Ohgane Korean BBQ Restaurant

Today my friend took me out to a Korean buffet lunch at Ohgane Korean BBQ Restaurant at 3915 Broadway, Oakland, CA  94611. It was a great way to kick off the new year with good company and good food! We enjoyed a wide variety of Korean and non-Korean food at the buffet and piled our plates high with excitement! I got to taste a bunch of new Korean dishes including two new soups. I was in food heaven! I was not ashamed to go back for more...I had to take advantage of all this Korean food at my fingertips, especially since this was the first time I've ever been to a Korean buffet. 

I have to admit that the food was definitely on par with what you would expect from a buffet--it wasn't as good as it would have been if it were ordered fresh, but it was still a good, quick way to eat a lot of different dishes without having to order all of it individually. (My friend's cooking is way better and tastier than this buffet sampler, but it was still worth going to try all the food at Ohgane). Even I could tell that this food was toned down quite a bit in spiciness for an average consumer to enjoy. Nevertheless, the buffet was memorable and it is a good way to introduce several Korean dishes at once. (I can handle some spice and this food was not spicy at all.)

This daikon soup with noodles was so simple, yet so delicious and not as spicy at it appears. The noodles had a nice texture and chew to them and the daikon was tender and mild in flavor, completely different from the crunchy, pickled variety.

At the end of our meal, the waitress gave us a beautiful calendar for 2012 (free)! It is filled with gorgeous photos of Korean dishes and some background information about the food. Also, there are short translations of Korean phrases, so you can learn some Korean as well! I just noticed that they also cleverly included restaurant coupons for free items throughout the year! How sweet and ingenious--that is reason enough to go back and try more items on their menu!

I don't know how long they will be handing out free calendars, but we sure lucked out this year with this freebie! Now I know to go back next January to get another free calendar (if they offer that promotion again).

The Korean buffet turned out to be a great way to sample a ton of different dishes at once. I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to go back again!

Happy New Year!