Bistro means it's trendy

Pasadena, the little that I know of it, is very white. They are not necessarily the "we have white guilt and need to impress people with our love and knowledge of ethnic cuisines" either. Although Thai, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese eateries are scattered all throughout town, they all have a bounce to their step, a shine, a trendiness to them that most "authentic" Asian places just simply do not possess. In addition, this place offers brown rice with all their dishes, and I know if I hollared for some brown rice in the Li household, I would feel the wrath of gramma and my shame of asking for "healthy and impractically expensive" foods would eat me alive. This made me wonder about CHAM Korean Bistro because while Yelp promises 251 reviews and 4 stars, the skeptic in me screamed "Korean Chipotle! Korean Chipotle! Korean Chipotle!" However, further research coupled with an increasingly disgruntled stomach made my decision for me and I placed my order on L.A. Bite for "California Bibimbap" and "Beef bulgogi and glass noodles in hotpot."

white people bibimbap

"real" bibimbap

Chef E.J. Jeong, formally of BOA steakhouse and AOC Wine Bar, does an interesting "globally inspired, yet true to its heritage" job on these dishes. While pleasing to the eye, the excitement may have ended there. My California bibimbap arrived in a large plastic bowl filled with slivered shiso leaves, julienned jicama, shredded carrots, cucumbers, butter cabbage and a container of toasted sesame oil and another of red pepper gochujang. In a separate eco-friendly tub was the spicy bbq pork bulgogi resting on a bed of onions and rings of scallions sprinkled on top. The brown rice (what seems like a medley of red and brown grains) showed up in yet another paper container and when dumped into my larger bowl, added a burst of purple to the already colorful mix. This was not the bibimbap I'm accustomed to eating at most "real" Korean joints, nor was I expecting that and while the flavors were not entirely one dimensional they were not exactly three dimensional either. There was a tang to the dish that I couldn't put my finger on that seemed to be the underlying tone. The meat, although juicy and tender, lacked the char and "fire meat" flavor the dish was named for. As mentioned earlier, the undercooked onions sat passively on the bottom as if accustomed to this second class treatment. My dish did not come with an egg and this may have been its biggest downfall. What bibimpap does not have a perfectly fried slightly undercooked egg resting on top, declaring itself as the single most important ingredient that will hold all the flavors and textures together with its creamy canary yolk spilling into all the nooks and crannies of the rice?

Having said that, will I eat here again? Probably, but with white people expectations and definitely dining in next time. I saved the glass noodles for another meal so I'll find out how that fares tomorrow.

In the meantime, Oso has arrived at this verdict: Presentation is a 3 out of 5. First impression taste is a 2.7 out of 5, Final impression taste is a 2.3 out of 5, Authenticity is a 1 out of 5, Price is a 2 out of 5.