Sherman's Food Adventures: Cho Sun BBQ

Cho Sun BBQ

Out of the blue, my son asked if we could eat Korean BBQ for dinner.  What???  For a kid who lives off KD and hot dogs, this came as a complete shock.  So after a visit to the Burnaby Museum with Guy Smiley and Girl Smiley, we headed off to Cho Sun. We were told it would be a 15-20 minute wait.  In my own mind, it didn't seem possible as the place was packed and with only a few big tables too.  Well, shiver me timbers, not only did a table open up around 15 minutes later, it was fit our party exactly.  

After we put in our order, we would never see any server until the food came and at the very end when the dishes needed to be cleaned off the table.  In fact, we went up to the counter to pay. The Japchae arrived first and it was a large serving with a good ratio of veggies to noodles.  Not a whole lot of meat in it though.  A touch greasy and clumpy at the same time (not sure how they managed that), it did taste good.  It was on the sweeter side with a hit of sesame oil.  The noodles were still chewy and the veggies were still somewhat crunchy.  Next was the Dolset Bibimbap which was not sizzling when it hit the table.  In fact, there was barely enough heat from the stone bowl to create any rice crust at all.  Forget about the crust, the darn thing was actually lukewarm which defeats the purpose of a hot stone bowl.  Despite this, the rice was not wet and the ingredients were good.

As a table, we got 2 C-1 Combos which included rice, soup, short ribs, beef, chicken and spicy pork.  Everything was textured as it should be from the tender (with a slight chew) short ribs, to the tender chicken.  One thing that was very apparent was the amount of sugar used in the marinade.  Dipping into the ultra sweet soy sauce made the food taste like candy.  The Banchan arrived last, which wasn't a huge deal as it is usually eaten with everything else during the meal.  It included green salad, kimchi, stewed potatoes, pickled daikon, sprouts and zucchini.  Nothing was out-of-the ordinary, but we found the potatoes extremely sweet.  Overall, we enjoyed our meal in spite of the shortcomings.  However, it is worth mentioning that there are better Korean BBQs out there.

The Good:
- Decent value
- Food is okay
- Food comes out quick

The Bad:
- Korean food can be sweet, but this was very sweet
- Service is but a rumour

Cho Sun B.B.Q. Korean Restaurant on Urbanspoon

4 comments:

LotusRapper said...

"Out of the blue, my son asked if we could eat Korean BBQ for dinner."

Must be all that Oppa Gangnam 'horsing' around ;-)

Sparse service usually means very lean tips from me. If they only appear to bring out food or to bring the bill, I tip 10% max (which they usually pool anyway).

Was thinking of going there with a friend for lunch on the weekend. Do you recommend them ?

Sherman Chan said...

@LR For a decent, non-offensive meal, Cho Sun is fine, especially for the price.

Unknown said...

Iv been here many times. I recommend the short ribs! Its a must try!! Its one of my favorite places.Have yet to have better Korean bbq..anyone know of one?
And about the service, its not why I go there. You cant be shy, that place does call for the "hand wave" to get a waiter over. But if you do ask, they are very accommodating. Just gotta be a lil pushy.

Sherman Chan said...

@Lindsey Yes, I think better Korean BBQ can be had at Potter's Garden and Hanwoori. Insadong used to be good, but not so sure now. If you want more traditional Korean BBQ without all the bells and whistles, try Seok Gi Si Dae. It isn't for everyone because it is not the way most commercialized Korean restaurants make it. More plain. Actually, most Korean restaurants have crappy service. But at Cho Sun, they are really too busy for the amount of staff they have there.

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