washingtonpost.com: Hee Been
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 | 6231 Little River Turnpike, Alexandria, Va. (703) 941-3737 Hours of Operation and Prices Other Information |
That difficulty is balanced by the fact that Hee Been offers gracious service, bargain prices and a long list of intriguing Korean and Japanese dishes. If you don't know much about Korean food, you can make a memorable meal of just the barbecues. Short ribs are marinated in sweetened soy and garlic, cut off the bone and snipped into small tender squares. There's thinly sliced beef bulgogi, and pork either mild or spicy. Chicken, squid, fish, tongue, shrimp - many things are barbecued here. They come with a cup of miso soup and about 10 little dishes of condiments: kim chee, marinated bean sprouts, sesame spinach, and such. You also get leaves of lettuce and a sweet, thick bean sauce to spread on the lettuce before you wrap your meat and condiments into it. The meal ends with orange slices and a cup of cold, cinnamon-flavored buckwheat tea with three pine nuts afloat in it. Beyond barbecues, you can venture into bibim baps - rice bowls topped with meat and vegetables or even raw fish for you to toss together - or julienned raw beef with slivered pears, sesame and hot-sweet seasonings. You can explore the soup-stews, the vinegary and spicy, thin and wiry buckwheat noodle dishes, even that old standby, sushi.
The restaurant fills up early, often with families. Observe their tables for lessons in what to order and how to deal with the components of these complex and fascinating meals.
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