Sahn Maru

This weekend Vicki and I went down to the Big Game, Cal vs. Stanford. On the way down we made our favorite mid-point stop at the Flour Garden Bakery in Auburn, CA where we bought sandwiches and cookies to eat at the game. I got a marvelous black forest ham on foccacia and Vicki, chicken salad—a good alternative to game food.

After a satisfying game that saw Cal win, 36-16, we checked in at our hotel, Marriott Courtyard, at the Oakland airport. We had a nice big room with two queen beds—Vicki thought it looked like it was brand new, though according to Travelocity it was built in 2001. We were tired and for dinner were eyeing Yoshino, a Japanese restaurant across the street from the hotel; no driving. We rallied, however, and got back in the car for a fifteen-minute drive to Sahn Maru restaurant on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland.

SAHN MARU

Located in north Oakland's Temescal area in the Korean district, Sahn Maru is one of the outstanding Korean restaurants in this area. We entered a well lit room that was about a quarter full of diners and were immediately greeted and let to our table. The atmosphere was large and open, the walls on one side decorated with beautiful Korean artwork. The tables are very unique, the tops consisting of a single piece wood, cross cut from a large pine log.

We started with Duk Bok Gi, a sauteed rice cake served with a sauce of soy and scallions—delicious! We'd been led to Sahn Maru by a short review in Oakland Magazine, which touted its Black Goat Stew, Heuk Yum So Tang, so I ordered that for my main course. It came in a bowl with sesame leaves and a mustard and bean paste broth, and a sesame, mustard, and chili dipping sauce. The meat was excellent, tender and flavorful, really great with the sauce. Vicki chose braised pork with sweet potatoes and dates and it was also outstanding. It takes a little getting used to picking the pork off the bones, but the flavor of the pork with the sweet potatoes was excellent.

Black Goat Stew

As always, our meal came with banchan, those little side dishes. Here's what we had:

Kimchi, sweetened yams, marinated bean sprouts, sauteed spinach, anchovies, pickled radishes, broccoli, tofu.

By the time we left, about eight, the place was pretty full. It was generally a young crowd and most of the diners were asian, with a sprinkling of anglos. Everyone was enjoying themselves.

Sahn Maru has exceptional food and a great atmosphere, it's a great part of the East Bay restaurant scene.

Sahn Maru. 4315 Telegraph Ave. Oakland, CA 94701. (510)653-3366.