Gyubee

Two Summers ago, we were back East visiting Quebec City and Montreal.  We've been there before and it is always a pleasure to revisit the sights and sounds.  Naturally, we also had some excellent eats, particularly in Montreal.  Changing it up a bit, we made our way to Ottawa as well.  Strangely, this was our first time in our Nation's capital and well, it was fine.  TBH, Quebec City and Montreal are much more interesting.  Sorry Ottawa.  However, we did try Gyubee for the first time in Byward Market.  We came away mighty impressed with AYCE hybrid Japanese grill.  I say hybrid because they feature quite a few Korean items as well.  Finally, we get a location in Richmond and of course, we made our way out to try it!

So they do have an online wait list, but all of your party has to be present to be seated.  You have a 2-hour limit and they enforce this diligently.  If you are arriving at peak times, be prepared to wait for an hour plus.  So we got right down to eating and ordered everything we could.   Yes, Gyubee is a Japanese Grill, but in reality, it is Korean-style.  Hey, nothing wrong with that as we had some Banchan (Kimchi, Tofu, Spinach & Sprouts) and Takoyaki.  I wasn't a huge fan of the kimchi as it was more sour than spicy.  Furthermore, this was not the version with shrimp paste, so there was no complexity to the flavours.  Otherwise, the rest were pretty typical.  Takoyaki was decent being soft and fluffy.

I'll get right to some of the cooked dishes before I talk about the meats.  These included Bibimbap, Steak Cutlet, Nagoya-Style Chicken Wings and Tantan Noodles.  No joke, the Bibimbap was really good.  From the chewy rice to the delicious veggies, the bowl just worked.  We had enough gochujang for sweet spice and also a runny egg yolk for silkiness.  Steak Cutlet was okay being a touch chewy.  Wings were great, they were crispy with lots of flavour and juicy meat inside.  Tantan Noodles were forgettable as there was an absence of spice and nuttiness.

As for the meats, I'm not going to cover all of them because it got chaotic at the table with everything hitting the table at once.  I'll talk about my favourite cuts including the Prime Kalbi.  These fatty slices of short rib grilled up well and were buttery soft.   The same could be said about the Black Pepper Kalbi as it shared mostly the same properties except with a more robust bite.  I also enjoyed the Pork Belly as it was a good mix of fat and meat.  It cooked up buttery and had great flavour.

There were some items served in tin foil containers that cooked on the grill for designated minutes.  These included the Sake Clams, Butter Corn, Salmon and Enoki Mushrooms.  Really enjoyed these as the time suggested on the tin foil lids were exact (as long as they weren't pushed off to the side of the grill).  Clams came out buttery and sweet while the corn was also sweet and even more buttery.  The salmon was cooked just enough and was flaky.

Unlike the location in Ottawa, the one here in Richmond does not serve Melona for dessert.  Rather, they have Chapman's Sundaes in addition to their fantastic Crème Brûlée.   For this one we had the crème brûlée was not torched enough, but still featured a crunchy sugar topping.  The custard was rich and creamy while purposefully sweet.  Overall, our meal was decent, but somehow, I enjoyed the one in Ottawa more.  Maybe with some time, they will get up to speed and I won't be thinking that.  I do wonder if the higher prices here (generally $10.00 more than Ottawa) would make this not "worth it".  It is $50.99 on weekdays and $53.99 on weekends for adults.  This is quite similar pricing to AYCE hot pot at Chocho, so it isn't outrageous.  I guess it depends if you want the variety and actually can eat your money's worth.

The Good:
- Pretty good meats
- Service was pretty efficient
- Their Crème Brûlée is pretty good with all things considered

The Bad:
- Crazy busy with a long wait time
- Is it worth it? Depends on what you are looking for

Gen Korean BBQ House

You'd think after dining on AYCE Korean BBQ for dinner the night before, we wouldn't be doing that again for lunch right?  If you know Jackie and I, then you would have guessed wrong!  LOL, we visited Gen Korean BBQ House less than 24 hours later for more grilled meats.  Hey we still had the hotel breaky before we made our way to Southcenter for some AYCE action!  Conveniently located on the North side of the mall, we parked and then entered the restaurant from their exterior doors.  Once inside, we were greeted to a modern and hip space.

To begin, we ordered some drinks in the form of Itaewon Punch Party Bowl, Royal Hawaiian and Miami Heat.  We had the electric blue version of the party bowl with a mix of sprite and a whole bottle of soju.  The Royal Hawaiian consisted of gin, agave syrup and pineapple.  Definitely tropical, sweet and light due to the use of gin.  With tequila, mango, pineapple and tajin, the Miami Heat was also fruity and tropical, but also had some kick.

