Hoban

1989 Silver Bell Rd
Eagan, MN 55121
651-688-3447

Category: Korean

Rating (Scale 1-10, with 10 being the highest):
Food: 8
Service: 8
Ambience: 7

Recommendation: Very Good. We’ve had two memorable dining experiences at Hoban, and in our opinion, this is the place of choice for good Korean food. You’ll have more fun if we go with a bunch of friends and order family style.

(Update Feb 13 2010) – Hoban is still going strong. We stopped by for lunch this weekend and this place has definitely been upgraded since the last time we were there two years ago. Nicer atmosphere, with some good background music. The servers are very knowledgeable and friendly too.

We ended up ordering three dishes, which we knew was too much food, but we definitely wanted the variety. The Kimchee Bokum was amazing – great textural combination with the kimchee, caramelized pork, and chewy rice cakes. This one went down fast. Natasha is a bigger fan of the Soon Du Bu Chigae than Nick is – if you like soft and succulent tofu in a flavorful broth, then this one is for you. Nick was looking for a stronger flavor (he’s more of a Mapo Tofu kind of guy). The Beef Bulgogi is quite nice too – very tender and goof flavor. Our two-year-old son was chowing this down – we would have preferred to have a little more color on the beef, but it’s a nit. The Banchan had a spicy cabbage slaw in addition to the usual daikon, cabbage, kimchee and potato dishes. I think the kimchee should have been more spicy, but once again, this is a small picky issue.

(Original Post Feb 2008) - Don’t let Hoban’s strip mall location in Eagan scare you. Granted, the outlying suburbs aren’t the neighborhoods you would generally associate with good ethnic restaurants, we’ve been pleasantly surprised with places like Satay 2 Go, La Mixteca and Mandarin Kitchen, all of which have a profile similar to Hoban. We’ve long believed (and we’ve had it reinforced several times) that the best way to enjoy ethnic food is with a large group of close friends. We’ve enjoyed some of our finest ethnic meals with this group of 10, a mini United Nations of sorts representing over half a dozen countries, and Hoban was no different. There’s a Korean in the mix (he grew up in Chicago and has never been to Korea, so he’s technically a pseudo-Korean) and we relied on him to order. While we waited for our food, we indulged in a bottle of OB, a Korean pale lager.

It wasn’t long before the food started piling up. Traditional Korean food is accompanied by Banchan, small side dishes that accompany the meal. The Banchan included Kimchi (cabbage seasoned with chilies and salt) and various other dishes including pickled vegetables, radish, and sprouts – they were all really good and are replenished free of charge on request. We ordered a diverse set of entrees, with one of our favorites being the Kimchee Jungol, a hot pot with Kimchee, beef, tofu, vegetables and noodles. Although we were hoping the dish would be mind-numbing spicy (it’s always fun to see the diners sweat and have their eyes water), it really wasn’t. Nevertheless, it had great flavor and consistency, and we would go back just for that one dish. Its comfort food at its finest, and although it may not bring back old memories for us, like it did for our Korean friend, it will for us going forward. The Kalbi, beef short ribs with chef’s special sauce, was also amazing – although the ribs weren’t very meaty, the flavors were complex. And don’t forget to order the Bulgoki, mildly marinated strips of beef. Meat is at the center of much of Korean food and these dishes certainly didn’t disappoint. The Dolsot Bibimbop, a rice dish with vegetables and egg, is served in very hot stone bowl which causes the rice to sizzle and stick to the sides of the bowl. You’ll have to scrape the sides for the scraps, but if you ask us, the texture of the crispy rice that adheres to the sides is one of the highlights of this dish. There were a couple of dishes though that we didn’t care for – the Sulung Tang, a beef bone soup, just tasted like salty broth and the Cha Jang Myun, noodles with black bean sauce, didn’t leave a lasting impression. The service was friendly and up to the mark, and overall we left the restaurant feeling satisfied and having got our money’s worth.

$$. Most dishes are $10-$15.