Sung Korean Bistro is in a beautiful new space made over in the former Aioli on Elm Street, downtown. The feel is Asian-modern with clean lines; lots of black and white punctuated by red; modern furniture and traditional Korean touches.

Do not let the look lead you to expect equally elegant food. Korean food is hot, spicy and earthy. It arrives at the table still bubbling and steaming, accompanied by kimchee, the pungent, chile-flecked pickled cabbage that you must approach with a little caution.

This is not fusion food or Korean fine-dining. But it is a bit more refined than, say, Riverside Korean in Covington, where Sung's owner, Sung Oh, worked for his sister. It's a selected menu and gives downtown something that's an ethnic change of pace, but where you can make reservations, enjoy fine service and order an interesting bottle of wine.

We started with pan-fried tofu dumplings ($6) that were a little skimpy on filling, and delicious fried squid ($7). But the must-try appetizer is pajun, Korean pancakes that are somewhere between crepes, omelets and egg foo yung. Thick and spongy, they're stuffed with shrimp, crab and squid ($15); there is also a vegetarian version ($13).

Bulgogi ($16), strips of beef marinated in a sweet barbecue sauce, is probably the most famous of Korean dishes. Sometimes at restaurants, you barbecue it yourself over a table-top grill. Here, it's already grilled and piled on the plate along with rice - almost like a stir-fry. A similar strong, sweet and thick sauce, good on beef, somewhat overwhelmed the vegetables and sweet potato noodles in jab chae stir-fry ($14).
On a cold day this winter, try Sung for a bowl of soup. The kimchee soup ($12) is both spicy and Fahrenheit hot. My friend who ordered it had to take a phone call just as it came to the table bubbling and steaming. When he came back 15 minutes later, it was still too hot to eat.

The dish that I'm glad to know is being served downtown at lunchtime is the bibimbab. I could eat it once a week because it's so simple, healthy and satisfying. I could eat it more often if it didn't cost $13, which seems a little high, especially because there's not a lot of meat.

Rice is topped with a colorful mosaic of vegetables, meat and a runny fried egg. Add as much as you dare of the wicked-looking dark-red chili sauce that comes on the side, then mix it all together (or the server will do it for you). The egg yolk holds it all together.

Elegance to match the surroundings finally comes at dessert. The pastry-chef creations of mousse make a light contrast to the hearty meal.

Polly Campbell, Cincinnati Enquirer

 

A step into the relaxing, yet elegant atmosphere of Sung Korean Bistro provides a breath of fresh air for downtown dining. Our area has many different culturally oriented restaurants, but Korean food is not yet as popular here as Indian or Thai cuisine. Sung offers the perfect dare if you are willing to put a little something different on your taste buds and experience a trendy twist on an ancient way of cooking.

DOWNTOWN ESCAPE.
Recently opened on Elm Street, Sung greets you with a hip decor. The restaurant is predominantly white with red and black trim and lots of votive candles for mood lighting. Images of downtown are shut out by papery curtains over the windows, creating a level of mystique and allowing a feeling of being transported to a place far away. The seating includes a backlit bar, the traditional seating at tables with chairs and the Korean style of low tables with pillows for sitting on the floor. My friend and I went for a table by the shrouded window and settled in for what promised to be a serene and luxurious meal.

The dinner menu offers so many delectable choices that we found ourselves struggling to pick the perfect combination of appetizer and entree to satisfy our many cravings. Sung's menu boasts options for every textured taste, including dinners with soup, rice, noodles, grilled items, and stir-fry. With the helpful advice of our friendly waitress, we settled on an appetizer of goonmandu ($6), which is a fried dumpling filled with tofu, onions and cabbage. It was definitely the right choice, as it wasn't greasy or overdone like some dumplings can to be. For my entree, I chose maeun dak bokum ($15), a chicken stir-fry option served over rice with vegetables, and paired it with a glass of Montemoro Pinot Grigio ($7). I found it to be satisfyingly spicy - I ordered it at medium on a scale of mild, medium and hot - with a great balance of the rice to sauce ratio. (I like it with not much sauce left over on the plate.)

My vegetarian companion selected the dolsot bibimbab with tofu ($16), which has vegetables and egg over a bed of rice in a stone bowl that keeps the food cooking as you eat. She paired it with a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale ($4.50). This dish was especially interesting (at least in my mind) because it comes layered with the sunny-side-up egg on top, and the server mixes the dish at the table, adding spicy bean chili paste according to your spice preference. My friend is also a fan of having her rice crispy, and as the bowl continues to heat and cook the meal, it turns those outer grains crunchy.

AND THEN, DESSERT
Just when we thought our satisfaction with this new-to-us cuisine could not be any greater, we ordered dessert. As soon as the words "dark chocolate and raspberry mousse" left the server's mouth, our eyes lit up and the raging chocoholic in each of us began to kick and scream with joy. When we tried it, the dessert caused reactions in us that are similar to those found in the old Herbal Essences commercials (think "oh yes!"). We savored every last bite and became wholly convinced that "raspberry and dark chocolate" would replace the traditional example of perfect pairing "peanut butter and jelly."
With its unique and delicious food, great service, and completely chilled-out atmosphere, Sung is an ideal place to enjoy an upscale meal.

KATRINA SODARO | CIN WEEKLY