Kosoo (AYCE Korean BBQ)

It never fails.  When we asked my son what he wanted to eat for his birthday, his reply was like every other birthday: "Korean BBQ".  That would be a great choice as it is never a bad idea to go for Korean BBQ.  Well, unless you needed to go somewhere after and not smell like grilled meat...  Anyways, this time, we ended up at Kosoo in Coquitlam.  They have added AYCE to the menu and there are several tiers starting from $29.99.  We went for AYCE C (for $48.99) since it had different cuts of short rib, as well as scallops and shrimp.

I was happy to see that they offered nearly the same Banchan as their a la carte menu.  We found pickled daikon, sprouts, stewed potatoes, kimchi, corn salad, quail's eggs and fried fish cake (in addition to the usual garlic, peppers and bean paste).  Only thing missing from prior visits was the anchovies and dried shredded squid.  Mind you, it could just be rotating daily items as well.  All were good and of course, refillable.  We also got a spring mix salad too.

We ordered the sides that came with the AYCE in the form of Fried Mandoo (Yangneom, Soy Garlic & Original), Japchae and Kimchi Pancake.  We thought the dumplings were good with a crispy thin exterior with juicy and tender meat inside.  The japchae was decent with a nice chewy texture while mildly-seasoned.  There was some fish cake mixed into it.  The kimchi pancake was fine, but was a bit doughy and thin.

One of the more surprising dishes we had was the Cheese Fries.  Those fries were pretty crispy and totally covered in cheese.  They were tasty on their own and if we weren't so full, we would've ordered more of them.  Included in the meal was both the Cold Noodles and Spicy Cold Noodles.  Sure, these were missing the egg and possibly meat, but whatever, we had enough food already.  Otherwise, they were solid with chewy bouncy noodles.

Of course we have to talk about why we were here in the first place...  The meat!  For our first order, we loaded up on Shrimp, Beef Short Rib, Beef Tongue, Beef Rib Finger, Chicken, Marinated Beef Short Rib, Marinated Beef Rib Finger, LA Galbi, Scallops and Mushroom.  We felt the meat quality was not any different than a la carte.  Nicely marbled, the short rib was tender while the marinated galbi was equally good.  Even the notoriously chewy beef tongue was nicely textured.  Although the scallops were thinly sliced, they were great and came with plenty of butter.

Round 2 of meat consisted of Pork Belly, Pork Jowl, Marinated Pork Shoulder and Marinated Chicken.  We added more scallops and mushroom for good measure.  Nothing amiss with these meats either with the pork belly being at its fatty best.  Pork jowl came in large slices and were buttery and bouncy.  We weren't shy about getting more scallops too.  However, to ensure they sear up nicely, we could only cook a few at a time, otherwise, the moisture leaking out of each scallop made it boil in its own juices.  Other than that, the AYCE at Kosoo was solid, well-priced and featured quality ingredients.  I will be back!

The Good:

- Pretty good quality meats for AYCE

- Although hurried, service was solid

- Lots of tiers of AYCE for everyone

The Bad:

- Some cold spots on the grill, so have to move meats around to ensure searing

- Scallops have too much moisture and are hard to sear

HAAN Korean BBQ (AYCE)

I've been to Haan Korean BBQ in the past and it was a good experience.  Now, they have something that is a bit different.  They are doing AYCE (All-You-Can-Eat), yet not in the conventional way.  Instead of a big menu with multiple items for over $50.00, they have simplified it to either "Beef" or "Pork" AYCE with only 2 meat choices for each one.  On Tuesdays, it is the Beef AYCE for only $30.99 and on Wednesdays, it is the Pork AYCE for $29.99.  These included side dishes and a few other items.  Pretty good value if you don't need too much variety.

With either choice of AYCE menus, it included Banchan, Kimchi Pancake, Rice and Lettuce for wrapping the meat.  For our side dishes, we had Potato Salad, Kimchi, Marinated Daikon and Pickled Daikon.  I particularly enjoyed the creamy potato salad and I gladly ordered more of it.  The pancake was pretty flat, but had a nice crunch and kimchi flavour.

