Listeners Unite!
In part three of our Korean Stuff in Texas series, we take a look at beautiful Dallas, TX. As with the other parts in this series, there’s no way I can cover all of the Korean establishments in this fair city, but I would still like to share with everyone the places that I have come to enjoy.
Dallas, as one can expect, offers a bit more than, say, Denton. It’s a big city with a rich history. However, like Carrollton, it has a concentration of Korean businesses in a section of downtown known as Harry Hines and/or Royal Lane.
Harry Hines doesn’t exactly have the best reputation but it is what it is. It’s home to the best 노래방, 찜질방 and restaurants. Take the good with the bad, right? So, let’s take a look at the menu, shall we?
– 노래방 – Family Karaoke – for twenty bucks an hour (half price specials on some weekdays) you can realize your lifelong dream becoming a K-Pop star in Texas (what? was I the only one?) Unlike typical 노래방 in Korea, there are no drinks allowed in the room but there is a full bar available. Hands down the best selection of songs, highest quality sound system, crazy comfortable rooms, two flat screens and an overall enjoyable experience. It’s clean and it’s here. No, it’s not exactly what one would expect to see or pay for in Korea, but it’s the cream of the crop for Dallas karaoke.
– 찜질방 – King Sauna – 18 bucks gets you cold and hot tanks, wet and dry sauna rooms, a movie room, 노래망, children’s play room, salt room, cold room, and more rooms than I care to count. It’s open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The website does a nice job of introducing the basics of Korean sauna procedure as what to normally expect from a full service 찜질방. Those familiar with 찜질방s in Korea will surely feel at home with the service, snack bar and access to a men’s barbershop. The only real drawback is the price witch is substantially more expensive than the price of one of similar quality in Korea. However, if you’re looking for a genuine experience, look no further. It’s not humongous by Korean standards but by American sauna standards, it’s well above par.
– Restaurants – Too many to name, so I’ll just focus on my favorite. 소공동 Tofu House. This place will rock your socks. My recommendation? They have the best 순두부 ever. Spicy as all get out and cooled down with 도토리 공국수. It’s heavenly. Beautiful interior with a great atmosphere.
– 팥빙수 – This sweet sweet treasure of a dessert is readily available a nearby bakery. I have little else to say about the greatness that is 팥빙수. The bakery itself is a great little date destination. The little concealed booths are neat little feature that I have yet to see elsewhere.
– Grocery – KoMart – This grocery store gets the job done but it’s nothing glitzy. If you need Korean food and you don’t feel like seeing every Korean person you know, then you come here.
That’s about it for the general course. Seeing how it’s Dallas, I’m positive there’s specialty Korean businesses for just about any type of service or product one could imagine.
Tune in next week when the lines of Korean and American businesses blur.
Thoughts?
