Promises of breathtakingly fresh sushi of the Korean variety brought my friends [Ravenous Couple, Kung Food Panda, Two Hungry Pandas, Stellar Recipes] and me to Rowland Heights. We almost always travel west in search of pristine raw fishes, but an enticing lead on a Chowhound thread led us down Rosemead Boulevard and further east on the 60.
Our destination was Dongbu Live Fish, a restaurant specializing in thinly sliced raw seafood known as hwal uh. Dongbu sits in the far corner of strip mall in the same complex as a veterinarian practice and a DIY barbecue joint. It is one of a handful of Korean businesses dotting the city’s mostly Taiwanese landscape.
The restaurant is run by a family of four. Dad is the chief fisherman and chef, mom serves as his sous, and their son and daughter manage the cash register and serve customers. Together they delivered excellent service and made us feel like we’d been eating Korean sushi our whole lives.
Our party of seven was seated immediately in the center of the cramped, but homey dining room. The soothing sounds of bubbling and gurgling tanks stocked with all manner of “live fish” provided a fitting soundtrack to our meal.
In addition to the house special hwal uh, Dongbu also serves funky sushi rolls, udon noodles, and rice bowls [see full menu here]. While the offerings sounded tempting, we had our heart and stomachs set on the hwal uh experience. After a short discussion with the restaurant’s owner, we chose the medium-sized serving ($85).
The centerpiece of the hwal uh experience was a gorgeous serving of freshly caught and filleted halibut. Displayed attractively on a platter (filled with ice and covered with plastic wrap), the thin slices of sashimi shimmered with freshness. I have never encountered fish this fresh before.
All of us ate a few pieces straight up to get a pure sense of the halibut’s glorious taste and texture. We also wrapped the delicate morsels ssam-style with lettuce leaves, chogochujang, ssamjang, garlic, and jalapenos. Traditional Japanese accouterments including wasabi, ginger, and soy sauce were on hand as well. The edamame and quail eggs were present for our snacking pleasure.
Accompanying the halibut platter were eight additional dishes. One of our favorites was a lettuce and cabbage slaw topped with roe and halibut and tossed with a soy sesame vinaigrette.
We were divided on the sea squirt. Some of us thought that it tasted like a mouth full of seawater, while others embraced its oceanic funk. I was with the former group even though I was informed by our waitress that it was “good for woman.”
The abalone was neutral in flavor and chewy in texture, which made it more or less uninteresting to me.
Another winner with our group was the cold noodle (naengmyeon) platter with shredded cabbage, cubes of salmon and halibut, apple slices, and a red pepper sauce dressing.
Next, we moved on to a series of warm dishes. First up were baked mussels topped with imitation crab. After eating such clean and pristine flavors, these tasted a bit cloying to me.
I felt mostly the same about the sweetly sauced baked mussels topped with salmon. While both preparations had their merits, they seemed out of place considering the rest of the spread.
The broiled mackerel pike, on the other hand, was simply delightful with its crisply charred skin and sweet flaky flesh.
The final course was a bubbling pot of hot and spicy fish soup (maeuntang) packed with tofu, herbs, and vegetables. We poured the soup over steamed white rice and filled up whatever room was left in our bellies.
Two special thanks are in order. The first one goes to Chowhounder “degustateur” for his informative and inspiring write up. And the second goes to Hong for dragging our asses to Rowland Heights. My stomach salutes you both.
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Dongbu Live Fish
18785 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Phone: 626-810-8582
Holy moly. I want a calendar made up of images from this meal. I don’t know what Apartment Therapy would think, but I think it’d be pretty awesome. Looks so, so good.
kamsamnida! (Thank You) for a great birthday meal! 🙂
It doesn’t get any fresher from Tank to Table in minutes!
Too bad the mussels didn’t compliment the dinner they probably looked better than they tasted.
Just to clarify, it was $80 for all the dishes pictured? Thanks for the review.
Waleed – It was $85 for all the dishes pictured. It fed six people.
WOW. The Halibut looks AMAZING. I could probably finish that entire place by myself, in 10 mins tops. Yes.. I can be a monster sometimes. Will have to try this place soon!
Yummmmy! This looks amazing. Will need to trek out there real soon. – mary
Ooooooh yay–only a few minutes from the office! Now all I need to do is gather enough coworkers who would be willing to eat this to go with me.
Holy moly! That’s some serious seafood there! And that plate of halibut — that’s a MEDIUM?!? It’s huge! I also wonder what their phone number says in that first picture.
The halibut on the plate almost looks like ice! Crazy! Sounds like a fun meal with a fun group!
@gastronomy @KFP We still have unfinished business with the family if you know what I mean 😉
RC – Oh, I know what you mean. Wink wink.
hwal uh is my mom’s favorite food of all time… haha i get my raw fish bug from her. Glad you enjoyed it! Did you guys get any kkae nnip (sesame leaf)? I use lettuce AND the sesame leaf to roll up huge amounts of fish. I’m a monster, I know. 😛
man….that platter of thinly sliced halibut looks good. time to gather an army of hungry eaters!
Oh yum, I wish we had such places in Spain.
Helen – If my memory serves me right, we didn’t receive any sesame leaves. Just romaine lettuce for wrapping.
I tried this last nite, thanks to your recommendation. The service was impeccable! Too bad we didn’t the abalone, although it was quite a treat to see the owner get a brand new live halibut out of the tank for our serving.
Wow! I’ve never had Korean in Rowland Heights. Now I just have to convince my mom.
So much food! I definitely need to try this place on my next RH trip!
what a gorgeous plate of halibut, I love the combination of Japanese and Korean condiments! The naengmyeong platter looks fantastic, I’m recently introduced to it in a bowl, the platter with chili sounds so intriguing. And such a steal for $80!
NO DOUBT!!! Best place in the area…
cant get enough of their fish and stew
did you give the restaurant permission to use your photos? It seems as if a few have shown up on Yelp.
I found this blog finally and wanted to try it out; unfortunately the restaurant burned down earlier this month.
Kind of rare to find Korean hwe but I will continue to persevere and try.