Elite Event: Saja Korean Kitchen

First and foremost, I would like to thank the man– our CM Brad and Estephany!!!
Thank you for your hard work, you truly make these events memorable, safe, and Funtastic! This was my second Elite Event. I think at the first event I was a little shy, and I had Hubbs as my security blanket. This event was Elites only, and I was able to just hang out and talk about food and drinks! Fellow Elites you dazzle me, and I just wanted to say thanks for talking with me and having a great time.
Okay let’s talk about the drinks. I had the Korean Mule with Soju and I also had the *basil lemonade* super good especially on a night like Monday night. I had a hard work week and I was really looking forward to this event. Remember that commercial. Calgon take me away… well for me it was Basil Lemonade w/​Soju take me away and let’s not look back. I didn’t get a chance to taste the Korean Beer, however I heard it was good from people in the Unilocal crowds!
Dumplings, Bulgogi, and Doreen. oh my…
I particularly fall in love with the tacos, the meat was sweet and somehow was enveloped into this incredible fluffy bread. I also enjoyed the wide array of the dumplings, I love dumplings. Call me dumpling head… lol Sailor Moon reference…
Thank you to Andy and Christine for teaching me some words and some history on Korean food!
This was my first taste of Korean food and I was very glad to eat amongst my Unilocaler friends!
***You guys wrote some great reviews, I really enjoyed reading them for this event!!!

A smaller event where we all got very cozy with each other as this place is quite small. Not too many foods or sips this time, but more of a social event; totally fine with me.
Plenty of beer and cocktails flowing all night. There were pan fried dumplings, korean tacos, spicy tuna tar tar, and fried chicken bites. The décor was nothing like a traditional restaurant and made it look more like a casual and chill restaurant.
Thanks Brad and Estefany for putting together this event. Thanks Saja and staff for having us!

Quite the event! I love Asian food and I love free Asian food. What I loved about the event is that I had the ability to taste some fantastic food without worrying about ordering the wrong item and disliking it. There was literally nothing on the menu that I disliked. The steam bun Bugogi was incredible and the brussels sprouts were even good; and I HATE sprouts normally.
The mixed drinks were delicious and kept rolling out the entire night. I do have to say that the Korean beer is… well. Let’s just say that they have the same taste in beer as most of the Midwest and southern parts of our country. (Thank you California for your many fine craft beers). The more and more I come to the Elite events the bigger my Unilocal family becomes, I love it! Keep up the good work and great spots to try.

Before this event, I had never ate Korean food. But I’ll be sure to start incorporating it into my dining out experiences now! And I’ll definitely be seeing Saja Korean Kitchen in the near future. First and foremost, I would like to thank Brad for organizing not only a terrific event, but doing so on a Monday, or as I like to say, pre-​pre-​pre-​pre Friday. Great call :)
The location is great, there is little wrong you can do for putting an establishment in the Gaslamp. Saja’s staff and crew were pretty much on top of their game getting food and drinks out and I found a couple of them to be pretty pleasant to talk to. The food was great, especially the bulgogi tacos. wow, WOW! I don’t think I’ve shut up about bulgogi tacos since then and probably won’t until I have my next fix. The drinks were pretty good as well, nothing too strong or fancy, but they hit the spot. I really enjoy Saja’s setup and atmosphere, though I find the tv placement to be a little odd. I honestly don’t feel it’s necessary to have it. I noticed that food was being prepared for customers dining outside and I must say just looking at it made me want to get outside and order something up because it looked bang’n! Top to bottom, I was pretty impressed with Saja.
Also, it was great seeing elite Unilocalers from previous events and catching up while meeting some new ones. I do my best to make it a habit to meet new elite Unilocalers at these events and just have a fun time. Overall I got to say I will very much enjoy and do look forward to coming back to Saja for the real deal experience and am glad I got to be a part this event. Looking forward to the next!