Also included was the Bean Paste Soup served bubbling in a ttukbaegi (Korean Stone Bowl).  It was pretty good with cubes of soft tofu in a broth that was flavourful and slightly spicy.  We had the sweetness from the onions that helped balance the spice from the peppers.  Once again, since it was AYCE, we ordered a few more of these.  Great for a cold day!

For the Beef AYCE, there were two choices of meat including the Fatty Beef and Beef Bulgogi.  The bulgogi was my favourite as it charred up well on the grill due to the sugar content of the marinade.  It was tender and didn't need much in the way of extra sauce (which was provided).  As for the fatty beef, it was also tender, and yes, I dipped it into the sauces (Bean Paste, Korean BBQ Sauce and Sesame Oil with Salt).  The meal also included Seasoned Mung Bean Sprouts as well.

I personally preferred the Pork AYCE where it included Pork Belly and Marinated Pork Shoulder.  Naturally, the fatty pork belly was tender and charred up nicely on the grill.  As for the pork shoulder, it had a smoky crust due to the sugars in the marinade as well as the marbling of fat.  For me, I would choose this on Wednesdays, not only because of the meat, but also it is also a dollar cheaper.

Now, some of you might lament the lack of meat options but in reality, how many choices do you need?  Normally, you would only choose a few to re-order anyways.  Sure, there isn't Galbi here, but it is also not $50.00 either.  Considering basic combos for one person run in the high $20.00 range, then this AYCE is well worth it if you are hungry.

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

The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Has everything you need for a complete meal
- Pork was good quality and tender

The Bad:
- For those who like variety, this isn't it

JJang Korean BBQ and Social House (AYCE Menu)

As mentioned in my previous posts and by many news outlets, AYCE (all-you-can-eat) has made a stunning comeback in the past 2-3 years.  It is mostly driven by the unpredictable economy where we see rising food prices.  With discretionary spending going down when it comes to dining out, customers are choosing more wisely.  So many restaurants, such as hot pot and DIY grill, are moving towards the AYCE model to give more value for every dollar spent.  One place that has just adopted this strategy is JJang Korean BBQ out near the Olympic Oval in Richmond.  I've been here before and quite enjoyed their set meals.  This time around, we were going to see if their AYCE is worth it or not.

There is one inclusive price where adults pay $48.99 (Mon-Thurs) and $53.99 (Fri-Sun & Public Holidays).  This seems quite reasonable given that their items are exactly what they served on their a la carte menu (except for the short ribs).  Much like any Korean BBQ meal, we were served some Banchan including stewed potatoes, sprouts and kimchi.  We also had the requisite romaine lettuce (to wrap our meats and rice), along with sliced garlic & jalapenos as well as bean paste, salt and dipping sauce.  I thought the Banchan were solid and we could get as many refills as we wanted within the 2 hour limit.

Onto some of the cooked items first, we were impressed that they resembled the a la carte version and ate very much like it.  The Spicy Soft Tofu Soup was bubbling hot and featured silky tofu in a spicy and flavourful broth.  Equally good, the Gamjatang featured large and meaty bones topped with perilla seeds.  The the broth was meaty and full-of-depth.  We also got the Bibimbap and it was also a full order with all the toppings in including beef, fried egg and gochujang.  It was pretty good!  The only smaller items was the Cold Noodles and Kimchi Fried Rice, which were served in a regular bowl.  It was okay too with ice to keep it cold while the noodles were al dente.  The fried rice was chewy with just enough kimchi for flavour.

There was a wide selection of meats and I got nearly all of them including Marninated Galbi, Lamb and Chuck Flat (Black Pepper, Onion Sauce and Original).  These were sliced thin and cooked up quickly on the hot grill.  As a result, these were tender and crisped up easily.  I thought the most impactful flavour was the onion sauce as it caramelized on the grill.  The other 2 weren't that noticeably different.

