Located just north of the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) in 15 Kirby you can find some good dining in the D. Wasabi is located in the ground level of the Kirby Building toward the front facing Woodward. with modest seating in the restaurant and some additional tables out in the "court" of the building this was our first foray into eating in the "Cultural Dsitrict" which has sadly been lacking culture in our book.
We were pleased to find that Wasabi has an extensive menu of both Korean and Japanese dishes. The family had not had Korean for some time, so decisions were pretty easy since half of us have pretty rigid "Crutch dishes" at most Korean restaurants.
IssaK opted to mix things up by ordering from the special Ramyin (Ramen) menu. getting the spicy chicken ramyin bowl. Served with Rice and salad.
Both Fabrizio and DreyKa got the JapChae (Chap Chae). DreyKa go the veggie and Fabrizio got the beef. For those not in the know, Jap Chae is a korean noodle dish. The noodles are a vermicelli made of sweet potato starch, cooked with sesame oil and sweet soy, Garlic and Ginger, many veggies and often beef (Bulgolgi).
Sheri's crutch dish is Dolsot Bi Bim Bap (hot stone bowl Bi Bim Bap). The secret here is the hot stone bowl heated just shy of Lava temperatures then filled with white rice, pickled veggies (kim chi), bean sprouts, mushrooms, a fried egg, and seaweed. Served with a hot korean pepper paste you mix it all together and sear all the food with the hot bowl. Pure Heaven and a good way to judge the authenticity of the Korean restaurant. No self respecting Korean restaurateur would let this dish get messed up.
I ordered the spicy seafood Ramyin (hoping that it would be a fair proxy for the absent from the menu Jam Pong). It was pretty good, resplendent with mussels, shrimp, some octopus, and scallops. Unfortunately the broth was not the same peppery vat of Umami that I expect from Jam Pong, nor the savory deeply accented broth one expects from a Japanese Ramen Bar worth its salt. A little disappointing but I think I ordered off the beaten path for this shop; in general a decent bowl of Ramen and nicely spicy, just not as great as many seafood noodle soups I have had elsewhere.
We liked it!
Next time you find yourself near the museam and are considering whether or not to eat in the Museum cafe or find something near by. Exit and walk once block to the north. Duck into 15 Kirby and eat at Wasabi. Won't be displeased to skip the over priced museum food and get some good solidly executed Japanese and Korean cuisine.
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