Korean cuisine is king at Surah in Dr. Phillips

For 15 years, Beewon Korean Cuisine ruled as the king of Korean cuisine in the lands south of Colonial Drive with its down-home Hanguk fare. When it lost its crown in mid-2023, Surah took over the throne. The owner ran a similar restaurant in Orange County, California, before moving the operation to Orlando. But just nine months later, the restaurant was sold to Eunjin “Angie” Ahn and her fiancé, Christopher Bae — who kept the name, but reinvigorated the interior and, with the help of Ahn’s mother, Kim Kyung Suk, the menu as well. Suk was a successful restaurateur in Asia, having owned and operated dozens of fusion restaurants from Seoul to Hanoi to Beijing. She inspired the young couple with her restaurant management skills but, more importantly, with her cooking expertise as well.

“Unlike many restaurants that buy pre-made kimchi, we make fresh kimchi every week,” says Bae. Then he adds, “Under mom’s supervision, of course.” I loved it, but when the Korean power couple joining us for dinner also endorsed its fermented crunch, along with all the other banchan, we all felt Surah had passed an important test.

Certainly the menu veers traditional — this isn’t Korean new wave cooking by any means — but it’s traditional cooking blended with comforting aspects and served with kind consideration. That we felt like nobility was very likely intentional. “Surah,” after all, was the meal reserved for monarchs during the Joseon Dynasty and comprised all the pomp and finery emblematic of a feast fit for Korean royals. So, yeah, we ate like kings and queens.

I scanned our table at one point during the meal and saw rolls of USDA Prime brisket ($28) being grilled on our table, a beef bulgogi hot pot ($46) gurgling on a tabletop burner, a gorgeous plate of stir-fried squid ($28) with veg in sweet-spicy gochujang, and a killer seafood and green onion pancake ($24). Lettuce, sesame oil and bean paste meant to be enjoyed with the sizzled brisket took up the remaining table real estate. Oh, and enjoy we did. What struck me were the balanced flavors, particularly in the stir-fried squid (it wasn’t a one-note gochujang punch) and the bulgogi hot pot with its slightly sweet and savory broth. And just as we were marveling at the crisp, fluffy texture of the pancake teeming with shrimp, squid, clams, octopus, scallops and mussels grilled with strips of charred scallions, in came a platter of braised beef short ribs ($48).

“This dish is hard to make,” says one of my dining companions. “That’s why you don’t see it served in many Korean restaurants.” Indeed, galbi-jjim is a dish often prepared for special occasions — chunks of short rib blanched, boiled, then washed before being cooked in a seasoned soy. Carrots and potatoes are used instead of the traditional chestnuts and jujubes — for “allergy reasons,” says Bae — but rice syrup lent a shiny finish. If we didn’t feel like royalty before, we certainly did now.

Thing is, our reign over this meal wasn’t quite over. The cold weather beckoned an order of galbitang ($25), a simple short-rib soup that my other dining companion said was his favorite, and a bowl of sundubu jjigae ($20) with silky-soft tofu, clams and mussels lolling in a spiced liquid.

Soju, of course, was poured — protocol dictates that the young pour for the elders, which took a load off my wrists. I continued to nibble and slurp as my companions hit a wall. When Ahn happened to mention that the bibimbap ($18-$20) was her favorite dish, we felt compelled to try the rice dish served and mixed in a hot stone pot, and I’d urge you do the same. My Korean pals loved it. I wound up finishing it.

When Ahn came by with complimentary hotteok, glutinous rice pancakes filled with brown sugar syrup, my glutted companions politely moaned, while I couldn’t help but excitedly coo at these circular cappers. Nevertheless, we graciously accepted the sweetened discs and we subsequently delighted in them.

And by “we,” I mean the royal we.

Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Bluesky | Or sign up for our RSS Feed

This article appears in Feb 5-11, 2025.