Cham Korean Bistro

So in continuing my search of korean fusion, I found Cham Korean Bistro. I didn’t get to try much since I had plans to eat later. However, what I tried, I liked.
Blue crab Tofu Pockets — I was surprised at how good these were.
Steamed buns — beef bulgogi and arugula & yuzu pork bum — these were super awesome since I love the steamed buns, but had never paired it with KBBQ before. Delicious.
I’m SO going back for more steamed buns. Yup.

Bibimbap, done properly, is a happy marriage of many of my favorite things: white rice, pickled vegetables, yolky egg, and meat. The ingredients are chosen to be balanced in macronutrients, abundant in flavor, diverse in textures, and pleasing to all five tastes. It is also, from my experience, a fairly safe thing to order because all it requires is the assembly of the constituent ingredients.
As such, I was more than disappointed at the bibimbap that Cham served up, which was, in a word, bland. The role of vegetables in the bibimbap is to add texture. Even if I overlook the total absence of anything pickled, at Cham, all life and crunchiness has been sauteed out of the vegetables. Healthy is not an excuse for boring. Also, on the menu, Cham specifies the use of brown rice in their bowls. Brown rice turns out to be black rice. I don’t know who put together the menu, but black rice and brown rice taste nothing alike. In fact, brown rice is more similar in taste and texture to white rice than it is to black rice. Imagine going to an Italian restaurant and ordering linguini but getting capellini. It’s unacceptable for a restaurant making any claims of serving Asian food to be so careless as to incorrectly identify the basic variety of rice it are using.
In addition to the bibimbap, we also ordered two bao and the watermelon salad. The bao consisted of steamed bread, meat, and one incomplete leaf of arugula. At that point, why even include it? For $ 3 a pop, I would expect something far better thought out.
In summation, if you’re looking for anything resembling a respectable bibimbap, avoid this place. If you want a bland, healthy rice bowl and are willing to pay too much for it, you may enjoy the food here.

Finally made it here. Probably should have come a long time ago. Service was spotty, food was ok. The sign at the door said, please wait to be seated. What that actually means is just seat yourself. The young guy waiter was really terrible. He was getting paid for doing as little as possible. The young woman waitress was helpful and pleasant.
We took a corner table next to a wall. The wall was dirty.
I got a chicken bibimpap. It was pretty good, except that it was completely bland. It was completely devoid of salt, or any seasoning. The chicken was marinated, but the rice and all the veggies had no seasoning whatsoever.

When I think of Korean cuisine, or even fusion Korean cuisine, I think of food packed with flavor. In that regard, this restaurant did not deliver.
We came on a Saturday evening. The restaurant was not busy. The place is decorated in a modern style, with somewhat of a «clean» look.
We took a seat by the window and asked the friendly server for her recommendations.
She recommender the Korean skillets (beef, chicken or pork). I ordered the beef, while my lovely companion ordered the chicken.
The portions for both dished were identical – both substantial. The combination of the ingredients tasted very good, but it was missing something very important – flavor, seasoning, and salt (or soy sauce).
We both drenched our skillets in the two varieties of hot sauces offered, which were quite tasty, but the dishes were still lacking a base flavor that comes from seasoning/​salt. The dishes were good, but some soy sauce would have really elevated the overall taste of both dishes.
We had the pork bun as an appetizer. It was quite flavorful. It had the flavor component the skillets were missing.
Overall, the food was good. It just needed more of the flavor punch I envision in Korean food.

I just don’t get super excited about Cham. I love Korean food and Cham makes it super accessible and they do a good job but there is no banchan and its a little mass marketed. We started with the pork steamed buns, which felt more Chinese than Korean. The brown rice Dolsot bibimbap was solid but i would get white rice instead of the healthy red rice, its too nutty and chewy. Their combinations are cutely named chambinations and the kalbi is charred and tasty. Overall, it’s a nice option even if i dint get excited about it,

The food was good, I ordered the Bibimbap with beef bulgogi and a Spicy BBQ Chicken steamed bun. The bulgogi was well marinated and accompanied the vegetables and rice very well (only wished the egg was a little more runny but that’s just me). The chicken in the steamed bun was tender and juicy.(and not too spicy) and the bun wasn’t too spongy.
Not too much to complain about, just the parking was a pain in the ass, first hour is free after that its a dollar every 15 minutes. And you have to pay extra for a small portion of kimchi,
I recommending giving it a try, I do see myself coming here again.

