Food Gallery 32 - Your indecision will be tested

In the underbelly food world, 32nd Street between 5th and 6th is a richly crusted log that reveals treasures every time you flip it over.  Aside from the many Korean grills on this block (I have my favorites) there are other rarer types of restaurant to check out.

I chose one that looked authentic and offered many Asian possibilities, called Food Gallery 32.

Now before you shake your indignant head at the presence of Red Mango...did you know that many of these frozen yogurt chains were started by L.A. Korean entrepreneurs?  Someone told me that.  It sounds plausible.

Aside from Red Mango, there were about 7 choices of food counter in a sparkling, overly commercial setting with ads for banks and cell phone services as decoration.

As a bun-lover (referring to steamed and roasted meat-stuffed buns) I picked up a shrimp and a pork version of each from a counter called "Bunch".  Below is a poor quality picture of one, with gouge to reveal the meat paste inside:

Other kiosks also had funny names.  Does "school food" have the same appeal as schoolgirl outfits?

Mr. Fish was apparently a designer of funky rolls with almost everything but fish in them.  Crunchy bits, spicy sauces, and odd proteins made for a melting pot of rolls.

In case you can't read, Doyaji Pork House warns you in advance of the porky menu by displaying the international sign of the pig.  

In the end, I opted for a bi-bimbop (beef and crunchy vegetables cooked healthy and served with a spicy brown sauce, plus sides of kim chee, soup, and rice) ordered from a modest-looking Korean stand.  As seen below, with the two steamed buns riding shotgun on the tray:

The bi-bimbop was the best item in my meal.  Fresh ingredients - and the fleshy/crunchy combination it should be.

The buns were OK...the shrimp paste and pork paste looked the same, but at least tasted different.  The dough was helpful at coddling the inner paste together, but that was the end of its value.   Buns were nowhere near as good as I've had at places like Mei Li Wah, Golden Unicorn, or Nom Wah.

But there's potentially much more to Food Gallery 32 than the few bits I tried.  A first date with it doesn't close the book.  But based on my first pass, I give here 4 bellies out of 10.  The only thing that was good wasn't even better than average.