It was quite the weekend of Unilocal,from a fun UYE TJ adventure with Unilocalers on Saturday, an unexpected ROTD on Sunday, then getting onto the guest list for this Event on Monday.
I suspect no one really reads my ramblings closely, so I’ll just paste an email excerpt then comment, although I might have missed out on sampling some menu items:
Bites
— Brussel Chips: Crispy brussel chips tossed in a spicy soy balsamic sauce, garlic chips and topped with bonito shavings. ⁵⁄₅ would graze on these again
— Korean Tacos: A selection of their Korean inspired tacos… quality bulgogi and pillowy soft bun
— Spicy Tuna Tartare: Served over crispy rice cakes with pickled jalapeño… went over my head. I had no idea what this was.
— Pan Fried and Steamed Dumplings. I missed out on the steamed version, but the fried one was good… much better than the awful frozen gyoza crap I had last week
— Spicy Chicken… I got breaded chicken strips and a dollop of tartar sauce, which kinda threw me off since the sauce was wanting fish sticks.
— Japchae… Did I miss this or did you guise eat it all?
— Kai Roll and Vegetarian Gimbap Rolls… Typo? Google told me it should be Kimbap and I got none of these. And I thought I was on time arriving to this gig.
— Banchan… Seriously. FML. How did I miss out these snacks? T_​T
Drinks:
— Hite Beer (traditional Korean)…I opted for the other one, OB, in the golden can, since I’ve had plenty of Hite-​fueled karaōke nights back in the day.
— Seoul Mate soju cocktail. Is this the strawberry one? I missed out since I heard they ran out of mix. Looked purdy though.
— Gangham Style soju cocktail. Was this the K-​Mule? I noticed other folks with basil lemonades, watermelon infused potions of +3 bravery, and other magical elixirs, but I got Muled all night. womp womp womp.
Cool interior architecture and modern design layout. I did notice some additional delicious looking regular menu dishes as they were being prepared, plated and brought to the regular dinner crowd dining at their sidewalk patio.
Great addition of Asian flare to downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp scene. Thank you to the gracious hosts at Saja Korean Kitchen for allowing us Unilocalers to sample your delicious cuisine and creative soju-​infused cocktails.
Thank you once again to our awesome Ambassador and Community Manager Brad along with top Delegate Estephany for another Elite event done perfectly.
Go find your costumes and we’ll see you next week at the 2014 Unilocal Halloween ball!!!

To be honest, as I sat down to begin this review, I was a little torn as to how many stars to give last night’s Unilocal Elite Event. You see, it was the first time in a long time where we didn’t have full run of the venue for the event’s duration… and as such, not only didn’t we have the patio area (which would’ve been nice as it was getting a bit stuffy), we noticed the really delicious dishes being sent out to the diners outside.
But then, I remembered what makes events like these great, such as:
The Food — While the Banchan, Japchae, Gimbap, and Kai Roll weren’t on last night’s menu (what was up with that?), we did get to enjoy quite a few apps. Highlights were the spicy tuna tartare on a bed of crispy rice, the fried dumplings, the Korean fried chicken strips, and the fried brussels sprout chips. But, man, those Korean tacos… think bulgolgi on steamed buns that were folded like tacos! Definitely delicious!
The Drinks — I started my evening with one of the soju cocktails; after the day I’d had at work, I really needed one! And it didn’t disappoint; Vin S. said it tasted like a mule, and I was inclined to agree. Didn’t get to try the strawberry-​flavored soju, but oh well. The OB Beer was MUCH better than the Hite Beer… I’d heard the comparison of the OB being like MGD, and the Hite tasting like Natty Ice (and having had the Hite in the past, it’s an apt comparison). And given how many times the bar crew at Saja had to refill the OB tub, it looked like many of us thought the same.
The People — It was nice seeing many familiar faces, such as Maria (the big raffle winner), Mel, Vin, Cat, Jack, Elle (and Camilla!), Melanio, Andy, Soo, Shalini, Arlene, Peijean, Nette, and Chun. It was nicer seeing people who haven’t been to an event in a while *ahem, Sunny K.*, and even more fun meeting newer Elites like Staci and Omar and seeing everyone enjoying themselves.
So, despite a few hiccups (and not just from the alcohol), this was another worthy Unilocal Elite Event! Thanks to Brad, Estefany, and the rest of the Saja crew for hosting us… and now I have another dinner option in the Gaslamp to try around Comic-​Con!

