Namoo Korean Bowl makes a bowl’d statement

Nobody look now, but bowls are trending.

There are above-board protein-and-carb renditions at many new restaurants in Fort Worth — HG Sply Co., Oni Ramen and Tortaco, to name a few. But rare is the place that elevates this hollow-seeming dish into utter greatness.

Arlington’s awe-inspiring Ahi Poke Bowl takes the vessel to another level. And now you can add Namoo Korean Bowl in North Richland Hills, 1 year old and on its second owner, to the growing list of purveyors of respectable receptacles.

Owners Peter and Andrea Yoon, New England transplants who won regional fame in Manchester, N.H., for putting an Eastern spin on a determinedly Western pizza-and-sub shop, took over Namoo this summer, overseeing the tiny restaurant that sports only eight small tables.

If you’re reading this at breakfast, I suggest you head there now to claim your table for lunch.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, shortly after noon, it was spilling with customers, and a fragrant umami waft of grilled meat greeted us in the parking lot — both very good signs.

Things only got better at the counter where my kids, husband and parents chose from 11 different bowls, all served with steamed white rice, lettuce and cabbage, Korean noodles called jabche, edamame, a small chicken dumpling, ginger, jalapeños and Korean pickled radish. Ranging from $7.95 (the K Pop and the Do You Know Tofu?) to $10.95 (Korean Classic), the prices are reasonable, and more so because they include a bottled water and a serve-yourself cup of seaweed soup — briny and slick with pieces of the green stuff.

Soon enough, the order was delivered to our pushed-together tables and the six of us commenced Operation Clean Bowl as if it were a dress rehearsal for the Thanksgiving meal we would share later in the week.

Around the table, I got a further taste of the holidays to come. My mom really enjoys short ribs, but like a good mama bird, she distributed planks of the succulent, sweet meat from her Korean Classic diligently. However, it was not without the condition that she receive many, many cubes of sauteed tofu, with its crispy crust giving way to a creamy interior, from my Do You Know Tofu? in return.

The give-and-take continued. Dad quickly dispatched half of his bowl of shredded grilled pork (dae bak, $8.95), bathed in spicy gochujang sauce, and then began to distract the kids from their K Pop bowls of tempura-fried chicken strips so that he could not-surreptitiously steal them. (They were worth the fight, even if we’re talking about someone who’s famous in family lore for once trying to eat a fake-chocolate refrigerator magnet.)

My husband, Jeff, notorious for his knack of ordering the worst dish at any restaurant, continued his reign with his bowl of Fresh Ocean ($8.95), sauteed shrimp in teriyaki sauce. It certainly was not bad, with nice-sized, “fresh” shrimp, but, based on the well-spiced tempura batter, I cannot wait to return and order the Big Bang ($8.95) instead, deep-fried prawns, as big as firecrackers — or Jeff’s head.

When it was all done, the men at the table lapsed deep into a political conversation. The kids next to me pined for dessert. Mom and I plotted our next shopping adventure.

And I took comfort in knowing that Namoo most likely isn’t going anywhere. After one visit, it has almost become part of the family.

This story was originally published November 15, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Namoo Korean Bowl makes a bowl’d statement."