Dan Sung Sa: For the Young and Hip
There is a stretch of Telegraph Avenue between West Grand Avenue and West MacArthur Boulevard in Oakland that I refer to as “Korea-town”. I occasionally shop at Koreana Plaza, the Korean grocery store. I don’t tend to eat at the Korean restaurants on Telegraph Avenue because it is a sketchy area. My BFF introduced me to one of those restaurants, Dan Sung Sa and I had to write about it.
Korean tacos became popular several years ago and it helped launched the food truck scene. Our first appetizer at Dan Sung Sa serves Korean nachos. Tortilla chips were topped on a bed of lettuce and essentially smothered with Korean beef (bulgogi) and nacho cheese. The bulgogi had a sweet flavor and mixed with the savory chips and cheese was amazing. It was gourmet junk food at its finest.
One of my favorite Korean dishes is Bi Bim Bap which is a rice dish cooked in a stone pot with meat and vegetables. Cooking in the stone pot leaves a layer of crispy rice at the bottom that I love to eat. It had beef, mushrooms, cucumber, carrots, bean sprouts, and an over easy egg on top. This version of Bi Bim Bap was probably the best I have ever had because of the freshness and simplicity of the ingredients.
We ordered spicy chicken wings which were likely deep fried with a thick layer of sauce. The waiter told us it was a popular dish. They were very flavorful and without rice, I could not eat more than three pieces.
Our last dish was chicken gizzards. The dish was stir-fried with onions, peppers, carrots, and jalapeños. The texture of the gizzards was both chewy and crunchy. I enjoyed them, but probably not a dish for the masses.
Dan Sung Sa screams young Asian hip. They stay open until 2am so if you are hungry after a night out of dancing, Dan Sung Sa is a great option. Unless they card me for being too old, I will be back to try some other options.