If you are looking for a relatively healthy bite, Cham is a great place! I ordered the bugulgi bibimbap, and this was probably one of the better ones I’ve had (and I live very close to ktown). There are not many seats at this restaurant, and it seems to cater to the lunch crowd more than anything.
One particular downside is the parking. Although there is a side parking lot, there are only a few spots. Parking in this part of Pasadena is also not easy.

Food: The food isn’t authentic Korean, but more like modern Korean food. I wasn’t disappointed though. We ordered the Tofu Pockets, one Blue Crab and one Spicy Tuna. Both were yummy and the perfect appetizer. I wish we had ordered more or that there were more per order. We also shared the Sizzling Hot Bibimbap with Brown Rice which was what I had been craving for the past few months. The dish was good, but lacking a bit of flavor. The portion was perfect and between the two of us we were satisfied and not overly full.
Environment/​Ambiance: The restaurant is tucked away in Pasadena and a little bit difficult to spot unless you keep your eyes peeled. The building itself is pretty modern. Inside it’s very clean and modern with an asian fusion feel.
Service: We came in during a late lunch/​early dinner hour on a weekday so we were the only ones in the restaurant. We were seated quickly, but the service was a little slow for us being the only ones in there.
Tips: They have a daily Happy Hour!

This place is very small and it wasn’t ventilated well. It was very very hot.
The service was slow. We got seated at 8pm and we didn’t get our food until 930pm. They served everybody else but our group. I get it, we were a big group. But still, server was slow!
The food was ok. I enjoyed it a bit but the salad was tasteless. I got bulgogi and that was ok. Nothing special.
I don’t think I’ll be a regular here.
But! They did give us free desert to make up for a broken AC =)

Authentic Korean cuisine in a bistro setting. And it’s fresh and spicy!
I can’t believe that I left Pasadena 5 years ago and came home to this place of kimchee bliss!
Here’s the menu:
I ordered the Spicy Pork Bulgogi BBQ «A LA CARTE», which makes it so easy to order if you don’t want carbs. And the extra side of kimchee is the perfect healthy compliment.
It’s a definite recommendation from me if you’re in the neighborhood!

Needed a light dinner before softball and didn’t want any burgers or pizza. Unilocaled Searched Cham’s not too far from our Pasadena softball fields.
Korean fusion as they consider it. Yes fusion and yes yummy. The prices weren’t too outrageous as well.
Cham has Asian salads, Asian tapas and appetizers and the «garden combos and specials» with a choice of meat. The food isn’t over powering and filling as you would encounter at an AYCE KBBQ place. The tofu pockets (inari rolls) are sold by piece so it’s either $ 1.50 or $ 2.50 depending on the filling. I tried both the spicy tuna and blue crab fillings and thought the blue crab was the better of the two (I ordered another piece as I asked for the bill). Yes, order a garden combo as well. Had the beef Bulgogi with the garden combo (butter lettuce, radish, soba noodles, spicy fermented tofu paste, carrots and cilantro) all there for you to wrap your meat with (easy pervs).
The service was super quick, the establishment was modern and the menu items didn’t kill the wallet and delish. Free structure parking in the evenings (the parking lot arms are raised and open, or validate for free parking during the day time.

Hidden place on Cordova, right across the street from LA Fitness.
Mix reviews on Unilocal,I went with an open mind with my fellow Unilocaler Wan L. She is my B!
Arrived around 6, not very many people yet, which was nice.
Spicy Yuzu Pork Bulgogi + Cilantro, Sautéed spicy yuzu pork bulgogi and fresh cilantro stuffed in an open steamed bun. Bun was soft and fluffy, the meat was spicy and flavorful. (3.5 star)
Spicy Tuna, seasoned rice, pickled seaweed topping. I like the tofu pocket, I wish I could of asked for brown rice, either way the spicy tuna was good. (3 stars)
Blue Crab, seasoned rice, marinated blue crab topping. Really fishy taste, not sure if it’s fresh blue crab meat or from a can. Pass (2 star)
Sautéed Glass Noodles + Rice Bowl (Japchae)
Sautéed Sweet Potato Noodles + Rice Bowl (Japchae) and kale, with a hint of Korean mustard sauce + served w/​a small CHAM salad +brown rice. Salad was good, love the dressing, very refreshing. The noodles was good but I believe they gave me WAY more bellpeppers and onions than glass noodles, BOO! The brown rice isn’t your average brown rice, it’s more purple rice, taste really healthy, soft and fluffy. (4 stars)
Sizzling Hot Bibimbap with brown rice + vegetables and choice of meat, beef bulgogi. Now this is my favorite, love the fresh cooked veggies, nice helping of meat, brown rice and topped with a sunny side up egg. I would come back here and order this to go, really good, not oily. They let you add your own red hot sauce paste and sesame oil. (5 stars)
Get your Ice or hot barley tea, helps you digest. =)
Get your ticket validated and parking is free.

