Arirang, Causeway Bay - 01.11.10

Cooking your own food in a restaurant is an interesting one.  Some might find the work stressful and unnecessary (why go to a restaurant to cook when you can do that at home).  I personally find it a fun, sociable and novel experience.  I also think that it’s a very clever business tactic, as it takes all the responsibility away from the chefs in the kitchen, instead leaving the diners responsible for ensuring their meat is cooked the way they like it.  Very clever!

Arirang is a classic Korean barbecue restaurant, which many of my Korean barbecue aficionado friends reckon is one of the best in Hong Kong.  The restaurant itself is not hugely inviting.  With all the partitions between different sections of the restaurant, it feels much like an uninviting maze of smoky cooking.  Once seated however, excitement starts to set in once the grill is lit and all the starters arrive.  I have not had much experience with Korean food myself, but I enjoy it more and more each time.  On this occasion I lapped up the Kimchi, dried fish and pickled cucumber like there was no tomorrow.  The Pancake with Spring Onion was delicious also, perfectly crisp and hot and comforting when dipped into the salty sauce accompaniment.  Our table on this occasion were avid meat lovers, so we ordered an endless supply of beef to barbecue.  We had two types, the Bool GoGi (Marinated Sliced Beef) and the GahlBi (Marinated Prime US Beef Short Rib).  My favourite was the Bool GoGi as it was more tender than the GahlBi, and the marinated flavour was divine.  My husband's sister doesn't like beef so she ordered the Dahk GoGo Gooi (Marinated Chicken Thigh Fillet), but as always, chicken lacks that depth of flavour that you get from beef, and was nowhere near as tasty as the red meat alternative.

This was a delicious and fulfilling meal. We went for a friend's Birthday and there were six of us.  I think the perfect group size for Korean barbecue is four to six people, so that there are just enough of you to try several different dishes, but few enough to all be able to talk and barbecue on the one grill. 

Arirang

Shop 1205, Food Forum

Times Square

1 Matheson Street

Causeway Bay

Hong Kong

T: +852 2506 3298

W: www.arirang.com.hk