Ever had one of those moments right around lunch or dinner time when it seems the only thing you and your family or friends can agree on is paralyzing indecision?

“Where do you wanna go?”
“I dunno. Where do you wanna go?”

Usually someone pipes up: “Hey! I know! How about [name of nifty little restaurant nobody’s thought of yet]?

Huge general relief. Enthusiastic agreement. A dash for the cars. And, eventually, a very fine dinner.

This kind of thing usually happens in big cities, where wonderful little hideaway restaurants with very good food and excellent prices seem to be on every other block. In a place like Orange County, this is less so, and we’re the poorer for it. They’re out there, though, and with a little local knowledge and a nose for really good eats, you’ll eventually arrive at a place like the Hashigo Korean Kitchen.

Camouflaged - and I do think that’s the word - in a strip mall on Bristol Street just south of South Coast Plaza, tucked in among a handful of other little Asian eateries, Hashigo offers a comfortable, bite-sized path to satisfaction when a real jones for Korean food strikes.

Its very size bespeaks easy familiarity: it’s a storefront restaurant in a very real sense, with only a few tables and booths. It’s spare and quite clean, with dark wood furniture and a cozy little raised bar at the rear, where you can perch on a stool and sip a cocktail or dine solo.

The menu is also relatively compact, offering several varieties of tofu stews, salads, appetizers, rice dishes and beef and pork entrees. Several of the dishes are illustrated on the menu to help the less experienced get a clearer idea of the presentations. Also, the servers are disarmingly pleasant and happy to explain the dishes and identify ingredients.

It was, in fact, an illustration that drew me to a delightful little appetizer: the bin dae duk. It’s a mung bean pancake made with kimchi and beef and quartered. It came with a mild but tangy dipping sauce. The kimchi is fried crispy and the texture and flavor are smoothly spicy and not at all overwhelming. It can be helpful to think of it as a little open-faced omelet. It’s also fun to eat with chopsticks.

I was ready to order a big plate of dae ji bul go gi - spicy barbecued pork marinated with garlic and spices - but my waitress helpfully suggested what turned out to be a happy alternative: one of the “dinner box” items on the menu. There are three, featuring short ribs, sliced beef or the spicy barbecued pork. Accompaniments include steamed rice potato salad, cucumber kimchi, soup and chicken dumplings.

Each compartment of the lacquer box turned out to be a little revelation. The soup was a light but subtly peppery beef stock with radishes and scallions, just spicy enough to perk up the palate. The crisp dumplings came with an understated dipping sauce that was a fine enhancement. The cucumber kimchi was both refreshing and tangy and very hard to leave alone. And the potato salad was unlike any I had ever had: not chunky, but whipped to a fine consistency and served with julienned carrots. It was subtly sweet and went perfectly with the pork, which was assertive but tender and relatively tame.

Don’t miss the mochi ice cream for dessert. It’s unique in that the ice cream is enclosed in a thin gelatinous skin of rice flour. I ordered mango. I’m still dreaming about it.

Hashigo Korean Kitchen
3033 Bristol St., Suite M
Costa Mesa; 714.557.4911