Onto the food, we got the usual Banchan with some cucumbers, kimchi, potato salad, kimchi radish and pickled daikon & onions.  The grill was pretty even where all the meats got their grill marks and caramelization.  There was also good ventilation where we didn't smell like Korean BBQ afterwards.  Supplied sauces included sesame oil, gochujang and salt & pepper.  We ended up getting some of the cooked items to begin including the Cheese Katsu (bottom left) which was aggressively breaded (with panko) where it was super crunchy.  The meat itself was decently moist while the whole thing was filled with melty cheese.

Other cooked options included the Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) and the Japchae.  I thought the chicken was decent with a crispy batter, but the chicken itself could've been juicier.  It was sauced with a sweet and slightly spicy glaze.  Honestly, for a basic japchae with no meat and no veggies actually cooked with the potato starch noodles, I didn't mind it.  The noodles were chewy, not clumpy and well-seasoned.  I mean, it would've been even better if they had cooked it with the veggies instead of them being strewn on top though.

We got both of the available soups including the Dwenjang and Soondooboo.  The first one was fermented soybean paste with tofu and veggies.  Giving off miso vibes (due to the main ingredient), this was actually rather mild and slightly sweet.  The second soup was spicy with soft tofu and dried shrimp.  Naturally, this had more impact and was my choice of the 2.  We also ordered the Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice.  With melty cheese on top, the rice was decently flavorful with some spice and tang.  I found it a bit too soft though.

Starting with the beef options, we got the Premium Marinated Long Bone Short Rib, Premium Marbling Center Cut Short Rib and Premium Wagyu. These items belong to the Premium AYCE which costs $20.00 extra per person and everyone at the table must participate.  As grand as the long bone short rib looked, it was a bit hard to eat.  Don't get me wrong, when I cut the meat off the bone, it was plenty tasty and fatty.  It just required some effort.  Now that wasn't an issue with the center cut short rib.  Each piece was buttery with the unmistakable texture of short rib (meaty with some bite).  Nice flavor on those in terms of meatiness, but also a sweet savoriness due to the marinade.  Sliced thin, the Wagyu seared up nicely and were soft and fatty.

Also included in the Premium AYCE is the Premium Taco Sampler.  Yes, this is not a typo, they really do have Mexican fusion at Gen!  From left to right, we have Carne Asada, Pollo Asada, Al Pastor and Cajun Shrimp.  You know what?  This was rather tasty.  After grilling up the tender meats, we warmed up the tortillas on the grill as well, added the sauces, cilantro, onion and lime.  I found the beef particularly good being meaty, yet soft.

The Premium Ribeye is also available for the AYCE Premium, yet it is only limited to 1 per person.  With all of the other options on the menu, I would personally only order one anyways.  This was a good size, roughly 10 - 12 ounces and nicely marbled.  It seared up beautifully on the grill and obviously, you can cook it to your desired doneness.  We went for somewhere in between medium-rare and medium.  That turned out to be great as the meat was delicious albeit a touch chewy.

Onto the regular menu, we had the Spicy Pork Bulgogi where the slices were super thin, much like the Wagyu.  These were topped with a spicy and slightly sweet gochujang.  When cooked on the grill, this had some good caramelization and charring.  Being fatty, the meat was super tender.  Back to beef, we had the Beef Bulgogi which was on the leaner side, but it was still succulent after being BBQ'd.  It also charred well due to the sweet marinade.

For me, I do love Pork Belly, but really, I don't like it when it is all fat.  I prefer it to be well-marbled but predominantly meat.  This particular piece was exactly that.  It seared up crispy but still moist and juicy on the inside.  Now that slab of Humboldt Squid didn't look like much, but really, it was one of the best things I ate.  Cooking a slab like this ensured that it kept its moisture.  Hence, when I cut it up with the scissors, it was indeed moist and super tender with a light chew.