Next we had all of the Beef Tongue (Black Pepper, Garlic & House Special), Ribeye and Premium Short Ribs.  Normally, beef tongue can be quite tough, unless you have braise it first.  Well, the ones we had here were raw and sliced thin.  Surprisingly, they were buttery tender.  The garlic sauce had the most flavour here.  Our one small piece of ribeye steak (you can order more than this, but we didn't want to over order) was tender, but a bit hard to keep medium since it was such a small piece.  As for the boneless shortribs, they were buttery, beefy and tender.

Continuing on with the beef theme, we had all the of the available AAA Sliced Beef options (Original, Black Pepper, Garlic & House Special).  These were beautifully marbled and sliced thin.  Due to the fat content, these crisped up even better than the chuck flat.  Also, it ate very soft due to the fat and of course, it also tasted more beefy.  My favourite of the bunch was the garlic sauce once again. 

Surprisingly, we found smoked Duck slices and they were fantastic.  Soft and full of smoky duck flavour, these were worth ordering again.  The big pieces of Chicken chicken thigh were good, but really needed the dipping sauce and/or bean paste.  The small slices of Pork Belly were meaty with just the right amount of fat.  Would've been better as a bigger slice, but with AYCE, it was understandable.  We also really enjoyed the Unagi as they seared up well on the grill with caramelization.  Nice buttery texture on them.

Continuing on with the menu options, we also had the Beef Finger Meat and Black Pepper Beef Cubes.  Being the meat in between the beef rib bones, the finger meat was fatty and had that tender chewiness.  Really thought the beef cubes were excellent being soft and full-flavoured.  The Mackerel was good but hard to cook perfectly without making it dry.  Being reformed Scallops (from smaller scallops) didn't hurt our eating enjoyment.  They were bouncy and sweet.  The cut-up pieces of Abalone were good, but once again, would've been nice to have a whole piece.  Head-on White Shrimp were pretty typical, they had a nice snap and were sweet. 

Onto some veggies (and one fruit) for the AYCE, we had the Zucchini, Oyster Mushroom, Enoki and Pineapple.   Nothing amiss with these as they were fresh and the doneness was up to us.  We wanted some char, so we cooked them longer.  As for the pineapple, yes, they were canned, but hey, they caramelized well on the grill and were sweet.  Overall, the AYCE at JJang was good quality.  In fact, the cooked items were indistinguishable from the a la carte versions.  Would come back.

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

The Good:

- Wide selection of meats

- Good quality

- Cooked items were like a la carte versions

The Bad:

- Wished some items weren't cut up into such small pieces (maybe could ask?)

- Free parking downstairs is only for 90 minutes

I Love K-BBQ

Honestly, I love Korean BBQ.  The grilling of the meats, marinated and non-marinated, it just makes things interactive and you can cook it to your own specifications (as long as it is cooked through!).  Also, the rest of the meal is great too, including Banchan, a soup of some sort and a bunch of sides.  Great for dining as a group whether it be family or friends.  Imagine my joy when I found out about a new place in Coquitlam called I Love K-BBQ.  My sentiments exactly!  Located in the old Tabom spot, they offer up Korean BBQ on a stone grill. 

Jackie and I came for a tasting of their menu and we ended up with 2 of their combos.   Both of them included a soup, Corn Cheese, Salad and Banchan.  The Lucky Combo had Prime Boneless Short Rib and Beef Short Rib.  The Happy Combo had Pork Belly, Pork Jowl and Marinated Pork.  Since they butcher a lot of their own meats, the quality control was evident.  I found the Prime Boneless Short Rib to be high quality with even marbling.  Hence, it cooked up buttery and soft.  Pork belly was also a good balance between fatty and meaty.

We added some other dishes to try to including the Cold Noodles and also the Spicy Cold Noodles.  First of all, the temperature was on point being cold, but not giving us brain freeze.  Noodles were appealingly chewy with the cold noodles sitting in a flavourful broth.  The spicy one was definitely so with a balancing amount of sweetness.  Both came with a half boiled egg and pickled sliced daikon.

