For years, when we wanted Korean BBQ, we went to Shin Chon in the Lotte Plaza Market. The meats were always fresh and flavorful, the banchan had a good variety (so many delicious kim chi radish shapes!), and we never felt a need to go elsewhere. One time we hopped over to Honey Pig just to try it out and it was OK, so we stuck with Shin Chon.
We told one of our friends and she told us that we should check out her favorite spot, Chosun Hwaro. Chosun Hwaro took over the old TNM House (Tongnamoo House), which was also a Korean BBQ restaurant that closed due to a fire.
On the last day of Spring Break for our older kids, we decided to take them to experience the deliciousness that is Korean BBQ. They had never been before! The pandemic has pushed us to eat more at home, sometimes going with takeout, and so we didn’t even realize we hadn’t taken them to Korean BBQ before.
It was going to be a treat, especially since the meats would be grilled tableside.
The menu is massive and filled with pictures, so you know exactly what you are ordering. For our meats, we ordered a Beef Outside Skirt, Marinated Pork Short Rib, and Emperor’s Galbi (beef short rib).
Then, to supplement, we ordered a Bibim Guksu and an old reliable favorite, Bibimbap.
The banchan that arrived had a good variety but I felt like Shin Chon had more and more variety.
The salad was nice, but the meats were amazing:
On the left you can see the skirt steak and on the right you have the Emperor’s Galbi. The marbling on the Galbi was so good, it was marinated quite well, and everyone loved it.
I neglected to take a picture of the marinated pork short rib but that was probably one of our favorites (though it’s hard to top Emperor’s Galbi).
The Bibim Guksu was a new one for us, spicy cold noodles with crunchy toppings. We spooned some of the excess sauce out so our son’s mouth would be on fire but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s definitely spicy but paired nicely with a cold tangy “soup” that came with it.
I must confess, I don’t think we’ve ever ordered Bibimbap anywhere. I’ve had the meat that goes on a bibimbap (and loved it) but when my lovely wife and I went to Shin Chon, you have order two meats to have it grilled tableside. Two meats is already too much for us so we never ordered anything else.
When this bowl came out, I was impressed with what was included. And our kids loved all the variety (and the over easy egg) of stuff in it and devoured it.
When we arrived, it was still a bit on the early side for lunch without a lot of other customers but the staff was attentive and friendly. As the restaurant filled with other customers, including many families enjoying the tail end of Spring Break too, they were still very attentive – a great sign.
Overall, I’m not sure yet if it will unseat Shin Chon as our favorite spot to go. The next time we go, I have to make sure to find out what we need to do to get the steamed egg. I think you have to order it separately (it comes with your meat order at Shin Chon, so I never even thought to order it) but I’ll find out next time.
All in all, a great experience and deserves all the praise my friend was heaping on them!