Korean BBQ Poll

Which AYCE Korean BBQ in the Irvine/Tustin area do you prefer?

  • All That BBQ

    Votes: 11 36.7%
  • Gen Korean BBQ

    Votes: 3 10.0%
  • I Can BBQ

    Votes: 6 20.0%
  • Korea House

    Votes: 1 3.3%
  • Seoul Garden

    Votes: 1 3.3%
  • Shik Do Rak

    Votes: 11 36.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 4 13.3%

  • Total voters
    30

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
This is only for places with an All You Can Eat (AYCE) option so Kang Ho Dong and Honey Pig are disqualified.

The 2 cheapest are actually Shik and Korea House. The difference is Shik is always crowded and Korea House almost never is but service at Korea House is hit and miss. Plus generally, Shik's meat is a tad better than KH.

Does Gen have steamed egg yet? That was the one thing missing from their menu but they do have other things that the other places don't have like fried food (dumplings, Korean Fried chicken etc).

Seoul Garden is a bit different from all the others as you have to go get your food but some people prefer this flexibility, that used to be our go-to place until they opened others closer to us.

You can vote for up to 3 since people prefer different ones depending on choices, proximity and time of day.

And why another poll? Because lurkers tend to vote in polls since they don't have to say anything and we talk about food more nowadays.

I should have made the Fried Chicken thread a poll. Next up... BYO Pizza Poll!
 
Your korean bbq kung fu is pretty developed.  Have you been to all these places you listed?

I've only been to:
shik do rak
gen
seoul garden
 
Yes I have.

And that's just the ones in the area... been to Chum Sut Gool in Garden Grove (they have ice cream!!) and Mr. BBQ in Fullerton.

I guess that's why I prefer the cheaper ones like Shik and KH since we go often.
 
I went to Gen in Tustin a month ago and was disappointed that they didn't have the steamed egg (one of my favorite items at Korean BBQ places for my low carb eating).  I won't be going back there again until they bring back the steamed egg.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
I went to Gen in Tustin a month ago and was disappointed that they didn't have the steamed egg (one of my favorite items at Korean BBQ places for my low carb eating).  I won't be going back there again until they bring back the steamed egg.

I'm not sure of this but I don't think Gen ever had the steamed egg.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
I went to Gen in Tustin a month ago and was disappointed that they didn't have the steamed egg (one of my favorite items at Korean BBQ places for my low carb eating).  I won't be going back there again until they bring back the steamed egg.

I'm not sure of this but I don't think Gen ever had the steamed egg.

BYOSE

(bring your own steamed egg)
 
I went to another Gen location (I think Cerritos) that did steam egg and it was terrible (it was dry and dense).  I spoke with the general manager about it and he apologized and knew the steam egg was bad, but customers keep requesting it so they set up a make shift area to make it.  Problem is that their kitchens just don't have the space for the equipment required to make it properly. 
 
I believe almost all AYCE KBBQs have steamed egg, except Gen in Tustin, which is so weird.

@USC: I Can BBQ is interesting, most of the workers are Korean but it's owned by a Turkish(?) person. If you notice they are a bit more forward with their technology as all the servers have portable tablets where they enter in your order and also take payment.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I believe almost all AYCE KBBQs have steamed egg, except Gen in Tustin, which is so weird.

@USC: I Can BBQ is interesting, most of the workers are Korean but it's owned by a Turkish(?) person. If you notice they are a bit more forward with their technology as all the servers have portable tablets where they enter in your order and also take payment.

Our hostess was a Russian girl and our server was a white guy...I'd have refills before I would even think about asking for me.  Food was good too.
 
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You can cook Gyeran Jjim at home, with or without a Ttukbaegi.  It can be done stove top, microwave, rice cooker, steamer, solar oven (!), or instant pot.

For instant pot you just pour 1-2 cups of water in the IP, place trivet, then beat 2 eggs with stock (can use chicken soup) at 1:2 ratio, pour in a bowl, cover/wrap tightly with foil, set IP to steam for 10 mins and off you go.

You can experiment with amount of water in IP, length of time for steam release (quick to natural) to get the results that you prefer.  For the stock you can add fish sauce, salted shrimp, mirin, salt, etc. to adjust the taste.  Instead of chicken stock you can use dashi stock.  If you beat 3 eggs + stock then you'll need to steam longer.

If you're too lazy to cook the seafood/anchovy dashi stock, they sell pre-packaged "wet" noodles with liquid dashi stock packets at H Mart.  Just eat the noodles with something else and use the liquid dashi stock packet for your steamed egg.

It will take some trial and error before finding the exact texture and flavor that you prefer.  At 2 eggs per attempt it's not going to break your bank.
 
inv0ke-epipen said:
In college we bought meat and stuff from hmart and cooked at home. It ended up costing more than just going to all that.

Depends in who you are eating with.  If i went with 2-4 friends who are going to eat a lot, it would be about the same price.  If I am with my family, its about half price to do it at home.  They dont eat as much.
 
I'm bumping up I Can BBQ a bit higher on my list, esp for weekday lunches (I think it's only $15.99). They have better banchan and there seems to be a wider selection on their menu.

Shik is still a better value on weekend lunches and at night, but nighttime is super crowded... which is when you should try Korea House.

Long live KBBQ!!!
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I'm bumping up I Can BBQ a bit higher on my list, esp for weekday lunches (I think it's only $15.99). They have better banchan and there seems to be a wider selection on their menu.

Shik is still a better value on weekend lunches and at night, but nighttime is super crowded... which is when you should try Korea House.

Long live KBBQ!!!

+1 for I can bbq. If you just pig-out by yourself which I do sometimes. Shik do Rak won?t allow you to eat by yourself. So I skip them and voted down for Shik. I can bbq definitely much cleaner and modern and better banchan
 
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