I'm embarrassed to admit that as a Korean American in Atlanta, one, I didn't know that this beautiful dish even existed until a few years ago, and two, I didn't know restaurants like this existed. Budaejjigae found its provenance in war-torn Korea, when citizens used what little they had - along with US rations such as luncheon meat, processed cheese, and hot dogs - to create a spicy and deeply satisfying hot pot meal that has now taken Korean street stalls and restaurants by storm. It's not hard to make, but it's difficult to find it outside someone's home...until now.Bally Budaejjigae is tucked away in the corner of an overwhelming complex of restaurants and shops (with Assi Plaza, a Korean supermarket, as its retail anchor), but it's well worth the short and confused search around the labyrinthine square. The folks who work there, particularly the woman who served us, greeted us warmly and didn't blink an eye at our request for an English menu even though we clearly spoke Korean. There's a convenient doorbell-like button at the side of the table that calls over a waitress without you needing to use your voice, and a gas grill waits patiently at your table for the yummies to come.And boy, was it yummy. The kimchi-based broth is spicy, savory, and made me expel a happy "ahhhhh" before I even realize I said something. Orders are per serving size, and the 'Medium 2-3 serving' pot came with rice cakes, tons of sausage slices, spam, and bean spouts (it typically also has ground beef, but they amicably left it out for me when they heard I avoid meat). There are also add-ons, and the tofu and American cheese we chose added the most sumptuous touch. My spendthrift husband balked a little when he discovered we'd essentially be paying a whole dollar per slice of American cheese, but he clammed up once he tasted what that melted loveliness did to the taste of our broth.The accompanying rice comes in a hot metal bowl, which is thoughtfully placed in a wooden base so that clumsy dummies like me don't burn themselves on the servingware. The kettle they bring you is so that you can scoop out the rice and pour water in to cover the rice line. By the end of your meal, all the tasty burnt bits (like the coveted socarrat, or caramelized paella bits, at the bottom of a pan) can create a nice, warm rice porridge for you to end your meal with. I also suspect this makes cleaning far easier on the workers at the end of the meal. Win-win.We had to drive nearly forty minutes out of our way to get here, but by the time we tumbled out of the restaurant with distinctly rounder bellies, we weren't sorry we came.
I saw this place on the Strictly Dumpling YouTube channel and decided that I had to give it a try. I loved my experience here! The food was delicious, the service was great, and the prices were very reasonable. The mung bean pancakes, banchan, and the soup itself were amazing.
The taste of the food is good but for the price they could serve bigger portions. $3 for two slices of cheese added topping is a bit much and the rice portion is also small. I still go here often but I just wish they could realize these things.
The food is delicious but pretty pricey. You can make it at home for a lot cheaper.
Service unlike any other at this family owned restaurant. The servers were extremely attentive, friendly, and helpful. They are very welcoming and accommodating towards new customers, and the food served is well seasoned and generously portioned.
If you want authentic Budaejjigae, this is the place to go. They have a limited menu but what they serve, they've perfected. The server was so sweet and walked us through the menu since it was our first time there and made sure we had no questions. The Budaejjigae was so good too, they even let you choose the spice level and I got to have mine super spicy with cheese and ramen. I got the serving for one and it was a good amount of food to fill me up.
Came back since I visited in the summer. Soup isn't as good as before. Taste like spicy garlic water now
One of the beautiful things about living in a diverse city like ATL is that you occasionally happen upon or learn about some kind of new food you never knew existed.A couple of months ago @arifsiddiqi1 and @nuhbila discovered Korean army stew and I have to admit I didn't initially think it was my thing but the more they described it the more I had to try it.Let's just say this is gonna be a new fav for me - let's breakdown why:1. Soup: this is a standard Korean soup based in water and hot sauce, it's spicy and delicious by itself but it gets crazy when you add the toppings2. Toppings: army stew has the following in it - rice cakes, hot dog, spam(we don't have this), instant ramen, American cheese slices, bean sprouts, beans. Does it sound like it goes together? Not at all, in this hot pot of spicy soup it most definitely works3. Rice: rice here comes in a hot metal container, it's kept so hot that the edges of the rice burn slightly and when you dip in the broth is just pure joyNext time you want to discover something new in ATL check out Korean army stew at @ballybudae you won't be disappointed
Good Korean Budaejjigae (one of Korean style Stew) place to go.The food was delicious.I would recommend this place.
This place is so wonderful. The atmosphere and the food. We had the Budaejjigae and loved it. My daughter wanted the Galbitang but we came on the wrong day for that. Our waitresses spoke with someone in the back and they made it for us anyway. The Galbitang was delicious also. The waitresses helped us with the scorched rice tea because we were confused. They serve large portions and refilled the banchan. The staff are very friendly and helpful.