This place was totally worth the drive to downtown and if any of you know me, I hate driving to downtown. Parallel parking and I simply do not get along. You could even say that we hate each other with a passion.
Anyway, I digress. Their food was really scrumptious. Favorite was definitely the Korean tacos. Not your typical shell, but again, this is supposed to be a Korean inspired restaurant. I loved the shell and the marinated meat. It kind of reminded me of banh bao aka steamed pork buns, but in taco form. Also really liked the brussel chips. I just kept munching on them cause they were delicious AND a vegetable. Double win! Spicy chicken was also pretty good. I just love deep fried battered chicken. I didn’t really like the spicy tuna tar tar, but that’s mostly because I don’t like jalepenos.
The layout of the place was nice. I could see it being a really great date night place to go to.
Great job to the staff for keeping us filled with food. I can’t imagine being on the other end of these events. Also, additional props to the bartender who made me a tasty mint lemonade with no alcohol (Again, I am not pregnant. I just can’t drink alcohol if I drove.) LOL. Thank you to both the Saja Korean Kitchen staff and Unilocal staff for putting together such an awesome event.

Who found their SEOUL MATE tonight at Saja? Well, if you didn’t it was still yet another cool, little venue that I’d never know about without Unilocal, thank you! (and that also means you, Brad and Estefany ;)
+++
THE WELCOME: (aka the drinks and the beautifully warm and caring Unilocal Community manager, Brad and his intern Estefany!)
As soon as you step in you can see that they are serious about their infusing of liquor, a beaitufiful eye catching wall display to your right as you come in. I can’t believe that I didn’t take a picture of it, but what do you expect when you get distracted see two BEAUTIFUL Soju Cocktails — one topped with a strawberry and the other filled with lime and delicious ginger??? PLUS two large ice buckets of 100% German Beer (where do the German and the Korean marry? I’m not sure I understand the connection) and Korean HITE Beer (THIS makes sense ;)
THE SEATING:
I usually like to stand and meander during Unilocal elite parties so I can see everyone, but at this party I was a bit invalid, I just passed my Insanity workout certification on Saturday and although it looks like I can walk and stand up and sit down, it’s really quite painful with all my leg muscle fibers all torn up! :P But I digress, so yeah I sat in a very comfortable booth practically the whole time! But I had the best seat in the house as various elites rotated by to sit a bit and say hi! :)
I had a great view of the entrance and the bar and go to ELITE watch… yeah I was watching you! lol
THE FOOD:
Of the great selection I got to taste the following. I will list them in the order of delight — first being the one that I found the most delight in:
1) BRUSSEL CHIPS — YUMMO! glad there was a veggie option for my pal
2) KOREAN TACOS– YUMMO! But I split mine with Chris so I didn’t get much… brilliant to use steamed bun as the taco chell!
3) CHICKEN –Not sure what it was called, but the fried chicken strips were breaded so delicately and the meat was juicy!
4) SPICY TUNA: Served over crispy rice cakes with pickled jalapeño
5) Steamed Dumplings — not too memorable, but cool shape and lots of filling
Didn’t get a chance to try:
— Pan Fried Dumplings — they looked great!
Didn’t get a chance to see or try: Where were these traditional lovelies hiding??? :)
— Bulgogi
— Spicy Chicken,
— Japchae,
— Kai Roll and Vegetarian Gimbap Rolls
— Banchan
THE SERVICE:
God bless the people who work here! One guy needed an extra chair and kept asking for the ones near us, but our friends were coming back… he was soooo nice and didn’t take our chairs, but I could tell he was sweating because Saja had kept their patio open to regular customers and I’m guessing that they needed the chairs. That was VERY considerate of him.
THE FRIENDS:
This felt like a reunion and merging of worlds event! lol Leo. my first ever Unilocal elite nomination swung by from Philly, what a surprise! Got to sit with my newest Unilocal friend Sunni. and oldest Unilocal friend Chris (well, I met them outside of Unilocal). Saw Sharon. a Unilocal friend I made YEARS ago at the first Slater’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ event. Of course Melanio F even though I saw him like hi/​bye, Mel and her man Vin, Jimmy, Jeff, Laura, Cat, Ryan, the godfather and Camilla (and Elle ;), Nette, Mikey, Chun, the incredible disappearing Shalini ;), Steve and more… seriously what a great Elite squad!
THE SCHWAG:
Oh one last thing to mention, this was a SHWAG event to remember! Congrats to Maria C for winning the big bag of Unilocal schwag! :) I hope she got back to her car safely as many were eyeing and coveting her goods ;)
I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a Unilocal Mug and another Unilocal luggage tag one day!!! For now, I’ll just keep on Unilocaling!
+++
I think the only thing that could have made this event better would be an appearance by Korean American actor Daniel Henney or the cast of the «Rooftop Prince»… hint hint… Brad, what can you do for us? ;) hehe
All in all this was a great event even though I was HURTING and needed to go home a little early and SLEEP! zzzz so, I apologize if I was a tad anti-​social this event. Thanks for being a soft place to land — Unilocal Elite gatherings feel a little like Cheers:
Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows
Your name.
[ Written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo ]
hearts to the Unilocal Squad!!!