So we got the usual Seafood Pancake as well and it was pretty loaded with bits of seafood.  We found shrimp, mussels and squid hidden within a slightly dense interior and a really nice crispy exterior.  It wasn't overly greasy either.  The Steamed Egg was excellent being fluffy and light with a consistent texture throughout.  It was also lightly seasoned being sweet with plenty of natural egg flavour.

We got one last dish in the Grilled Spicy Pork Intestine cooked with onions and cabbage as well as rice cake.  This was quite good with chewy (in a good way) pieces of pork intestine.  Sure, it was at its gamy best, but I personally love the taste.  There was a good amount of sweet spice that was caramelized.  Rice cakes were appealingly chewy and also took on the same flavours.

Looking at the Stone Grill, you can see that it is tilted so the fat could drain.  The cooking surface was most hot in the middle with the edges being just warm.  This worked well with the cooked meats being moved over so they could be kept warm.  At the end, Fried Rice was prepared on the stone grill (after a scrape clean) with nori and cheese.  We were able to create a socarrat at the bottom that was crispy and nutty.  A great finish to a tasty meal!  Overall, the food at I Love K-BBQ is solid and generally high-quality.  It is a fine addition to the cache of Korean restaurants in Coquitlam.

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

The Good:

- Meats are high-quality

- Loved the stone grill, can just clean it rather than replacing it

- Other dishes are solid too

The Bad:

- With the stone grill, the fat does splatter quite a bit, at least they offer bibs

- Parking can be a bit tricky on Austin

Stone Korean BBQ

Sometimes it is hard to differentiate between many of the Korean BBQ spots in town.  Naturally, some are better than others in terms of meat quality, banchan selection and overall value.  However, what if I told you there is a new Korean BBQ out near Lougheed Mall (right next to Price Smart) that employs large stone slabs as their BBQ surface?  Yes, do we really need another Korean restaurant on North Road?  Well yes, especially when it is a new modern space and unique.

We ended up ordering the Signature Pork Combo for $42.00 per person (minimum 2 orders).  This included a nice selection of Banchan, Jjigae and Corn Cheese.  For the Banchan, we found potato salad, spinach, slaw, kimchi daikon, spicy octopus and chwinamul.  Really liked the selection, especially a few less seen dishes. We also found romaine so we could wrap our pork belly as well as some pickled Napa cabbage that served the same purpose.

 

For our combo, we were served a good amount of meaty and fairly lean pieces of pork belly.  There was enough fat for flavour and texture though.  As you can see, things were cooked on a big stone slab.  The middle was hottest while the sides were only warm.  This was enough to keep the corn cheese (with an egg yolk) melty, the soup hot and the kimchi warm.  As you can see, the pork belly seared up nicely.  Really enjoyed the pork, especially dipped into the jalapeno condiment. 

 

About that Bean Paste Soup, it was included with the combo and it came bubbling hot.  Nice fermented saltiness to it without going overboard.  Some soft veggies in there, adding some sweetness.  We added the Seafood Pancake for good measure and it was seared up super crunchy.  It was nutty and aromatic with a soft, but not mushy centre.  There was a decent amount of well-cooked seafood with only a balanced amount of green onion.  This was pretty good and I would order it again.

 

We were served a bonus dish that was the Korean version of Beef Tataki.  These medium-thin slices of beef were tender with the slightest of chew.  It sat in a sauce that was soy-based but had sweetness and aromatics.  Lastly, we added the Jjapaghetti (yes, the instant noodles) at the end finished off on the stone grill.  Unfortunately, these noodles were overdone and stuck to the stone slab.  There was also too much moisture and prevented them from caramelizing properly.   Other than the Jjapaghetti, everything else was really good and well-portioned.  Combine that with a modern dining space with plenty of staff, Stone Korean BBQ should be one of the better options along North Road for Korean BBQ.