So they don't really have a selection of desserts on the AYCE menu, but they do have Hotteok, which are sweet pancakes.  Really enjoyed the glutinous rice on the outside as it was warm and pliable.  It was lightly crisp on the outside while the inside was pleasantly sweet.  In general, the meal as a whole was pleasant and there were many options.  Place is definitely modern with an energetic vibe.  Some good cocktails and interesting Mexican thing going on too.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Nice energetic vibe
- A decent amount of choice
- That taco thing shockingly worked

The Bad:
- The premium meats are good, but the steak could've been more marbled
- Some of the cooked dishes were average

Bellwether BBQ & Grill

I'm sure many of you have tried an AYCE Korean BBQ before.  It isn't like there is a shortage of them as we find many chains across the country.  Furthermore, if you travel lots, you will notice that SoCal has an inordinate amount of them and there are good ones to be found in NYC as well.  Our latest food adventure has brought us to Bellwether in the Chinatown-International District in Seattle.  Across the street and half a block down from Uwajimaya, Bellwether shares a space with Happy Lamb Hot Pot as well as free parking underground (which is a huge plus).

One thing that sets Bellwether apart from other AYCE Korean BBQ joints is their self-service bar that includes soft drinks (if you paid extra for that), corn cheese, veggies (including romaine to wrap your meats), small dishes, dessert and rice.  So really, other than the raw meats, you have all of the other items you need at your disposal (and as much as you want).  I find this a very efficient way of doing things where you don't have to wait for the simple things.

Onto the meats, we had a combination of the regular menu (which is $39.98 per person) and 3 premium meats that adds $6.00 per person.  In this picture, there is one of the items in the Gold Grade American Wagyu in addition to the Black Angus Ribeye and Premium Beef Tongue.  Seeing how fatty the Wagyu looks in the picture, it ate like what you would expect.  It was buttery and soft while charring up beautifully.  The ribeye was great too being soft and moist with plenty of marbling.  Sliced super thin, the beef tongue was chewy, but in a good way.  Lots of meaty flavor from the fat.

The 2 other options for the premium meats are the Hand Cut Short Rib and Marinated Hand Cut Short Rib. If you look at the first picture, it is quite obvious how fresh the meat was.  It cooked up well with nice charring and plenty of natural meat flavor.  It was tender with the classic short rib chew.  As for the marinated version, it was obviously more impactful and didn't really need any sauce.  It seared up even easier due to the marinade and seemed a bit more tender due to the marination.

Sticking with short ribs, we got the Marinated LA Galbi as well.  Also known as Maui-style, these are cut across the bones.  This way, you get much more of the meat around the bones and the connective tissues.  This was tender and also quite good.  Looking at the picture of the Pork Belly, it is pretty obvious that it was more meat than fat.  I personally prefer that ant there was enough fat to keep things moist and have an impact.  It still crisped up well on the grill.

We had 2 more meats including the Sweet & Spicy Marinated Chicken and Premium Pork Jowl.  There is also an option to get the chicken with garlic instead of it being spicy.  I thought the chicken was tender since it was dark meat.  It was somewhat spicy.  The pork jowl was predictably flavorful from the fat and also had that unmistakable rebound texture.  Due to the fat, it crisped up well on the BBQ as well as sporting a nice char.

Possibly something that I wouldn't have guessed that would blow us away was the Squid.  It was so good!  Nice chewiness that gave way to tender pieces that were also naturally sweet.  Even without dipping it into any sauce, it was flavorful, but yah, we used the sesame oil and salt for this anyways.  Should've ordered more of this!    One of the meat items that didn't require us to cook it was the Lamb Shank.  It was tender and gelatinous as lamb should be.  The outside was nicely spiced and crispy.  Good option if you like lamb!

As mentioned, there were several dishes available at the self-service station and the best of the bunch was the chicken wings and spicy tofu.  Soups were good too including the gamjatang.  Naturally, we had some Banchan included and that was served to us.  The grill itself was well-ventilated and was powerful enough to create some serious sear.  Overall, for $39.98, we felt the quality of the food, service and layout of the restaurant made for a good value and delicious meal.  This is a place that I will be bringing the fam next time we are in Seattle (which might be quite soon!).

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:

- Fair pricing

- Good quality meats

- Free parking downstairs

The Bad:

- Service can be stretched as they place gets busy

Hanok

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the Chinese version of Ja Jeun Mein that sees white flour noodles topped with a ground pork sauce mixed with soybean paste (and other ingredients) and finished with julienned cucumber.  I enjoy this dish very much but I actually prefer the Korean one more (Jajangmyeon).  That recipe calls for Korean black bean paste, lots of onion and pork belly.  So when Jacqueline told me there was a tasty one found at Hanok in Richmond, I was totally game to go.  Of course we ate more than just that and ordered an array of other dishes on their lunch menu as well.