Decent korean food is hard to find when you’re outside of K-​Town, but cham satisfies my cravings when the 110 is jammed (always).
PARKING: The building has a subterranean 2-​level garage. It’s pretty convenient, but for those who are terrified of parking in dungeon-​like spaces, there are paid meters on Lake.
SERVICE: Service is always prompt when I’ve come to Cham, but it hasn’t been super busy each time. Wait staff is friendly. No complaints.
FOOD:
–Bulgogi hot pot: I enjoy the beef, but the accompanying vegetables (potatoes and carrots) don’t really satisfy my craving for Korean food. This is definitely more «fusion» than anything. Be sure to order the purple rice!
–Pork bun: The buns (pictured as main) are a must-​order! They’re a decent portion for the price, and the meat is well seasoned.
I would come back for the buns and happy hour, but if you’re looking for authentic Korean, make the drive to K-​Town.

The food here is decent (don’t expect authentic k-​town style food items) but ok nonetheless. However, the set up is more inline with a slightly fancier fast food chain – perfect for a bite at lunch but def not a date night spot w any ambience.
Decent location right off Lake though so it’s pretty convenient to go and walk off the tofu pockets afterward. Or, you can be a fatty like me and stroll on over to Yogurtland

Cham is an alright place. Aside from the misleading sign outside «please wait to be seated,» subsequently waiting for 5 minutes until we realized the sign was a farse, and then sheepishly knuckle dragging ourselves to the front to order. but that’s not all. some of the menu that is posted up on the wall, isn’t even available! The ahi-​seared tuna tapas was what my eyes drifted to but alas, not available until 3pm? What. then where is it on the sign to show this? Tisk tisk. Let’s continue:
*Service: Subpar, if that. I’m being a little harsh it may seem but even after seeing us standing patiently for 5 minutes, making eye contact several times, and not coming to our aid until after. never. then half paying attention/​half staring into space — not really great.
*Food: It was ok, but not great. You can view the pictures below, as I explain. first thing out was the «beef bulgogi with arugula in a steamed bun» — for $ 3 its ok. If you’ve tried Asian places where you’ve had roasted duck meat in a steamed bun, it’s pretty much the same thing. They add a dot (literally) of Sriracha hot sauce to the area, for a small kick. Nice but nothing too amazing.
Next out, my main dish — beef bulgogi «chambination» with brown rice, veggies, and the like. The pro — it was hot. The con — no sauce added, the rice was pretty much stuck to the bottom inside of the heated pan, and if you took WWE with a spoon, then managed to scrape out the rice, you’ll get!.. some damn tough chewing rice. For real, not easy. Other than that, the overall dish (after a good and thorough mixing) was awkwardly tasteless, except for the occasional burst of hot sauce that I had to manually apply to the dish to have some sort of communications with my taste buds .
All in all, I wouldn’t go back. Barely subpar service, so-​so tasteless food. the two star rating comment to the right of when you select stars sums it up nicely — «Meh. I’ve experienced better» it reads. indeed, I really have.

I saw a couple friends post pictures from here on Instagram and the food looked tempting, so I had to give it a taste!
Came here on a weekday lunch and there wasn’t too much of a crowd. Parking available around the back and below.
First up, the tofu pockets! The variety and color drew me in initially. We tried the blue crab and the spicy tuna ones. The blue crab was underwhelming… The spicy tuna was good, but it wasn’t anything particularly special. I mean, it’s spicy tuna, it always tastes the same, right?
Next up, the bulgolgi + garden platter. Honestly, it was good, but nothing spectacular. Visually it was presented very well, but I couldn’t really say it was better than what I’ve had at other Korean restaurants. The ssam, especially, was way better at Kobawoo House in K-​Town.
Lastly, the bibimbap. Pretty standard stuff.
All in all, it was an average experience. The concept is intriguing, since the Asian fusion direction is always interesting. But the final product just didn’t blow me away.