Our San Diego Elite squad must be the best squad in the country! Seriously, the best of the best showed up last night to celebrate Saja (though I did notice a few key faces missing in the crowd, next time!). What I love about being a seasoned Unilocaler is that after such tenure, you realize that sitting back and enjoying your fellow Elites is the best part of the evening. Saja provided a great atmosphere for our mingling. Thanks guys, for being such a fun group!
Now on to the event itself. The first thing that caught my eye was the bulgogi steamed buns, and after seeing those, I knew it was going to be a good night. Laura B. and I may have grabbed a couple of those tasty morsels. I didn’t partake in the cocktails, but the sent of basil coming from everyone else’s drinks was intoxicating in itself.
I was happy to go home with some new Unilocal schwag, hello little gumby clock man! I may not have been as lucky as the schwag bag winner Maria, but me and gumby clock man are pretty happy to be together.
It was a Unilocaltastic evening — many thanks to Saja and Brad!

My day started out crappy… I woke up in SF and it was gloomy and rainy. No Chinatown; no pork buns… Then my flight was delayed. Am I going to make it to the Unilocal Elite Event?!
Well yes! Yes I did make it to the YEE and in the nick of time. My flight came in at 445, went to my fiancée’s fundraiser, then got dropped off at the YEE. WOW, what a day!!!
The event was small and intimate. What a change for a Unilocal party, but totally was digging it since I actually got a drink and a couple bites to eat. (I don’t normally eat much at the events.) Glad the staff was so accommodating and asked if I would like some goodies to eat. The brussels, the fried chicken and the beef bun. The beef bun was my absolute fave. I also enjoyed the strawberry basil drink. YUM!!! 2 of those drinks crept up on me! OUCH!!!
The Saja staff was so nice and explained the dishes and drinks to me. Can’t say enough about them.
What truly made my crappy day into a happy day was that I won the Unilocal raffle with all the swag! AHHHH, I never win!!! Melanio always wins, so I suppose he was my good luck charm. Wow, I seriously almost got attacked and jumped when I got my bag full of goodies. Watch out now — I know TAEBO and I can totally out run y’all!!! HAHAHA GEEZ peeps calm down!
Thanks Brad and Estefany for putting this event together. Such a fun venue with delicious food!

I’m a guy
A guy who is as warm as you during the day
A guy who one-​shots his coffee before it even cools down
A guy whose heart bursts when night comes
That kind of guy
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Beautiful, loveable
Yes you, hey, yes you, hey
Now let’s go until the end
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style
Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh– Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style
Eh– Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh
(I’ve always wondered what Psy was singing…)
Loved the coziness, loved lovely Elite Unilocalers, loved Team Brad B — Estefany, loved Saja, and I most especially loved those Korean Tacos!

«Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.»
Anaïs Nin — The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931 – 1934
This was a small intimate event where you could relax and catch up with fellow Unilocalers. :-)
Wonderous Brad. The Walt Disney of Unilocal creating the happiest place on Earth 2 hours at a time. Excellent host and all around nice guy!
Worldly P.J. Always stylish and with encyclopedia like knowledge of things I didn’t know I needed to know.
Prankster Vin. Watch this guy. He’s photobombed more of my photos and anyone in history. Otherwise quite a congenial Unilocaler!
Mel. Warm, friendly, and all around nice person to hang out with at events.
Sunny K. the Brit. Marvelous British accent. Smile bright enough to light the darkness and the perfect Unilocaler to have existential conversations long into the night.
Glamorous Estefany. Always a pleasure to start an event with. A very busy elf insuring each and every event is perfect. Never get to talk to her long but quite friendly.
Elle and Camilla. I thought they were just legends but they are more like superstars. Quite friendly and down to earth once you talk to them.
Steve F. Have not talked to Steve much but it seems we share quite a few interests and is quite friendly.
Cat A. Perfect person to wait in line with and catch up on stuff.
Omar the new kid on the block. Quite the traveller.
Brad did an awesome job setting up this event and finding the friendliest elite Unilocalers! Thanks to the staff and management for hosting us and for the great food and drinks! :-)
Fried chicken. Nice and crunchy with excellent flavor! The chicken was perfectly cooked and not dry.
Korean tacos. The bun tasted like cha sui boa and was excellent. Loved the flavor of the bulgolgi filling.
Fried dumplings. Awesome flavor and crunchy! I love pan fried dumplings but this is even better. :-)
Steamed dumplings. A bit bland. Needs some dipping sauce.

Last night, Saja Korean Kitchen was packed with the cheeriest, best-​looking and most interesting party people I’ve met in years, and at just after 7 p.m., ignoring my age, arthritis, and a general dislike for noise and subtle crushes of humanity, I became one of them.
Being members of San Diego’s Unilocal Elite Squad gives us the opportunity to socialize with folks unlike ourselves, people who nonetheless share some of our important interests. This makes it easy for us to meet and talk with each other, and to share food and drink together in a collegial manner.
I’d arrived with a purpose: I wanted to meet ten of my Unilocal Friends in person. Eventually, I met more than twenty, due in part to the intercession and guidance of Nette B., who, it appears, knows everyone. Along the way, I finally met Brad B. and Estephany B., popular architects of stunning events, all over San Diego.
I was happy to note that many of my Friends are, in person, very much like I thought they’d be, based on Unilocal-​chat and photos, which speaks to the honesty and forthrightness my Friends bring to our community.
Being preoccupied as I was by conversations with these folks, I missed some of the food and beverages Saja provided, but I did manage to enjoy Saja’s versions of:
— Soju Mule (made with Soju instead of vodka, very tasty and refreshing to this virtual non-​drinker)
— Steamed Dumpling (lightly dressed with a slightly acidic garlic ginger soy sauce)
— Crispy Chicken Strips (accompanied by kimchi tartar sauce)
— Korean Tacos
The tacos were steamed bao filled with the most delicious bulgogi I’ve ever tasted. The marinade avoided the sugar/​sesame overload one sometimes finds on Convoy Street, and the meat was shaved exquisitely thin. The dish was prepared with a light hand, making it the star of the evening.
The Event was a pleasure and the food was great. If I want to enjoy well-​crafted snacks and a tasty drink with friends after a downtown show or concert, I’ll make a call, and hope they have room for us at Saja.

I arrived at about 7:15 and had no wait to get inside. I enjoyed the Seoul Mate soju cocktails (both the pear/​ginger and watermelon). The Korean beers were good as well, though I preferred the Hite.
Favorite dish had to be the Korean tacos. The meat was nice and tender and melted in my mouth. The Brussel Chips and spicy tuna tar tar were also very good.
The atmosphere was lively and it was a fun way to spend an otherwise mundane Monday eating good food and chatting with fellow elite Unilocalers!

