Gaja Restaurant

It's been a bit since I have been back here... I liked the funkiness and the adventurous small Korean menu they have been doing since the beginning, this may be the only place in EAV that has crossed over to the authentic-ish ethnic side for grubbery in this area... So Ba has been a big hit with their augmented reality of pho which still baffles the pouch even though their Octopus Bar is really good... Don't even get me started on that Buford HWY EAV... We Sucky Sucky is more like it. But anyways... Let's go see if the Gaja concept has caught on in this up and coming gentrifying area that will soon to be infested with the Buckhead army. Walked in on a Friday night... It was pretty empty. Hmmm... The pouch's spidey senses were going off the charts... But fuck it, I'm here already and I'm getting a drink at least and maybe a few nibbles... Who am I trying to kid... Of course, I'm gonna have a few nibbles.

Sweet Potato Noodles, bone marrow flavor, sesame oil and bone marrow with pumpkin seed and peppers. I saw bone marrow... Boom. Dunzo. Then this came out... Not exactly the best looking dish and am I suppose to use the bone as a spoon? The dish sounded great on paper but looks can also be deceiving... The tater noodles were toothy, perhaps a bit under cooked. The slices of green pepper looked like an after thought. The bone marrow flavor was definitely there but I didn't love it nor hate it as much as I thought... If was just something there to nibble on.

Korean Silkworm, kimchi juice, roast garlic, mung beans. Are those real silkworms in there? Yep, sure are... Ok, I'm game. Then this came out... Did they just shovel moist Georgia clay on a sizzler plate? There were a decent amount of silkworms on there but you really don't need a lot of it... The plate was covered in the cloying sweet sauce to hide the fact you're eating worms... Or is it just noodles, Michael? Just give me a box of maggots, err, I mean rice, instead.

Rice Cakes, made in the house, seaweed flavor, gochujang sauce, sacllions, hot spring egg. I preferred it when it was served splattered all over on a tray like how Allen used to make it. Since, he's not there anymore, this came out... I guess it looks cute in the steel bowl. The rice cake are still good but the gochujang sauce was all sweet and no heat. The soft egg was nice and runny. It's still a decent snack but not as good as it was in the beginning.

Scallion Pancake, buttered leeks with HITE beer batter and Korean sauce. You can't screw up a pancake... Or can you? There was nothing Korean about this... It was like eating a IHOP pancake with long scallions in it. It was fluffy but had no flavor to it... Even the 10x sugar barely did much to improve the overall flavor. This is great filler food with a few rounds of Hite and soju.

I don't know what happened (I do but I'm pretending not to) but it lacked the excitement that was here once before... It feels more like a sanatorium in here now instead of the funky underground vibe it once had. I guess the semi authentic Korean fast food has ran it's course and the curious hipsters have 'been there, done that' with this place and they're going back to their trusty burgers, pizza and faux, I mean, pho. Who knows how long this place will last but check it out sooner rather than later if it's still on your bucket list before they change the concept overnight like a magic trick...
As for me... Poof! And I'm gone for good.

491 Flat Shoals Ave SE
Atlanta, GA 30316
http://gajaeav.com/