Korean Food

Lots of spice and garlic; stock up on breath mints. Kong-Joo Restaurant, 3029 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 737-9487. Style: No question about it, this is the best place for spicy goat. Setting: Long and narrow and smokey. Recommended: Goat soup; BBQ goat; roasted covina. Cost per person: $6-$8. Lotte Buffet, 401 S. Vermont Ave., Los Angeles. (213) 487-6960. Style: All you can eat, cafeteria style. Setting: Clean with rice-paper screens and globe lights. Recommended: Cold noodle soup; raw chile crab; octopus with chile paste. Cost per person: Lunch, $7.95; Dinner, $9.95. Manna Korean BBQ Restaurant, 2101 N. San Gabriel Blvd., Rosemead. (818) 307-5671. Style: Spicy Korean barbecue for garlic lovers. Setting: Mini-mall outpost. Recommended: Barbecue platter; sliced beef tongue; stewed beef ribs. Cost per person: $10-$20. Restaurant Yeejoh, 2500 West 8th St., Los Angeles. (213) 380-3346. Style: Korean with a kick. Setting: Plain with colorful pillows and traditionally garbed waitresses. Recommended: Oyster broth-clam soup; bin dae buk, pancakes made of ground beans and bean sprouts; barbecued pork rolled in cabbage leaves with cloves of raw garlic. Cost per person: $10-$20. Shin Mi, 3189 1/2 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles. (213) 383-9632. Style: Where Koreans eat Korean food. Setting: Shopping plaza hideaway. Recommended: Rice with spicy beef soup; monkfish spicy casserole; boiled black cod. Cost per person: $10-$18.