Friday 12 February 2021

BBQ Korean-Chinese Style

The F&B scene here in this country has to be one of the most dynamic, and versatile ones I've come across. 

If one day a place can be, say, for yakiniku, where wait staff come to your table with the condiments, a few weeks later the place can be transformed into a hotpot buffet-style outfit where there are new furnishings on the wall, where the grills are replaced with pots, and where the staff replenish the ingredient trays and condiments counter to which you now go and help yourselves to.

It can also be a place that was (or appears to be) once a Korean-style BBQ but has been transformed into a place with mainlander vibes instead. 

It might have been the decor on the walls.

It might also have been the drinks chiller placed conspicuously at one side of the dining space for guests to have easy access to the beers and drinks. 

They had a very attentive server who brought us to a table by the window and brought the crockery and cutlery. Along with all of it also came the recommendations which we decided to go along with for our orders. 

To come for BBQ means to have meat- lots of it- and so beef took the bulk of our lunch that day. 






What exactly the meats we had I don't remember now- it's been a while- but the slices that came prettily rolled up on the platter were thinly sliced, and most importantly, fresh. If the aesthetics whetted the appetite, the freshness ensured that the flavors of the meats came out fully as they cooked over the grill. 

We probably had two, or is it three, kinds of meat. 

There certainly was beef, and I think we had lamb. 

Tender, delicious, and full of its natural flavors, the meats all had a bit of smokiness that came from being in the hands of an experienced professional who stood over the grill at our table and handled the tongs expertly. (The meat might have ended up burnt otherwise)

It was great having her to help with the grilling. 

All we needed to do was to eat. 

Very comfortable, I'd say, just that I kind of wish she'd dialed down on the recommendations a bit. I mean, the lamb (lightly marinated) might be one of the more popular choices on the menu but there's only so much a person can take in a single meal, and between the both of us, we knew that our potions were more than enough. 

We had to respectfully decline. 

(No she did not burn our meat) 

I didn't feel bad rejecting her recommendations either. 

After all, by then we'd already asked for more of the very fresh lettuce with the very big leaves (their fiber seems to help with the digestion), we were already wrapping some our of meats with the lettuce and dipping them in the sweet sauce provided, and we'd also eaten almost all of the complimentary banchan, including the kimchi and the very green, very tasty bits of Korean-type seaweed.