New Korean BBQ place

What if you want variety? That's where AYCE really shines.

At Hodong, if I wanted pork belly, galbi, bulgogi and brisket, it would cost more more than AYCE.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
What if you want variety? That's where AYCE really shines.

At Hodong, if I wanted pork belly, galbi, bulgogi and brisket, it would cost more more than AYCE.
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You are very right.
That was the downside of Kang Hodong. I wish they had a beef+pork combo at least.
But they have a different strategy than other Korean BBQ places. They are NOT an AYCE place.

Most people who know their meat would say "Prime Boneless Short Rib" is the best from Kang Hodong beef.
But that is the most expensive one so if you want variety and quantity, this is not the place for you.

 
id_rather_be_racing said:
jumpinjacks said:
Went to Kang Hodong Baekjeong last night so Thursday. Checked in at 6:20, quoted 1 hour, seated at 7:40. You can download the No Wait app to see your place in line. We just ended up killing some time by getting a drink at Boiling Point, walking through Mitsuwa and Daiso. Then we walked back and waited 20 minutes or so there by the restaurant. TONS of people outside.

Between the 2 of us got a small beef combo, small fried dumplings, and lunchbox. We probably would have been fine with just the combo, tons of food. Food here up to par with other locations, I'd say better than my last trip to the Buena Park one. The seasoned boneless shortrib, man I forget how good it is here, so flavorful and when they char it up last minute, heaven. Server was always on top of it, didn't cook a single thing, and meticulous. With that said, service here isn't "friendly" per se but efficient. Love the egg moat, but if you like it runny, watch it as it can get overcooked pretty quickly. Beef combo small on it's own was $60.

Tip here is to avoid Fridays and weekends or either way, be prepared for a wait and just kill some time walking within the plaza to keep your sanity.
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My wife and I went here last night as well.  Got there around 5:45P, quoted 40 minute wait time, seated in 20 minutes.

Parking was abysmal as usual, but there's better parking availability near the Boiling Point area. 

I've been to the ktown one a few times, and this place is just as good.  We ordered the Beef combo and it was more than enough for the both of us.  All banchan was refillable for free except for the seaweed (never seen that before). 

They also have a bar to the left as soon as you enter.  Reasonble prices too (ballast point sculpin ipa on draft was 7 bucks, not bad at all). 

Any TIers down for a meetup here?  I'm game as long as we attempt to go before 6pm on a weekday, which is when it starts to get busy.  USC, i know you're game haha. 
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I'm so IN that's it's not even funny.  Good thing about the low carb eating is that I can enjoy all the Korean BBQ that I can handle.  haha
 
irvinehomeowner said:
What if you want variety? That's where AYCE really shines.

At Hodong, if I wanted pork belly, galbi, bulgogi and brisket, it would cost more more than AYCE.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you my friend, the best part of the AYCE places is the variety of trying 8-10 different meats. 
 
Went to KHD this past Saturday. They are still in their soft opening, opening at 4pm. Got there around 3:45pm and was #7 in line. Our party of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated by 4:10pm. We ordered 2 small beef combos, which was plenty of food for us. Everything was pretty good and the meat quality was good. The corn cheese and egg were nice sides - I liked the prime short rib the best.

Definitely would come here if just looking for a standard K BBQ meal. If I want to pig out, I still like Shik Do Rak in Irvine for a balance of cost/variety/quality/AYCE.
 
I've done that as well. Quality of the pre-marinated meats can't compare to what places like KHD or Quarters (in K-Town) offer. I guess you could buy the marinate and meat separately. At KHD they also place a couple of pieces of charcoal to give you that smoky bbq flavor. It's a nice touch.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Went to KHD this past Saturday. They are still in their soft opening, opening at 4pm. Got there around 3:45pm and was #7 in line. Our party of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated by 4:10pm. We ordered 2 small beef combos, which was plenty of food for us. Everything was pretty good and the meat quality was good. The corn cheese and egg were nice sides - I liked the prime short rib the best.

Definitely would come here if just looking for a standard K BBQ meal. If I want to pig out, I still like Shik Do Rak in Irvine for a balance of cost/variety/quality/AYCE.
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I've never been to Shik Do Rak...the thin pork belly sounds tasty.  Let me know next time you want to head over, lunch on me. 
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
I've never been to Shik Do Rak...the thin pork belly sounds tasty.
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What?!?

Presentation-wise, the place is dated, but they probably have the widest variety of meats of the AYCE places in Irvine, even the lowest priced AYCE (they have like 3 levels of AYCE... I think the higher you go the better cuts of meat and more seafood you get).

I always get the lowest one because 1) 99%er 2) Me no like tentacles 3) has brisket and thin sliced pork belly.

As to eyephone's comment about just buying it from the store... why should anyone go out to eat then? Also, KBBQ is not just about the meats, there are also the banchans.
 
I've been to all the kbbq ayce spots in Irvine.  Shik do rak is ehh but decent after 9 pm or so for late night pricing.  Best one is probably "All that  Barbeque", shortly followed by Mr BBQ in Fullerton , then probably Gen in Tustin. 

