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Li Hua, which means flower, puts a pretty face on this otherwise grungy corner of Grand Street. Two bay windows stretch the length of the wall, letting in lots of light; painted on frosted-glass walls around the rest of the room are crimson line drawings of petals and stems. Bubbly teenage Korean dance music chirps from the stereo, happy background music for the predominantly Asian clientele. The furnishings aren’t much, a minor step up from a utilitarian, VFW hall aesthetic of similar Chinatown establishments. But the traditional, straight-up Korean food is nourishing and occasionally soulful: a half-dozen traditional stews, seven rice-based bibimbabs in hot stone casseroles, and charcoal-grilled meats. You won’t find many sautéed dishes here; most food is steamed, grilled, or boiled to lock in its flavor and nutrition. Galbi, marinated short ribs of beef, are charcoal grilled, then snipped off the bone at your table. Most stews are simple, to offset the heat of other dishes. But not the Yook-Gae-Jung soup, which deliciously mingles pillow-soft twirled egg, scallions, and shredded beef in a lava-red spicy beef broth. Jae-Yook-Bokkum is also piquant, if not searing: Tender shavings of fiercely spiced pork tossed with sliced onions require heaps of rice to tame the heat. The most popular dish, interestingly, is the most exported: bibimbab with bulgogi, thin strips of beef treated to a days-long soy marinade, then grilled. — Tom Russell

Bibimbab bulgogi, $11.95; jae-yook-bokkum, $13.95; galbi, $19.95; dukmandoo-guk, $9.95

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• Cheap Eats Guide 2006 (8/7/06)