For about a few weeks in 2006, Irvine had its own outpost of BCD Tofu House, part of the empire built on boiling cauldrons of Korean soft tofu soup called sundubu jjigae. Then, like the Red October, there was a defection. BCD became Koba Tofu Grill (if there's any two words that sound weird together it's “tofu” and “grill”), and Irvine was BCD-less…until now, with the new BCD at Diamond Jamboree.
It opened yesterday, with a balloon arch and what looked like red carpet. But that's just part of the Korean invasion. BBQ Chicken — which is actually known for its fried chicken cooked in olive oil — is also open for business, as is Chae Bahn next to it.
However, it seems that a Taiwanese bakery has got all the Koreans eateries beat. 85°C Bakery Café, which also had its grand debut yesterday, had a line out that snaked out the door and around the corner.
Me, I'm still looking forward to Capital Seafood.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.