Star Light Pojangmacha: Ktown Debauchery Done Right
If a bro wanted to hang out on the weekend but we’re not drinking Jonnie Black at Darabar, it’s most likely because there was a request for a Ktown hangout that doesn’t require a hipster badge or beer made in some Angeleno’s shoe closet.
The view of the upstairs “rooms” from the patio
What Ktown is really all about on certain carefree days when the thoughts of toxic pork and GMO corn don’t cross the mind: crap booze, instant ramen posing as food, and 50% off happy hour
Previously, I would’ve taken said bro to Hanshin Pocha, the last home to the Great 50% sale in West Hangook. [Please note: "West Hangook" is the new "Ktown"]. Sadly, it shuttered late 2011. These 50% happy hours last obscenely late into the evening, say around 9:00 P.M. and they are the reasons why all non-KtownWest Hangook happy hours are unsavory. $5 bottles of Stone IPA? No mam. Every menu item (except for already-discounted combos and KBBQ) is half off from the moment the door swings open (around 5:00 P.M.), until you’re ready to be wheeled out by a dumptruck, which is typically around 9 P.M. While K-Town reality show wants everyone to think no party is fulfilled without “3 trains” (see Ktown Reality Show ep2 below), give me three doggie bowls of makgeoli, a supersized portion of dukbokki, a platter of steamed pork hock and I’m good for the evening.
Star Light pojangmatcha is part of the Star system, which is not part of the Starry system. Beul Dae Poe — Star BBQ — was the KBBQ queen c.2008-09, but they’ve since ceded that tiara to OO-Gook and Road-to-Seoul, and even more recently, to Kang Ho Dang. With the slush fund from the last decade, Star decided to open an expansive karaoke lounge cum drinking hole right on Wilshire Blvd. I prefer karaokeing only when my voice is muted by a motorocycle helmet, so the focus will be on the boozy restaurant portion of Star Light.
In order to skirt United States / California / Los Angeles County smoking bans, all pojangmachas (Korean make-shift tented drinking establishments) happen to also stay true to the spirit of Seoul. Majority of the “building” is outdoors, with one completely open wall. That wall is then “built” using heavy retractable plastic screens. Here at Star, this architectural travesty is the main (indoor) room, where all the cool drunk kids hang out. It’s also extremely smoky, not unlike a college dorm room full of University of Michigan potheads. You may ask for the non-smoking section, and ironically, that translates to sitting in the possibly nipply patio, separated from the main dining hall by a wide-open false wall. Instead of being smoked by bad beef, you will get smoked by Virginia Slims at Star Light, inside or out.
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