Hurrah for Korean fusion in the Gaslamp!
Saja is the newest restaurant from Alex Thao, the man behind Rama Thai and Lucky Liu’s, filling that hole in Gaslamp for some good Asian food. Tonight we Elites were treated to a sampling of Saja (SAH-​JUH) Korean Kitchen’s delicious fare.
I tried the bulgogi tacos, which packed a hearty marinade on some quality beef (no chunks of fat), plus the fried dumpling and kimchi tartar fried chicken strip. My favorite was the spicy tuna tartar which was served over a perfectly crispy rice cake with jalapeño.
For drinks, there were Soju cocktails and Hite and OB beers. I had a pear/​ginger soju mule which was light and refreshing as well as a Hite beer (it’s like Korea’s version of Miller Lite). I came 20 minutes late, and they were out of the delicious fresh strawberry cocktail that everyone had when I arrived.
Organizers Brad B and Estefany were on hand, and Brad even held a raffle for the most amazing Unilocal swag bag! It featured items I’ve never seen including a Unilocal sweatshirt and socks and had some cool items like the Unilocal bike bell, coffee tumbler, collapsible water bottle and ice cube tray.
Thank you to Saja Korean Kitchen, Brad B and Estefany… and to my fellow Elites (shout outs to Juliana C, Dung, Diego V, Jazmin, Jeremiah D, Soo H, Mai K, and Sunny ‘where-​has-​she-​been’ K!) for a great night and event!
PS: I was promised I would meet my Seoul Mate tonight and it didn’t happen, so I guess I’ll just have to come back to Saja some time soon!

This Unilocal Elite Event was a lot of fun! Although the quarters were tight, our CM Brad B. and his perky and always-​delightful Intern Estefany B. put on a really good time at this cool downtown Korean eatery.
Our Saja experience started out with a bang as we had the chance to select from four different libations as soon as we walked in the door. Two delightful soju cocktails and two chilled Korean beers. I opted for a cocktail and quickly moved to the back of the establishment to scope out the bling that Brad and Estefany had laid out and also to allow others to enter the event.
By the time everybody was in, it was tight but comfortable, as everybody seemed to be getting along famously. The bites were all wonderful — my favorites were the steamed bun tacos and the Brussels Sprouts chips. It turns out that the food was just as good as I had expected it to be — outstanding!
As the evening flowed on, we were treated to a fun raffle, which was won by our own Maria C. She scored a special bling bag containing lots of rare Unilocal goodies.
It was great to see some of the best Elite Unilocalers in San Diego gathered to enjoy the evening’s ambiance. Mel J., Jack M., Jeff S., Nick B., Missy B., Diego V., Elle J., Melanio F., Jocelyn A., Conrad R., Juan R., Randy L., Steve F., and so many more!
Thanks to Brad, Estefany, and the entire staff and owners of the Saja Korean Kitchen for a wonderful evening. I’m sure I’ll be back soon to try their regular menu items!

There are lots of possible directions that I could take in this review. I could talk about the friendly people or the tasty drinks or the impressive variety of food items served.
Instead, I’ll just talk about the steamed buns.
Steamed buns (or baozi, if you want to be authentic) are my new obsession. How can anyone not be completely in love with these delicate puffs of slightly sweet dough, stuffed with savory and delicious beef?
Steamed buns are just so freakin’ good. And Saja’s steamed buns kept me wanting more. The craving is insatiable.
Oh sure, the event also featured fried chicken, Brussels sprout chips, tuna tartare on rice — but, in terms of flavor and quality, nothing came close to the steamed buns.
I should also mention the strawberry soju cocktail, as well as the watermelon jalapeño soju creation. They were delicious to sip… especially while nibbling a steamed bun.
In conclusion: steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns steamed buns
Thanks for the wonderful evening, Brad & Estefany!