The Good:

- Modern and spacious

- Good value

- Delicious

The Bad:

- Jjapaghetti add-on needs to be improved upon

Kosoo Korean BBQ

Here we are again at Kosoo Korean BBQ out in the heart of Coquitlam.  We had a great experience last time with their excellent meats and the unique selection of Banchan.  As you might be familiar, Kosoo belongs to the bigger group of restaurants that included Kosoo Cardero as well as Kosoo Chicken & BBQ.  We've been to all of them and they each offer something a bit different than the other.  This time around, we were doing the BBQ for sure, but there were a few more dishes we've never had before.

But to start, we had 2 versions of their Pancake including the Chive and Kimchi Pancakes.  The interesting thing about their pancakes is that they are relatively thin.  Hence, they were super crispy (without being too crunchy), while the interior of the pancake was not overly soggy nor doughy.  Overall greasiness was modest, especially since it was not served in a cast iron pan.  I personally enjoyed the kimchi version more due to the spice and tang.  The chive pancake had a balanced amount of green onion.

Onto the Banchan, it consisted of Kimchi, Stewed Potatoes, Bean Sprouts, Tofu Skin, Quail Egg, Fried Zucchini and Pickled Daikon.  These were a bit more standard compared to our last visit where we had the anchovy and shredded squid.  However, the quail eggs were nicely marinated where the sweet and salty flavours were impactful.  I wasn't a fan of the zucchini since the batter was a bit stiff since it was served cold.  For our choice of soup (that was included with Combo B), we had the Soft Tofu Soup.  It was served bubbling hot and had some spice and plenty of depth.  The soft tofu was silky and the bits of beef were tender.

One new item we had was the Raw Marinated Crabs & Prawns served with tobiko and egg yolk with rice.  It took me awhile to get into this Korean raw crab craze but now that I am, it really is truly delicious.  The meat was silky with sweet and briny elements.  We squeezed the meat onto the rice and deshelled the prawns.  Mixed with the egg yolk, tobiko and sauce on the side, the rice was flavourful with plenty of umami and silkiness.  Really delicious and if you haven't tried raw marinated crab, this is an accessible way to do so.

So onto another newish dish, at least at this location - the Clam Bibimbap.  I've had this at their Pocha spot in Chinatown (which is now closed) and it was fantastic.  Well, this version was exactly that loaded with whole buttery and plump clams.  They were dressed in a spicy sauce that also had some sweetness.  There was an equal amount of chewy rice that we could sandwich with the clams in the supplied nori.

Fresh off a recent experience with the Spicy Cold Noodles with raw fish at another Korean restaurant, we were excited to try Kosoo's version.  I would say that this one was pretty solid.  The sweetness of the pear came through while helping balance the spiciness of the sauce.  With a bite and sweet chewiness, the raw fish added another texture to the already al dente naengmyeon noodles.  The broth was also cold enough so that it was the right temperature.

We can't forget about the Korean BBQ right?  Well, we went for the Combo B for 2 that included Pork Belly, Marinated Beef Rib Finger and Marinated LA Galbi.  As mentioned above, the pancake and soup were also included.  Considering this was technically for 2 people, there was plenty of meat.  The 3 huge slabs of pork belly had a good ratio of meat to fat while the beef rib finger was fatty and tender.  Our favourite was the short rib as it was well-marinated allowing for caramelization from the BBQ.  The meat was tender with the classic short rib chewiness.

Our last item was the Rose Chicken Galbi Platter served on a butane burner.  This allowed for the cheese to melt (so we have corn cheese!) and start to crisp up on the sides and bottom.  The trick here was to not mix the chicken and rice cakes with anything else.  It was to be eaten with the corn cheese and rice separately.  Overall, the food at Kosoo Korean BBQ is solid and served in generous portions.  Love the spacious dining space and their selection of banchan.  One of my go-to spots for Korean BBQ.

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

The Good:
- Large portions
- Delicious eats
- Spacious dining room

The Bad:
- Grill seemed to be hotter on one side
- The Rose Chicken Galbi was a bit unstable on the portable burner