Jongro BBQ

Finally visited Koreatown in NY, as obsessed as I am with all things Korean this is a huge tick on the bucket list.  So I had a huge list of places I wanted to try but as always was quite indecisive and super hungry so had to settle with the closest option – Jongro BBQ.  Location wise, it’s a little bit deceiving – it’s in a building and you need to go up the elevator to the second floor.  There’s a doorman there and he must get the question of where the place is all the time.

It was a Saturday but the weather wasn’t too great which was probably in our favour.  We were able to get a table immediately.  We didn’t go for the BBQ but ordered my standard Spicy Pork, as well as Kimichi Stew, Lychee Soju Cocktails and white rice.

Spicy Pork ($18.99) – I asked for extra spicy and extra saucy – standard request.  And no it wasn’t extra spicy and the meat quality wasn’t the best either.  It was ok, had flavour but lacked spice.
Kimichi Stew small ($11.99) – It comes in small, medium and large.  The small is enough for 2.  It was a bit bland, not spicy and a bit watery and didn’t seem that the flavour had properly infused. They charged an extra $3 for mushrooms.
Lychee Soju Cocktail ($11.99) – Ordered 2 of these, this was actually the best thing we had there.  The soju to lychee flavour ratio was perfect.
Banchan – or lack of, there’s only 3 – kimchi, macaroni salad and onion pickle. Quite average.
Also, rice doesn’t come with the food, it’s an extra $1.

Quantity – A little on the smaller side for the Spicy Pork, the Kimchi stew was ok, more than enough for 2.  Bit surprising you need to pay extra for rice.
Ambience – Busy place, it’s quite a cool ambience inside and looks like an authentic Korean restaurant with all the wood furnishings.
Service – Was good, someone came and checked and stirred the kimchi stew from time to time.
Spice – 2/5, really low for Korean.
Taste – Despite all the great reviews, have to say it was quite average.  The Kimchi stew, in particular, was not the best.

Overall it was a bit disappointing, especially visiting Ktown for the first time, I was expecting to have my mind blown with awesome Korean food.  Not sure if it would have been a different alternative had we tried the BBQ.  Anyway, it’s not bad, I’d probably give it another shot as I do want to try the KBBQ and the ambience is quite cool too, just wish they had more banchan.

Ktown

Banchan

Lychee Soju Cocktails

Kimchi Stew

Spicy Pork

Kimchi Stew

Bill

Breakers Korean BBQ & Grill

So I’m usually not as much a fan of Korean BBQ as I am of the cooked spicy pork and all round dishes which come out fully cooked.  Mostly because the marination is way better and you can get it cooked more spicy, whereas BBQ is pretty standard and it’s never come out with enough spice.  Nevertheless, randomly decided to try this out – mostly because I was thinking to go here for my birthday but ended up going to Char Korean – separate story.  So finally got to try it out.

It was a Tuesday night around 8.30pm and there was a bit of a queue so decided to have a drink at the bar while we waited.  The drinks menu is a bit pricey for what it is, but was in a treat yourself mood so just went for it.  Ordered a Lychee soju cocktail ($11) and an Old Fashioned ($11).  The cocktail was really missing the main ingredient – soju!  If it was there, it was really faint.  So after I finished that off, decided would stick to proper soju, no point mixing it up.  Around 20minutes later the table was ready.

The menu items are again on the pricier side, but they were doing a special with the AYCE so decided to go with that.  It’s usually $29.99, but it was on special for $19.99.  It came with Beef and Pork Brisket, Pork Belly, Teriyaki Pork and Chicken, Beef Bulgogi, Spicy Pork and Chicken and Squid.  We told our server to just get the Pork Belly, Spicy Pork and Chicken and the Beef Bulgogi, no point in bringing out the Teriyaki stuff.  We ordered a soju and waited on our sides.

Banchan (sides) – Kimchi, pickled radish, sprouts, salad, japchae, pumpkin/miso soup, pickled cucumber and 3 dipping sauces for the meats – Himalayan pink salt, spicy soybean paste and a spicy red sauce.
Spicy Pork and Spicy Chicken – So good, the spicy pork was great.  I’m always more into the spicy pork than chicken and the cut of meat was really good.  Our server cooked the meat perfectly and I did need to use the spicy sauce to give a bit more of a kick to it, but it wasn’t lacking in flavour.  The chicken was cut up by the server – it’s not boneless.
Pork Belly – again – awesome!  The quality of the meat was good too, very tender and really melts in your mouth.  I will say that you do need to dip this into the sauces to get more flavour.
Beef Bulgogi – this was alright, I’m more a spicy fan so this was a bit more on the sweet side – again the red spicy sauce was heavily used and it is amazing.  The meat was soft and tender but I think next time will be going for the spicy pork and pork belly instead and probably ask for a smaller serving of the beef.
Soju ($15) – it’s served in an interesting container, most places here just don’t bring out the bottle which is a bit different.  Sometimes I think it’s a bit watered down, causing you to order more – off course that’s the only reason.  I think we should have ordered the large because we ended up ordering two small sojus, whereas one large is $29.

