Diner Survey Results 2 responses
smallfry
Chrysanthemum's the word!
Five stars for the authenticity and quality of Korean food!
Kiku (Japanese) or gookhwa (Korean) means chrysanthemum. This restaurant sure is a flower in the middle of San Antonio and offers a surprisingly extensive list of Korean and Japanese dishes. The exterior is adorable as it has the appearance of a small, white, quaint, old lighthouse. Inside, the restaurant is divided into two sections: to the left is a small sushi bar and to the right, on a slightly elevated platform, is the main restaurant area. There are several tables with the facility for Korean BBQ: the grill and vent up top to air out the smoke from delicious grilled meats.
The staff was terrific – friendly and not rushed as I usually see in the K-restaurants of Chicago. The prices were reasonable and everything seemed freshly made, not sitting in the back or reheated. If you get Korean entrees that come with rice separately, they will bring the hot bowls of rice, scoop out the rice, and give you 2 options. They can pour hot water into the bowl with rice stuck on its sides to make a traditional Korean hot rice water called “soong ryoong”. Or let the stuck-on rice in the bowl dry out or heat it to make a crunchy rice snack called “noo roong ji”. We opted for the “soong ryoong” because the hot water gives the meal a nice, traditional finish. Very yummy indeed.
Dishes Tried:
Soon Dae
This is definitely an acquired taste but fabulous as an appetizer. You can opt for either the small or large portions. We opted for the small but the portion size was large! So the description may not be very appetizing but again, don’t rule it out! It’s been described as a “blood sausage” as it is made of pork blood and glass noodles stuffed in pig intestine. At the table, the diner dips the sausage slice into a dry “sauce” of salt, pepper, and hot red peppers. Usually the sausages are sold in Korean grocery stores, packaged and warm but this restaurant made it hot and fresh! Loved it!
Yuk Gae Jhang
Super red, hot and spicy, this is a traditional soup made with hot peppers and beef strips. It will open up any congested sinuses and nasal passages!
Cool!
Cool!
Dishes Tried:
Sizzling Spicy Chicken
Sizzling Spicy Pork
Sliced Beef Ribs
All dishes cooked at the table by waitress… Items such as bean sprouts, anchovies, smashed fish in fish sauce and sticky white rice were served on the side. Lettuce was available to make a lettuce wrap with the white rice and whatever item you wish, add a little soy sauce, wrap the lettuce around it and chow down! Amazing!
mrcdl28
San Antonio's BEST Korean Cuisine!
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Sun-Sat 11:00AM - 10:00PM
Link to Kiku Garden
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Recent Visitors
1/18/2016 A diner from San Antonio, TX tried it, liked it, and rated it . They liked the food, liked the service, and liked the ambiance.
- Pros
- first time ever eating Korean food LOVED IT !!
3/02/2015 A diner from TX tried it.