Long Island Restaurants

Sil La Joung

(THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED; REPLACED BY DORY AT THIS LOCATION.)

The first time I was introduced to my Korean-born friend, we spoke animatedly about how Long Island needed a restaurant that did justice to the cuisine of her native country. Whenever she wanted to eat Korean food, she told me, she either cooked it herself or traveled into the city.

That changed, however, when Sil La Joung opened in Commack a couple of months ago. "The place you've been waiting for is here," she reported. I lost no time in checking it out, both for lunch and dinner, once with her and her family.

We had to park across the street, since the lot was full. So was the dining room. "I recognize some faces from Flushing," she told me.

A traditional Korean meal begins with panchan, a complimentary assortment of small side dishes that invariably includes kimchi (fermented cabbage), along with pickled or marinated vegetables, dried fish and seaweed. These sides may be eaten by themselves or with other dishes, throughout the meal. At some Korean restaurants, I find much of the panchan harsh and strident in flavor. Here, however, everything had verve and subtlety.

We began by sharing a seafood and vegetable pancake. I found it exemplary -- light and fluffy, laced with bits of vegetables and pieces of squid and shrimp.

On our previous visit, my husband and I ordered two Korean barbecue dishes, prepared tableside on an electric grill. Both were what the menu called "brisket" -- one chicken, the other, duck. We soon found out that this meant boneless marinated pieces of poultry, which our waitress started cooking, returned to turn and then served, at intervals, leaving us to finish the process. On the side were lettuce leaves, to wrap the cooked meat, plus bowls of fine miso soup.

On our return dinner visit, the dishes from the kitchen turned out to be knockouts. A meal-sized bowl of soup called yukae jang translated into a heady, spicy meat broth filled with shredded beef and vegetables. Jaeyuk dooboo kimchi -- slices of marinated pork with bean curd and fried kimchi -- was a rich, piquant melange. Even now, if I think about the jap chae bokum -- a smoky stir-fry of cellophane noodles, beef and vegetables -- I find myself craving it.

San chae bibim bap -- a cold assortment of rice and vegetables with hot sauce on the side -- too often turns out a bland bore. Here, the opposite was the case, thanks to the freshness and vibrancy of the ingredients.

That characteristic brightness informed a subsequent lunch. A friend and I ordered kal bi (pan-broiled short ribs) and bul go gi (thin slices of pan-barbecued beef), both delicious. They were served with rice, noodles, and a fried chicken wing, everything neatly compartmentalized in bento boxes.

I couldn't help thinking that mine looked, most appropriately, like a gift.

Reviewed by Joan Reminick, 12/9/05.

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