Now accounts specialist, Nathaniel Iltis
Yes.
Bets his bottom dollar you will eat your heart out at his trendy Korean spot.
He says the tender marinated meats and hip ambiance is truly a feast for your senses.
And he promises this fun and friendly restaurant is a perfect late latenight spot.
It's in Lauderhill and it's called Gabose Pocha.
I'm Fred Kim.
I'm Susan Kim.
And we're the owners of Gabose Pocha.
[Frank] We opened it five years ago.
So we created a menu that we wanted to be family friendly and bar friendly, as well.
A lot of street food.
Authentic to Korean culture but then also a little bit of our own flair.
Korean food is not the crazy spicy.
It can be, but generally it's supposed to be a moderate of everything.
[Frank] We have bulgogi ramen nachos.
So, it's like the sliced rib eye on top of ramen noodle with a little pico de gallo.
We also do several different types of Korean chicken wings, which are very popular.
And we also have a airdried beef short rib.
The word pocha is a shortened for potan macha, which is, literal term, it's wrapped wagon.
Back in Korea there was bars, in Korea, in a wagon.
[Frank] We wanted to capture that same atmosphere here.
Very informal, very casual.
A place where you go after work.
You complain about your boss, you have really good food, you have some cocktails and you
relax.
And that's what we want.
We want you to be comfortable and have a good time.
But also feel like, wow, this is different.
[Susan] People say Pocha is one of a kind, love and friendship.
Tell me what really stands out at Gabose, other than the obvious.
It's really fun.
It's a very simple environment.
As soon as you walk in, it's a little bit low lighting and there's a lot of nice little
small tables everywhere and a huge wooden table.
You can just pick whatever table you want to or you can go to another side, which has
a couch where you can relax.
And I like the fact that Gabose Pocha is simple and the waiters are very attentive.
Now the food's not so simple, I mean it's really creative.
Yes, definitely creative.
For starters, I always get my drink first because I know what I want and I usually get
So, what do you want?
I usually get soju.
[Michelle] Let's tell everyone that soju is kind of like the cousin of the sake.
It's actually stronger.
Yes, I take it and I make a bomb, which is kind of like a sake bomb, but we call it a
soju bomb.
So, you'll take the shot glass and you'll fill it up with the soju, and you'll take
a beer glass and you'll fill it up halfway with beer and you'll drop it in there.
And you drink it straight up.
And that starts the night.
It's a party
Oh yeah.
Yeah, that sound like a really good idea.
[Edmund] Yeah, and the karaoke.
[Nathaniel] Definitely, definitely.
Every Friday night so
[Michelle] It'll definitely make you feel like you can karaoke the heck out of it.
Yes!
Oh yes, oh yes.
For eating I got the appetizer.
I got the goon mandu, which is a dumpling, a pork dumpling.
[Cindy] So good.
And it's like amazing.
Did you all have that?
Yes, I did.
Good choice, good choice honestly.
[Michelle] And everybody loved it?
It's not a typical dumpling, at least not from what I'm used to.
The breading is a little bit different.
It's crispier.
[Michelle] It's crunchier, right.
[Cindy] A lot crunchier and it's just so
[Michelle] I think they're fried.
Is that what it is?
Because they're fried too?
I really like that one and as far as like a entree, I tried to be a little bit different.
I got the bulgogi doria, I believe that's what it's called, which is a thinly sliced
beef and it's covered in the scallions and cheese and it's mixed with some sort of rice
You have that too?
I got that too.
Oh man.
No way!
It's like heaven
Had fried rice with it.
'Cause like the rice is like, it's sticky but it's sweet.
[Michelle] Now you had an interesting appetizer.
Grilled squid and it came with three little sauces.
Really, really good and very fresh.
They brought it to the table, it was very good.
I've had the grilled squid before.
When I have it, it's literally like a really long piece of squid.
[Michelle] So, it's the whole squid sliced out.
[Nathaniel] Yes, it's sliced out.
And tell me about the atmosphere.
It's such a funky place, right?
It really is.
And I love that I went at a time where I thought, oh man, 'cause I brought my daughter with
me and I thought, "Oh, I don't know if she'll fit into "this kind of environment."
But no, it was really family friendly at the time that I went.
It was very inviting.
Did any of you sing?
No.
No, I didn't sing.
Not this time, at least.
Usually when I go there, like on a Friday night, when I do get a little bit encouraged
enough from the liquid, then I'll go sing.
And it's very fun.
How was service?
[Edmund] Good, very friendly.
Not being familiar with the Korean cuisine, which was kinda a little nervous to go there,
but they were so friendly, they recommended.
They had great dessert, too.
Did anybody have sweets?
Oh, thank you very much.
[Cindy] Yes, and I can't remember the name of the dessert.
But it had shaved ice, condensed milk.
Mochi ice cream, and then it also had cheesecake.
In it?
Yes.
Okay.
It was phenomenal.
It was so tasty, it was so sweet.
I had never had it like that, with shaved ice and it was a huge, it was a really big
bowl.
Oh yeah, definitely the size portion is really good.
It's filling.
It is.
[Nathaniel] The bulgogi doria, it seems like a small dish but it's actually a deep dish.
So, you're digging into almost a pound of rice.
So, it's like, whoa, all right, I'm good now.
I'm full.
I had the seafood ramen, which was really, really good.
And the broth was delicious.
Really, really, good.
Had like a surf and turf burger.
It was the octopus with the beef, which I was a little skeptical about.
I'm like, I need to try something new.
And it had cheese inside, as well.
Okay.
It was really good.
And then it came with a dip, an au jus type dip.
It was great.
And your ramen, did it have whole pieces of seafood in it?
It had bits of mussels, just little tiny bits of things inside of it.
Usually it's a spicier broth but I asked them to kinda tone it down a bit.
I'm not a huge spicy guy.
It was really, really good.
Okay, well Nathaniel, Gabose Pocha was your choice.
Please sum it up for us.
I'll say Gabose Pocha is a very hipstery vibe, but you can bring your mom there and she'll
still enjoy it.
Bring me!
Cindy?
If you're adventurous when it comes to food, definitely the place to go because you'll
try the most amazing dishes and it is also family friendly.
So during the day, family friendly.
At night, time to party.
Yay, Edmund?
Unassuming, casual.
Don't be afraid if you've never had it.
They're very accommodating, friendly, will help you out to choose something, and really
good portions and fun.
Well, for a Korean comfort food experience, head on over to Gabose Pocha.
Located at 4933 North University Drive in Lauderhill.
Open Monday through Saturday for dinner.
Reservations are accepted and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $35.