We started off the usual Banchan that included pickled radish, kimchi, stewed potatoes, bean sprouts and tofu skins.  Solid stuff where I found the kimchi to have good spice.  We also got the Kimbap as well and it featured big chunks of filling with chewy sushi rice.  Also in barely in the picture, we got the lunch portion of the Tangsuyuk.  The batter was a bit on the gummier side.  Yes, I do realize the potato starch should be crunchy and chewy, but this was a bit too chewy.  Flavour was good though with a balanced amount of sweet and sour.

Okay, for the one dish we were really here for - Jajangmyeon!  Well, this was in fact pretty solid.  Is it the best I've ever had?  Well no, but that didn't mean we didn't enjoy it.  The noodles were chewy and not clumpy.  There was plenty of sauce that was rich in flavour, but could've used more salt.  Lots of onion which provided sweetness and a touch of sharpness.  I would've liked to see pork belly as the meat was rather dry and lacking impact.

One of the best dishes of the meal was the LA Galbi (BBQ Beef Short Ribs).  Yes, this seemingly simple dish can often be disappointing due to being chewy, not marinated correctly and/or not seared enough.  Well, this one was done right with none of the issues I just mentioned.  These were buttery and tender with plenty of sweet and savouriness.  Charred just enough without being burnt too.

The same could not be said about the Japchae though.  They should have renamed this to "Yangpachae" as it was nearly all white onion with very little noodle.  Imagine this in terms of taste!  Yes, it did taste exactly how it appeared being sharp and overpowering.  Beyond that, there wasn't enough seasoning to counteract the onions either.  Compounding the issue was the lack of meat in this version (less expensive lunch option).

Fortunately, the Dolset Bibimbap was much better.  I wished there was a raw egg on top rather than sunny side, but I'm sure there was a reason for that.  Although it wasn't the most carefully constructed version of this dish, the stone bowl was sizzling hot and we were able to get a socarrat on the bottom.  Rice was not too wet, which helped the cause.  Plenty of ingredients made this hearty.

We also got the obligatory Spicy Soft Tofu Soup with beef.  This came literally boiling hot (which is what you want).  The soup base itself had depth and meatiness.  There was a balanced amount of spice.  There was plenty of soft tofu in the soup, but a bit lacking with the beef.  But it was the lunch special, so we didn't mind.  Overall, the lunch prices at Hanok are an absolute steal in my mind.  Food is generally good with a few hiccups.  I'd come back.

The Good:

- Inexpensive lunch pricing

- Decent eats

- Fairly good service

The Bad:

- Some items were a bit lacking, maybe due to lunch version?

Notorious P.I.G.

After a full day at Yellowstone (probably not enough, needed 2 days at least!) and an overnight in Bozeman, it was time to make our way back home.  Our plan for the day was to drive west through Montana, then a small section of Idaho and ending for the day in Spokane, Washington.  Prior to that, we had a scheduled stop in Missoula, Montana for some lunch.   I guess we weren't the only ones with that plan as the place was packed and we settled on a table inside with crappy lighting.  Hence the below-average pics from my smartphone.

We ended up getting the Old Joe Platter where we could chose any 3 sandwiches plus a full slab of ribs and 4 sides for $52.00.  A good deal if you ask me!  So we ended up with the Tri-Tip Sirloin with Deviled Egg Potato Salad. as well as the Beef Brisket with Slaw.  They didn't mess around with the meats as they piled it on the soft ciabatta.  Smoky and tender, the tri-tip was not as dry as it appeared.  Loved the eggy potato salad as it was creamy with bits of tender potato. As for the brisket, it was also tender with enough moisture that it wasn't chewy.  Lots of smokiness and seasoning from the caramelized rub.  Slaw was fresh and crunchy.

Despite being super skeptical, we got the Turkey sandwich with Smoked Gouda Mac n' Cheese.  Normally, smoked turkey can be dry and lifeless, but this was super moist and dare I say, juicy.  It was flavorful and ultimately (gasp), our favorite of the bunch.  The side of mac was delicious with the silky smokiness of the cheese.  Yes, this was the best sammie, but the Full Slab of Ribs were also very good.  The meat fell off the bone yet retained its texture.  It was tender with a balanced amount of smoke and only the slightest effect from the rub.  A thin layer of tangy BBQ sauce added just enough moisture and added taste.  No wonder the place was so busy, the food was very good and the prices even better!  Great choice for a quick lunch while passing through.

The Good:
- Fair pricing
- Super-friendly service
- Well-prepared meats

The Bad:
- Seating is a bit limited, so you need to wait
- Parking was surprisingly hard to find