Location: Santa Clara, CA
Cuisine type: Korean
Atmosphere: classic, cook at table
Meal: dinner
Price range: $20 all-you-can-eat
Overall grade: 8
Ben
Table full of appetizers (more than 10), $20 all you can eat including well seasoned chicken and pork, and spicy and unspiced beef. The entire service was efficient and filling, the service was prompt and helpful. The all-you-can-eat is a great way to fully experience Korean BBQ, where they serve such a large amount of meats, soup, and appetizers that it is expected to leave large amounts uneaten. The soup was much better than a standard miso soup, with mussels and mushrooms in addition to scallions and tofu. The appetizers included kimchi that I enjoyed much more than that which I’ve had in the past. Overall the appetizers were pretty standard, but an impressive sight when all arranged around the grill at the center of the table. The bulgogi was all great – particularly the chicken (very flavorful dark meat) and spicy beef. The only drawback was the pork was served frozen and was a little bland. There was a great bargain for a rice wine bottle for $8, which we also thoroughly enjoyed.
Nina
The weekend came and it was time to take a break from cooking dinner and treat ourselves to a new and interesting restaurant. I had never been to a Korean Barbecue, and Ben really talked up this cooking style since his trip to DC last November, so I had to try it. I found a restaurant with great reviews across the board, which on top of that had a nice all-you-can eat deal which was very tempting.
The restaurant had a familiar, somewhat austere atmosphere, with nothing to set it apart from dozens of other Asian restaurants I have seen before - a simple table-with-four-chairs setting with vague representations of Korean culture along the wall. There was one key difference, however: the center of every table was occupied by a gas grill plate, characteristic for the Korean Barbecue at-the-table meat preparation.
The meal started with a long array of appetizers, which we soon realized also would serve as sides, since the all-you-can-eat component of the meal consisted exclusively of meat and more meat. The small plates lining the edges of the grill included pickled daikon, kimchi cabbage, kimchi spiced daikon, glazed potatoes, bean sprouts and seaweed. We were also served warm tea and a miso soup containing mussels and mushrooms, which definitely made it richer and more exciting than the usual bland miso options. This all went pretty well with the array of protein we cooked on our table grill: pork belly, spicy beef, marinated beef and marinated chicken, and the lettuce leaves which served as light and fresh carb-free wraps. Last but not least, we washed it all down with a few rounds of sake, which definitely rounded off our meal delightfully.
At some point it became difficult to manage the meat on the grill (especially due to the variation form the very thinly sliced beef which could be eaten somewhat rare to the thicker chicken which needed to be cooked through), especially since it was not entirely clear how we could separately handle the raw meat and the cooked meat with the same pair of tongs and pair of scissors for cutting it up (chopsticks are not the most useful in eating large strips of meat whole). We managed in the end, and were not abel to even finish the first round of meat that was brought to our table (though the server did offer to bring us more if we wanted it).
Finally, I was personally disappointed that the restaurant did not have *any* dessert on their menu. It was particularly more disappointing after one of their positive reviews praised their amazing green tea ice cream, which is definitely one of my favorite flavors - I guess the comment was out-dated. However, I was able to rectify this situation pretty quickly since there was a fro-yo place on the way to the car in the same parking lot, so I left happy :)
This place is definitely very exciting, and we may go back sometime. However, I would like to try other similar restaurants before returning just to be able to compare and learn if the sparse sides and abundance of pure meat with little to complement it are something usual or just an oversight in planning on their part.
Food 9
Drinks 8
Atmosphere 7
Service 9
Value 8
Ben
Table full of appetizers (more than 10), $20 all you can eat including well seasoned chicken and pork, and spicy and unspiced beef. The entire service was efficient and filling, the service was prompt and helpful. The all-you-can-eat is a great way to fully experience Korean BBQ, where they serve such a large amount of meats, soup, and appetizers that it is expected to leave large amounts uneaten. The soup was much better than a standard miso soup, with mussels and mushrooms in addition to scallions and tofu. The appetizers included kimchi that I enjoyed much more than that which I’ve had in the past. Overall the appetizers were pretty standard, but an impressive sight when all arranged around the grill at the center of the table. The bulgogi was all great – particularly the chicken (very flavorful dark meat) and spicy beef. The only drawback was the pork was served frozen and was a little bland. There was a great bargain for a rice wine bottle for $8, which we also thoroughly enjoyed.
Food 8
Drinks 8
Atmosphere 7
Service 7
Value 8
Nina
The weekend came and it was time to take a break from cooking dinner and treat ourselves to a new and interesting restaurant. I had never been to a Korean Barbecue, and Ben really talked up this cooking style since his trip to DC last November, so I had to try it. I found a restaurant with great reviews across the board, which on top of that had a nice all-you-can eat deal which was very tempting.
The restaurant had a familiar, somewhat austere atmosphere, with nothing to set it apart from dozens of other Asian restaurants I have seen before - a simple table-with-four-chairs setting with vague representations of Korean culture along the wall. There was one key difference, however: the center of every table was occupied by a gas grill plate, characteristic for the Korean Barbecue at-the-table meat preparation.
The meal started with a long array of appetizers, which we soon realized also would serve as sides, since the all-you-can-eat component of the meal consisted exclusively of meat and more meat. The small plates lining the edges of the grill included pickled daikon, kimchi cabbage, kimchi spiced daikon, glazed potatoes, bean sprouts and seaweed. We were also served warm tea and a miso soup containing mussels and mushrooms, which definitely made it richer and more exciting than the usual bland miso options. This all went pretty well with the array of protein we cooked on our table grill: pork belly, spicy beef, marinated beef and marinated chicken, and the lettuce leaves which served as light and fresh carb-free wraps. Last but not least, we washed it all down with a few rounds of sake, which definitely rounded off our meal delightfully.
At some point it became difficult to manage the meat on the grill (especially due to the variation form the very thinly sliced beef which could be eaten somewhat rare to the thicker chicken which needed to be cooked through), especially since it was not entirely clear how we could separately handle the raw meat and the cooked meat with the same pair of tongs and pair of scissors for cutting it up (chopsticks are not the most useful in eating large strips of meat whole). We managed in the end, and were not abel to even finish the first round of meat that was brought to our table (though the server did offer to bring us more if we wanted it).
Finally, I was personally disappointed that the restaurant did not have *any* dessert on their menu. It was particularly more disappointing after one of their positive reviews praised their amazing green tea ice cream, which is definitely one of my favorite flavors - I guess the comment was out-dated. However, I was able to rectify this situation pretty quickly since there was a fro-yo place on the way to the car in the same parking lot, so I left happy :)
This place is definitely very exciting, and we may go back sometime. However, I would like to try other similar restaurants before returning just to be able to compare and learn if the sparse sides and abundance of pure meat with little to complement it are something usual or just an oversight in planning on their part.
Food 9
Drinks 8
Atmosphere 7
Service 9
Value 8
