The first thing we noticed upon entering Miran was that it full of Korean people (always a good sign to see Asian people an Asian restaurant). Even though it was busy, we were seated fairly quickly. Miran has a simple décor: a single room of about a dozen tables with mostly bare walls. A black drop tile ceiling with foil exhaust piping twirling down to the tables, which each have their own grill, complete the room.
The first thing you get at a Korean restaurant when you sit down is the panchan which is a set of side dishes including kimchee (pickled cabbage), oi kimchee (pickled cucumbers), some root dish and something else we couldn't identify (but it was good). The kimchee was slightly underipened and just a little bit too spicy for Messy; it wasn't too spicy for Picky who's used to spicier. The oi kimchee was fresh and crisp to both of our liking. The roots we could take or leave. The unidentified dish which sort of resembled thin, sweet strips of tofu, was delicious.
We started off with one of Picky's favorite Korean appetizers: Dukkbokgi, which is dish of stir fried cylindrical rice cakes in a hot chili paste. At first, Messy had a hard time adapting to the spicy level and gelatanous texture, but she grew to really love it. They also gave us bowls of miso soup — miso broth, really, because there was nothing in it. Picky is not a fan of miso and passed his over to Messy; she didn't like it either. We didn't order drinks as the menu only indicated Sprite, Coke or bubble tea; however, we did see other people drinking beer and wine – Miran may be a BYOB, although this is not explicitly stated. So we had water which, sadly, came in little glasses and only half full.
Our main course was dol-sut BiBimBap. BiBimBap translates literally into "mixed rice", it is normally is a bowl of white rice with thinly sliced vegetables, a form of meat and a fried egg on top. The dol-sut part is a piping hot stone bowl which slightly fries the food as you mix it. You also get a small dish of hot chili paste. The bowls were gigantic, and the food was sizzling and delicious. They don't offer any desserts there, but when they brought out our check (under $30 for all that food), they also brought us cubed halves of oranges to sooth our tingling tongues.
Messy ***1/2
Picky ***
The final word: Authentic, spicy Korean food at a nice price.
2034 Chestnut St
Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 569-1200
Mon – Sat: Lunch: 11am – 3pm; Dinner: 5pm – 10pm
Sun: Closed
