We had the pleasure of meeting Jessica Kwon and Mrs. Oh during a media event for the opening of their latest restaurant, Bowl’d in Alameda, earlier this year. This spacious and modern Korean joint is conveniently located in the Alameda South Shore Center, along side many other popular shopping attractions and dining options.
I was instantly drawn by the clean, open space that didn’t look like your average Korean restaurant. Bowl’d is taking a new approach to Korean comfort food by bridging the cultural gap one dish at a time. They’ve revamped their menu by renaming all of the traditional Korean dishes in English and developed new kimchi recipes to accommodate special dietary needs (normally it contains salted shrimp).
The Oh clan is not new to the restaurant business, Mrs. Oh is a serial restaurateur, responsible for 10 locations in the Bay Area. Her and her family moved to America from South Korea looking for their piece of the American Dream and found their calling in serving high-quality, Korean comfort food to the community. She considered this opportunity an incredible honor and finds joy in making sure every customer is well-fed.
Bowl’d is famous for their 비빔밥 (bi-bim-bap), a bowl of rice topped with your choice of protein and 10-12 vegetables served with a size of either spicy red pepper paste sauce or a citrus soy sauce. I ordered the 육회 비빔밥 (yuk-hwe bi-bim-bap) which included fresh slices of raw beef and an egg yolk, a Korean delicacy. The menu offers a variety of options to suit multiple tastes from savory tofu soups to crispy Korean fried chicken.
Bowl’d BBQ
2201 S. Shore Center
Alameda, CA 94501