Well, well, well, turns out if you have a case of the «Mondays» the prescription is a totally awesome Unilocal Event!
I’m so thankful to Dr. Brad and Dr. Estefany for treating my awful condition!
Saja was hopping with fun Elites and the smell of terrific food. Sadly I can’t review any of it. Why? Sigh, my limited diet did not let me enjoy anything. However I did allow myself free smells and the meat eater deep inside of me wanted it all!
Camilla the Unilocaling Hen had a great time meeting new and old friends. Let’s be honest, I’m always her +1! Sorry if that can of beer went to her head… She loves to photobomb!
Speaking of drinks I was well impressed! Soju doesn’t really inspire my greatest feelings of confidence. I remember my freshmen year we would go to local spots and drink our fill of soju only to be haunted the day after. The soju libations here were however, excellent. I had a ginger cocktail that really delivered the ginger punch that honestly lacks in so many other ginger cocktails. Camilla enjoyed her beer… As always.
Again it was amazing to see faces I’ve grown to look for in the crowd, Mel and Vin, Jack M, Meiko, Chun, Soo, Omar, Steve, you are all kings and queens among men! Others who I stalk but didn’t get to creepily whisper to, you’re safe for now! ;) Newer faces? You breathe life into these events and I’m honored to get to know you!
I’m excited about this restaurant and totally will give it a try! The ginger cocktail alone is worth the trip. Especially now that I am fully cured from my «Mondays» affliction!
Thanks again Brad and Estefany. Your efforts are noticed and appreciated among us Unilocalers. Our events have expanded my culinary horizons!
Camilla does send a hello to Isabella, our SD Unilocaler now in the Bay Area. She keeps your spirit here alive as you make your way in nor cal!

Question: How many Unilocal Elites can you fit inside of a Saja Korean Kitchen?
Answer: A Generous Unilocaling of Elites if they’re hungry!
The YEE at Saja was merry and noisy, so I promise I heard at least half of what y’all said, and I understood ¼ of it, by the time I finished my Strawberry & basil soju cocktail and my Soju Mule.
We were treated to appetizers, and I was able to taste the crispy fried chicken fingers, the Crispy brussel sprout chips in a garlic balsamic sauce, and the Korean tacos with marinated beef. But the most tantalizing food of the evening was carried right through the crowd of Unilocal Elites, and delivered out to Non-​Yelping customers on the front patio. Waaaah! I cried like a baby as I saw bowls of Korean soup with noodles and exotic Korean veggies going out the front door. Ooooh that looked good. And those meats that looked like Korean BBQ spare ribs… I was drooling after those… I sobbed when they also were delivered to the Non-​Yelping customers on the front patio.
I almost joined the Non-​Yelping customers on the front patio and ordered some of that awesome Korean soup! But you know what stopped me? My Unilocal friends, you coolest peops… I wanted to stay and visit with y’all. I loved chatting with Mercy about creative things, and talking with Doreen B, who was enjoying her 2^nd Elite event ever. Brad B was as friendly and welcoming as ever, and Estefany always has the warmest smile to light up the room. Camilla and Elle made an appearance, and Camilla was well behaved, although I heard she almost laid an egg in Jack M’s cocktail! Juan and Randy were fun, and it was good to see Jazmin and Diego. Hi Jeff and Jocelyn and Omar and Soo and Steve and Ryan M and my love Vin S and well just hey EVERYBODY! Good vibrations!
Thank you, Brad B, Estefany, and Saja Korean Kitchen

Saja roared into the evening with a spirited Unilocal Elite event with its hip and vibrant environment; Saja or the «Lion» provided some great culinary experiences from its array of delectable eats, and fine beers, such as Hite, and Seoul Mate Soju cocktails, that kept everyone grooving with the Gangham Style Soju cocktail in their hands.
One thing one has to remember, that these events are not always just about the food and libations, but for the moments that one shares with their fellow Elite Unilocalers, and as an event to welcome new Elites into our community. It was great to see all the new faces and well seasoned Unilocaler Elites such as Mai, who could not get away from taking all those great pictures (
).
This evening’s eats, my favorite by far was the Korean Taco, with it well seasoned and rendered down to a tender bliss beef (
). No doubt the highlight eats of the evening for me and I could of powered down a dozen easily. The crispy and tasty Brussels sprouts were a unique, in a good way, offering throughout the evening (
), and the Spicy Tuna Tar Tar served over crispy seasoned rice was a promising small plate (
).
This evening was a great for reminiscing with Elle J., always a pleasure, and chatting it up with Gary, keep making those great Shirts and T’! Also, Omar thanks for taking the time to say hello, and yes, we need to find you a better burger, than what you have experienced lately. Brad B and Estefany, thank you for putting together that great gift bag for the raffle. Maria for winning the raffle, you are my new best friend…
Thank you Saja for opening your doors to us. As per usual, always a pleasure my fellow Elites…