My friend and I were looking for a new place to eat at, and I remember her telling me about this place that seemed promising. Located in Pasadena across from the gym, Cham is definitely a place you can drive by and miss if you’re not looking for it. We came on a weeknight about an hour before closing. There weren’t too many people, but it wasn’t so empty as to scare us away either. There’s table seating as well as a breakfast nook bar type setting with high chairs — we chose to sit there.
Our waiter was really nice and patient as we asked him to explain the menu and items. In the end we decided to share everything, and ordered the California Bibimbap with beef bulgogi, a spicy tuna and a blue crab tofu pocket, and a spicy yuzu pork bulgogi and cilantro bun and a spicy bbq chicken and arugula bun. We weren’t sure if that would be enough food, but went with that.
Food came out fairly quickly. I was disappointed to see that there was only one spicy tuna and one blue crab tofu pocket. I thought they came 2 per order. $ 2.50 is not too high of a price, but I was expecting a little more. I thought both tofu pockets were really good, but the spicy tuna had a bit more of a kick because of the spiciness. The blue crab was pretty good, too, but not as flavorful as the tuna. Again, one bun for $ 3. Eh, we can get a lot more during dim sum. But I have to say that the flavor combinations inside that soft bun (which comes with the Peking duck usually at restaurants!) were amazing. I think the waiter recommended the BBQ chicken as a very popular choice for the Bibimbap, and since we ordered the beef bulgogi, we decided to try the chicken in the bun. I personally liked the pork yuzu a little better because I really like cilantro. That gave the bun an extra kick for me and paired with the pork really well.
And the California Bibimbap … the presentation was really really nice. I’m not a really big Bibimbap fan, but I really liked Cham’s. Lots of color, lots of healthy vegetables. We also got brown rice (more like red rice) which was really tasty — it had some sort of rice vinegar taste to it. Mixed with the beef, that provided a very very tasty dinner for us. We were both pretty full by the end of the meal — and a good full, too since we had eaten pretty healthy.
Overall, a very nice place to eat healthy food! Great service, super good food. If only the prices were a little cheaper, I’d give them 5 stars. But because of the expensive price for the buns and the tofu pocket, 4.5.

Ok not your typical Korean food. In fact I am usually a bigger meal type of guy. This is not that place. It is small portions that pack flavor. Plus the cost was on the low side. I am always a fan of food, I can’t cook and plenty of flavor. I plan of putting it on my must visit again. I am sure you can’t go wrong with any of the dishes here.
If you park in the underground parking, don’t forget your validation on your ticket. I ended up getting free parking :)

Not authentic Korean, but pretty good for a Korean place outside of Ktown.
The vibe of the place feels like a food truck that decided to find a permanent spot.
My highlights:
— California Bibimbap with spicy pork bulgogi (warning: a little spicy)
— steamed buns: Spicy Yuzu Pork Bulgogi + Cilantro and Spicy BBQ Chicken + Arugula
— tofu pocket: Spicy Tuna and Blue Crab
I’m excited to go back for happy hour from 3 – 6:30 PM. On the docket for next time: Crispy Spicy Tuna Ball, Calamari Mini Tacos w/​Sautéed Kimchi Topping, Crispy Pork Belly, Fingerling Potatoes, and Portobello Fries

A healthy Korean café with an American feel
Truly a first.
Super clean (and by clean, I mean healthy with lots of raw and fresh ingredients) Korean food. It is americanized Korean food but only slightly. Still tastes authentic with a healthier lighter twist (for my Koreans, it’s the «well being» style;)
California Bibimbap — not in dol sot (stone pot) — fresh fresh fresh with a small dollop of rice, which makes it super healthy. It really is just one big salad than the traditional bibimbap you are used to. More emphasis on fresh veggies than it being a rice dish with some veggies added in. Sesame oil isn’t added like a traditional bibimbap but it is provided in a bottle if you wish to add in or not.
Blue Crab Tofu Pocket $ 2.5 — yummers. I’m not into inari at all but they actually turned me onto it. A good amount of blue crab on top with rice buried inside the sweet tofu pocket. A little steep for just 1 piece.
BBQ Ssam platter — super healthy again, buck wheat noodles that are slightly marinated so it does have a little flavor, butter lettuce, and your choice of tofu or meat. A do-​it-​yourself lettuce wrap entrée.
Parking: kind of a pain for street parking, garage is $ 1.50 for every 15 minutes or max $ 12, didn’t ask if they validate but the other reviews say that they do?
Note: they close at 9pm on a weekday
Service: attentive and prompt. At first, we thought we had to go up to the register and order, but it is an actual sit down restaurant/​café where you are served.