Quantity wise – well it’s AYCE so yea I was completely full by the end of it.  Yes I got hungry again after an hour, but that’s just me – it is totally filling!
Ambience – Really good, preferred this so much more the Char Korean, only thing it has going for it is the location.  It’s well lit and more than enough space for all the food and sides.
Service – it was excellent, our server was really friendly and gave great recommendations.  He was really attentive and made sure to cook the meats properly without burning it.  This was honestly some of the best service I’ve had from Korean restaurant.
Spice – 3/5 – you can’t control the marination of the meat, but the spicy red sauce was really good – our server even gave me some to take home which was awesome.
Taste – Good quality meat, cooked well and the sides and marination is pretty tasty.

Overall, really won me over for the KBBQ.  The whole experience from the bar to dining and service made it even more special.  The red spicy sauce was a total hit at our table and if you need more spice then just drown the meat in this.  The pork belly was really tender and the spicy pork was really my favourite.  I will definitely be back and I know I need to try the other KBBQ to compare, but had such a good time it’s going to be a hard decision to make between this and trying somewhere new next time for sure.

Bar & menu

Old Fashioned & Lychee Soju cocktail

Banchan

Pumpkin soup & Banchan

Spicy Pork

Soju & Banchan

Pork Belly

Spicy Chicken & Spicy Pork

Bulgogi Beef

Bulgogi Beef & Banchan

Soju Cocktail, Pork Belly, Banchan

Oh! My SamGyupSal

This is a KBBQ place where the meat is marinated and then cooked in front of you – for the majority of the dishes.  It also has AYCE options as well.  Honestly, I was actually looking for a Korean place which wasn’t doing BBQ but the usual cooked spicy pork and spicy/bulgogi chicken, should have read the reviews but anyway, was already in the place so might as well check it out.

Their menu is a bit on the lower side of options – if you’re just there to have full on meat then maybe it would be fine.  We ordered the Pork Belly, Spicy Chicken, soju, soju and lots of soju.

Spicy Pork Belly ($21.99) – Meh, it was ok but not that flavourful, I know when you grill the meat rather than having it made the flavour is always a bit less but it was even less with this, I had to keep dipping it in the spicy sauce.  I even tried pouring it over it while it was grilling.
Spicy Chicken ($18.99) – This was alright as well, seemed to have marinated a bit better than the pork.
Sides – Salad, bean sprouts, kimchi, rice paper and pickled radish and 3 sauces each for the meat.  Bit on the limited side compared to most other places.

Quantity – It was enough food for sure, there was actually a bit remaining so quantity-wise it’s good.
Ambience – It was a weeknight so not too busy, there were a few other groups there.  Just normal, tables and chairs and there’s graffiti on the walls.  The cooker is placed on the side of the table not in the middle like at most places.
Service – Our server was great.  He came over often to check on us and made sure to be attentive with cooking the food – that was awesome.  It’s so good here how they cook the food for you! Seriously in Sydney we have to cook it ourselves and you smell even more of meat and you’re basically paying to cook your own food…anyway
Spice – 2/5, not spicy in comparison to Korean spice – I know you can do better.
Taste – It was decent but not anything special.  I think we ended up having more drinks than eating the food tbh.

Overall was ok, but since I’ve been to Breakers by the time I got round to writing this, I would say that’s a lot better.  This place is a bit pricey when you think about the quality of the meat that you’re getting.  I will say that the service was really good and ended up enjoying the experience, but taste-wise can be better.  Bill was $105 including tip.  Also, sidenote, they have cocktail soju – pomegranate, peach, mango, pineapple, strawberry and yoghurt flavours for $13.99 each and yes, this and the regular soju is the reason our bill is double what it should have been that night…oh well.

Sides & sauce for meat

Sides, sauce & soju

Kimchi & bean sprouts

Pork Belly

Pork Belly

Spicy Chicken

E.M.Bop

So I am always looking for a good Korean place, once I find that favourite place I am completely loyal, but still, it doesn’t hurt to try new places..and in any case I haven’t found my place yet.  Anyway, I passed my ITIL and so deserved a treat obviously, and came here for dinner.  Ordered the Spicy Braised Short Rib ($23) and the Beef Hot Stone bowl Bibimbap ($14).  When I asked the waitress for the Spicy Short Rib she looked concerned as was like are you sure, it’s really spicy.  That was sweet, but I was like nah yeah I want it, that was my whole reason for coming here.  I like spicy food that feels like it could kill me.  Also got a soju, which came in a bucket with ice and soju in a glass bottle.  The sides were decent and the waitress was very attentive – I really liked the service here.  When the food came, the Spicy rib wasn’t that spicy as I was expecting, I liked the flavour though, I’m not sure if they lessened the spice thinking I couldn’t handle it but I have to say it was still good and was a bit more sweeter than spicy.  I couldn’t finish it, even without eating the rice. So got takeaway and she helped pack it up too.  Honestly some of the best service from a Korean restaurant.  I will come back again for sure and next time will ask for extra spicy 😉

Banchan + soju

Soju

Banchan + miso

Beef Bibimbap

Spicy braised short rib