The triangle formed by Harvard Avenue, Brighton Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue in downtown Allston, Mass. is a bustling center of Asian food and entertainment. There's the Super 88 supermarket/restaurant right across from the Packards Corner T stop, Shabu Zen (Japanese food), Jo Jo Taipei (Taiwanese food) and an easy-to-miss but excellent karaoke lounge called Do-Re-Mi down Brighton Avenue. On the western end of this triangle lies Kayuga, a Japanese-Korean fusion destination that embodies the Boston college experience.

How so? First, it's a great place for drinks and nightlife that will entertain Boston University and Brandeis students alike. Open daily from 3:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., Kayuga focuses on classy dinners and a late-night sushi and sake bar, fitting for any 21st-birthday celebration, sorority outing, date or bar hop. It's right next to Angora Café, UBurger and Café Japonaise and is within walking distance from hot spots like Wonder Bar, White Horse Tavern and Tavern in the Square. Ask any BU student; they'll show you around.

But if your focus is on Kayuga's food and not the environment where it's located—which would be true of anyone under 21—the question arises: Should you go Japanese or Korean? While many have recommended Kayuga's sushi, maki and sashimi menu, my friend and I went Korean and ordered the Dukboki ($10)—rice cakes with spicy sauce—and Okdol Bibimbob ($13)—fried rice and vegetables in a hot stone pot.

The miso soup that preceded our entrees was predictable, but is there any other type of miso soup? To liven the night and entertain us while we waited for our food, we delved into Kayuga's impressive sake menu. The smartest choice for sake beginners is the hot House Sake ($8.50, large), but we leaped into more adventurous territories with the Hakushika Junmai Ginjo ($16), a crisp and fruity cold sake that finishes clean. Actually, this sake tastes so deceptively light, with a sweet mouthfeel accompanied by a dry aftertaste, that you should, well, drink responsibly. I thought I kept a slow pace but definitely felt the alcohol by the time the food arrived.

Now, just as the overall quality of an American or Italian restaurant can be judged by its bread, so can a Korean restaurant show its true colors in its pre-entrée side dishes. The kimchi, bean sprouts, radishes and pickled cucumber and carrots arrived promptly. The white radishes, similar to the kind served with sushi but delightfully tinged with vinegar, stole the show, while the bean sprouts were less than spectacular.

Dukboki is a popular Korean dish with rice cakes, rice noodles and vegetables drizzled with spicy-sweet sauce. The sauce was overwhelming in taste and volume, so I ordered a side of rice to help it go down. Neither the chicken and leek dumplings nor the rice cakes won me over. The onions and carrots, delicately cut, gave the dish a nice balance, but the sauce still masked the vegetables' taste. The best ingredient in the dish was the rice noodles; it was the only thing I finished on the plate.

Kayuga's take on the classic Okdol Bibimbob, on the other hand, is impressive. The popular dish comes out sizzling on a hot stone pot—don't touch it!—with rice, meat, vegetables and a fried egg on top. Eat this dish by first mixing everything together and generously adding the spicy sauce. I like to let the rice on the bottom sit for a few minutes, then turn the crunchy, roasted rice over to give the dish some added texture. Newcomers to Korean cuisine should always start with this dish as it's a hearty, easily palatable and widespread item found in many Boston-area eateries (Tom Can Cook on Moody Street has some solid Okdol Bibimbob).

So while we chose the road less traveled by trying out Kayuga's Korean sensibilities, it's one that offers better value and sweeter tastes than going Japanese. Not that it should be such a hard choice. If it pleases you, order the Bibimbob, sushi, tempura, sake, Sapporo beer and Soju cocktail bowls all together and stumble out of the place drunk, sociable and satisfyingly full.

Kayuga is located at 1030 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston near the Babcock Street MBTA stop. Call (617) 566-8888 for more information.