beer. I had OB Lager, a Korean beer and others had plum wine and shiraz.

Our total was around $100 for 4 people and includes drinks, apps, entrees and desserts. A reasonably good deal with both couples taking large carry out containers.

Cons:

• Not much ambience
• Friday night and they closed at 9 pm which cramped our socializing a bit
• Restaurant was a bit chilly
• Wait-staff was prompt and attentive but not much of a presence. Will ask for explanations of the side dishes when we go again.