So Ra Bol is located outside Korean Town (Sukhumvit Soi 12), yet has what we expect to see in a Korean eatery from barbecue stoves, various kim chi sides and a lot of Korean people. Its contemporary interior design combines modern tables and chairs with traditional Korean decorations. If you like traditional seats, the restaurant offers two private rooms arranged in tatami style. As the Korean series Dae Jang Kuem was so popular, we weren't surprised to see a couple pictures of the leading actress, Lee Yong Ae, on the walls. We arrived at So Ra Boi very late at 9pm and the kitchen would be closed in an hour, but the staff welcomed us nicely. Instead of ordering the well-known bul go ki (marinated beef), we decided to try gal bi sal (boneless beef rib) and dae ji bulgoki (marinated pork). Kim chi side dishes—baechu (cabbage), kkakdugi (radish), nabak (Chinese radish and cabbage), yeolmu (young summer radish) and sprout came in clean, big bowls, so we barely asked for refills. The best dish turned out to be hot noodle, not the barbecue. The noodle was similar to ramen, which was tender yet strong enough be very long. Even though there was no meat, only green onion, mushroom and egg, the soup was fantastic and flavorsome. When we noticed that our gal bi sal hadn't arrived, we decided to ask what happened. Our nice waitress suddenly disappeared and another moody one came to our table and said with a flaring temper that she couldn't find our order. We were hungry enough to bust whoever’s fault this was, but instead we just reordered, mentally subtracting their service scores. Our last order was what a waitress called Korean pizza, pa jeon (spring onion pancake), which is similar to our kui chai thawt (fried pancake with chives) but a lot bigger. It was nice and crispy on the outside though a bit bland, so we added black sauce with sesame to make up for it. Finally, our meat arrived, though both the barbecue pork and beef were the disappointment of the night. Although the meat was tender and sliced well (no need for the scissors), it lacked flavor and we had better cuts elsewhere. Seeing as this eatery was a bit hit and miss, we decided to go back to our familiar places in Korean Town, which guarantee our satisfaction in both fare and services.