Kang ho dong definitely has better meat in general but not worth the money.  Comes out to around $30/person typically

I recommend driving to good ol' garden grove. My fav is Cham Sut Gol (go weekends for lunch, it's like $18 or so.  the banchan is very good here

Besides this, my fav non ayce is Mo Ran Gak.  The brisket here blows Kang hodong away

Side note: if you guys like bossam, I just tried Mister Bossam in rowland and was quite impressed.  Got an order of the cheesy ribs and the green onion and garlic bossam.  2 orders is enough food for 4 people. Go try it and report back TI  8)
 
Shik Do Rak is my favorite.  It has my favorite brisket and sides of all the KBBQs.  That's pretty much what I load up on there. 

Roll rice paper, sliced raddish, brisket and dip it in the sesame oil.  Perfect.  I try to replicate it at home.  Pretty close, but still not quite the same.

They don't have the best bulgogi or anything.  For that or some other dishes, I'd recommend other places. 

The yogurt used to hit the spot, but they didn't have it the last few times I was there.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
I've never been to Shik Do Rak...the thin pork belly sounds tasty.
Click to expand...

What?!?

Presentation-wise, the place is dated, but they probably have the widest variety of meats of the AYCE places in Irvine, even the lowest priced AYCE (they have like 3 levels of AYCE... I think the higher you go the better cuts of meat and more seafood you get).

I always get the lowest one because 1) 99%er 2) Me no like tentacles 3) has brisket and thin sliced pork belly.

As to eyephone's comment about just buying it from the store... why should anyone go out to eat then? Also, KBBQ is not just about the meats, there are also the banchans.
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What can I say? I'm always looking ways to save money.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Went to KHD this past Saturday. They are still in their soft opening, opening at 4pm. Got there around 3:45pm and was #7 in line. Our party of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated by 4:10pm. We ordered 2 small beef combos, which was plenty of food for us. Everything was pretty good and the meat quality was good. The corn cheese and egg were nice sides - I liked the prime short rib the best.

Definitely would come here if just looking for a standard K BBQ meal. If I want to pig out, I still like Shik Do Rak in Irvine for a balance of cost/variety/quality/AYCE.
Click to expand...

I've never been to Shik Do Rak...the thin pork belly sounds tasty.  Let me know next time you want to head over, lunch on me.
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Definitely gonna take you up on this soon!  ;)
 
SoclosetoIrvine said:
I've been to all the kbbq ayce spots in Irvine.  Shik do rak is ehh but decent after 9 pm or so for late night pricing.  Best one is probably "All that  Barbeque", shortly followed by Mr BBQ in Fullerton , then probably Gen in Tustin. 

Kang ho dong definitely has better meat in general but not worth the money.  Comes out to around $30/person typically

I recommend driving to good ol' garden grove. My fav is Cham Sut Gol (go weekends for lunch, it's like $18 or so.  the banchan is very good here

Besides this, my fav non ayce is Mo Ran Gak.  The brisket here blows Kang hodong away

Side note: if you guys like bossam, I just tried Mister Bossam in rowland and was quite impressed.  Got an order of the cheesy ribs and the green onion and garlic bossam.  2 orders is enough food for 4 people. Go try it and report back TI  8)
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Not a big fan of All That BBQ. Especially when you go with a large party of 6+, they seat you at a table with 1 grill. It's incredibly hard cooking meat for 6 people on 1 small grill and in my opinion, meats are mediocre. Gen is pretty good - their weekday lunch deal is excellent at $15.99 with most of the meat options.
 
best_potsticker_in_town said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
best_potsticker_in_town said:
Went to KHD this past Saturday. They are still in their soft opening, opening at 4pm. Got there around 3:45pm and was #7 in line. Our party of 5 adults and 2 kids was seated by 4:10pm. We ordered 2 small beef combos, which was plenty of food for us. Everything was pretty good and the meat quality was good. The corn cheese and egg were nice sides - I liked the prime short rib the best.

Definitely would come here if just looking for a standard K BBQ meal. If I want to pig out, I still like Shik Do Rak in Irvine for a balance of cost/variety/quality/AYCE.
Click to expand...

I've never been to Shik Do Rak...the thin pork belly sounds tasty.  Let me know next time you want to head over, lunch on me.
Click to expand...

Definitely gonna take you up on this soon!  ;)
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Just ping me...I'm going there with a client Sunday at 11:30am if you would like to join us. 
 
Used to go to them weekly, until my kids hit full price age. 

Now I do it at home and only take the family out to one every few months.  Will be doing kbbq at home this Sunday.  It's a lot of work and pretty pricey at home too. 
 
Finally got to try it. Went before 5pm and got seated right away. My party find the server hovering over the grill rather annoying and intrusive to our carrying on a conversation. Three guys with average appetite polished off the $99 beef combo with room to spare and clamoring for dessert, which is unusual, because most of time when we are done with dinner, we are full and done. 

Gen, Shik Do Rak, All That BBQ and Honey Pig BBQ are all equally tasty and cheaper. Will likely not go back. We still prefer the freedom of cooking ourselves. Much more relaxing, too.
 
Honey Pig BBQ quality in Irvine and Buena Park has declined.  The one in K-Town is still good.
 
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