Ah, Korean barbeque. It’s one of the only relatively upscale meals that requires you to do all the work yourself and yet we still love it.
For one thing, the style of eating makes for a uniquely customizable experience. You can have your meat well done, or still tender; dipped in sauce and stuffed inside a lettuce leaf, or sprinkled with salt. Also, with restaurants’ typical grouping of several seats around one grill, it’s typically a fun, communal meal.
Shenzhen has tons of Korean barbeque places; below are four of our top picks, listed in alphabetical order. Each of them does it right, with charcoal grills, mouthwatering side dishes, and only the finest in seasoned/unseasoned meats.
It’s time to gather up all your foodie friends and test out some of Shenzhen’s best K-barbeque joints. And if you prefer chatting to flipping meat, feel free to hand off cooking duties to the waitstaff—they know what they’re doing.
Bornga Korean Cuisine
The house special of this Korean chain is the woo samgyup (RMB75), a marinated beef brisket that manages to taste sweet, sour, and almost everything in between. Those who prefer the basics can try the plain pork belly, or 五花肉 (RMB60), which in the skilled hands of a waitress turns out juicy, with perfect grill marks (see above).
See listings for Bornga Korean Cuisine (Happy Harbor and Terra Building).
Huo Tong 1971
When first brought to the table, the pork belly (RMB45) looks like a giant slab of raw bacon with some crystals of seasoned salt sprinkled on top. Once roasted and cut up, however, it turns out smoky and satisfyingly fatty. Other meat options, like the seasoned pork (RMB45), also feel indulgent but are totally worth it.
See listing for Huo Tong 1971.
The Korean Stone BBQ
If you order the original steak meat (RMB78), you get to watch a waiter or waitress unleash a blowtorch on chunks of beef, caramelizing the exterior while leaving the inside nice and tender. If that hasn’t sold you, check out the cheesy fried rice (RMB35), which is shaped into a heart and served up on the stone barbeque as part of a set meal.
See listing for The Korean Stone BBQ.
Min Xiao Korean Cuisine
This Korean restaurant is old school, offering unlimited refills on a wide array of delicious sides. And then there’s the meat: pork belly (RMB58) with just the right amount of fat, and pliant slices of seasoned beef (RMB98). Fun fact: Min Xiao scored a perfect five stars on the popular rating app Dianping, which in itself makes it a must-visit.
See listing for Min Xiao Korean Cuisine.
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[Images via Daniel Chun, Bailey Hu, evewang520 r/t Dianping]
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