The massive brick and wood structure at 3306 Cary St. had it’s red, green, and yellow sign long before it opened up.
The massive brick and wood structure at 3306 Cary St. had it’s red, green, and yellow sign long before it opened up.
Zzaam!, run by the man, Derek Cha , who owns Sweet Frog, finally opened its doors recently and (thankfully) it’s only a few blocks from my house.
The project was originally a food truck, but made the jump to brick and mortar this year. The first spot is here in RVA, a second location is set for Charlottesville.
My friends and I suited up for the cold weather last week and ventured into the new spot with mixed expectations.
Personally, I haven’t been exposed to much Korean food, but you can’t live in Richmond without hearing about a new Asian-fusion/noodle place opening up. Sadly, my wallet is usually too bare to hit up some of the better known places, but I figured I’d give this place a shot.
Sure enough, I left Zzaam! with barely a dent in my bank account, but with my belly full and satisfied.
The first thing you’ll notice when you enter Zzaam! is the fast-casual (I think they used to call it cafeteria-style?) set up. You walk in, line up, and pick from sections of the menu, moving down the line, as you build your meal.
First you pick the titular Zzaam! – noodles, rice, or salad. I went with the salad cause I’m trying to cut carbs, but brown and white rice are available. The noodles are Guk Su and available with our without broth.
Next you pick your base: A Kim-Chi burrito, black beans, potatoes or bean sprouts. I went with sprouts cause I love those stringy little mothers.
Next (and we’re far from done here, so hang out a bit) we picked our protein: Chicken (Dak), Spicy Chicken (Dak-Dori,) Beef (Buk-Goki, Spicy Port (Bui-Don), Pork Belly (Sam-Gyupsa), or Tofu (Doo-Boo).
I went with spicy chicken, my boyfriend was particularly excited to try the pork Belly. Others got spicy pork.
Next came our toppings selection. There are simply too many to list here (see image below) but you pick six of them. I went with seaweed, cucumber, fresh jalapeños… and a few other things.
I’m pretty sure I picked six, but it was a few days ago so bare with me.
I also added an egg for a dollar. Good choice.
Alright, last thing: now you pick a sauce. Again, there are too many to list here, but there is variety in both spicy and mild as well as creamy or sweet.
I got a small bowl and paid about $5 for it. The highest dollar purchase was about $7 from one of my friends, and he got a large.
Honestly, they had me at their price point, but sure enough the flavor was just as good.
The mix of warm and cold toppings provided great contrast, but the flavors mixed so well it was hard to tell the difference between. Not a good or bad thing, just an observation.
“It’s very flavorful, and tastes as good as some of the other Korean food I’ve had,” said one of my friends. Admittedly he hadn’t been as exposed as my boyfriend who spent his teen years in anime groups, hanging out at a 757 Korean restaurant owned by friends.
This made his expectations for Zzaam!, and the pork bellies in particular, very high. Sadly, he claimed they didn’t quite make the mark, but he was down to go back if and when we wanted a cheap, easy, and flavorful meal.
Meanwhile I destroyed my bowl and am looking forward to the next time I walk into Zzaam! and giggle a little bit when the person behind the counter says “What kind of protein do you want.”
But I do have some concerns for the place, though none are flavor or taste related.
Picking something five times isn’t too hard, but introduction the many MANY items to audiences unfamiliar with Korean food is sure to cause a back up. Chipotle keeps it stupid simple, and many of us are familiar with Mexican dining. This could easily be part of their success – its quick and easy AF.
But I saw more than a few people take extra time asking questions and begging for taste tests from the individual sides and sauces. I realize this seems like a silly complaint, but for those of us looking to get in and out, curiosity can cause a slow down.
Sides and sauces – there are a ton
We even tried to read the menu before hand, preparing for our selection if possible, but once we got there I just rapid fire selected sides, sauces, etc., and was thankfully pleased with the end result.
I’m not sure if there is a solution to this first-world problem (I HAVE TOO MANY CHOICES RIGHT NOW!) but it’s something that might cause a hiccup down the road.
But back to the good news, they have a MASSIVE selection of beers on tap. Dinning in could easily be complimented by any number of brews (craft, local, etc) available.
So if you’re curious about the newest, fastest (theoretically) Korean spot in town, head on over to Zzaam! and let us know what you thought.
