Maru Korean Bbq

Maru Korean BBQ

3/5

157 Elizabeth St Brisbane CBD

I noticed Maru’s appearance a few weeks prior to its actual opening. It’s located where David’s, a Chinese restaurant, was; just up from the Irish club. An addition to the already good downtown Korean scene, my anticipation for this BBQ place was palpable.

Like many of the new Korean places, Maru have done a great job in their fit out. The feel is a fresh, bright minimalism, which for BBQ works really well in accentuating the sociality of the dining.

A combination of light and dark timber fittings is paired against a rather spare, small tree in the centre of the room. My only complaint is probably due to the fact that they’d just opened, but the shelves above the bar were conspicuously bare.

Like almost all the Korean restaurants that have popped up in the last few years, the employment of table call bells ensure service isn’t an issue. Maru gets bonus points for also have what’ve been probably the quickest staff in existence.

Maru has a far shorter BBQ menu than its competitor up the street, but it contains all the important cuts and neither of the plates we ordered, pork jowls and sliced beef, came out frozen which is an obvious positive. The quality of the meat was good and on par with other major BBQ places.

Maru uses electric grill plates and although they take a while to heat up, they have the advantage over charcoal in that they don’t cool down, but they do lose that smell and flavour of charcoal that is as much a part of the experience as the flavour it imparts.

The sides that came out weer all of a good quality, my only complaint could be the lack of size in the lettuce leaves. This wasn’t too much of a negative, more just one of personal preference and could be considered a positive by those who do BBQ differently to me.

Maru is a great addition to the Brisbane food scene, the fact that at least at the moment it’s quieter, probably makes it my most likely eating destination, however I doubt it’ll be like this for long judging by my experience the other night.

Maru is open for dinner most nights

The plates of meat cost $17 each and there are combination plates available that make each portion cheaper

Maru is licensed and has a variety of Korean drinks available including HITE which cost us $4 per bottle. 

Maru currently don’t have a website

Thanks to theo for editing this post.

Funny Funny Res Pub

Funny Funny Res Pub

85 George St Brisbane City

2/5

I know I’ve been hitting up a lot of Korean places recently, but bear with me because there can’t be that many more left and my desire for chilli is surely on the wane.

 Funny Funny occupies the same place as the Lands Office Hotel used to be, on the corner of Mary and George streets, and as the name of the place suggests is a hybrid of pub and restaurant.

The place has, for a restaurant, a great funky setup; the gloss black walls are adorned with stylised white graffiti, contrasted by the pale wooden decor. Feeling almost like an edgier more hip-hop Madtongsan II which is probably its opposite more k-poppy outlet, which could perhaps be attributed to the pub aspect they’re going for. 

Like almost all of the Korean restaurants kicking around now, they have call buttons on the tables. However, an issue with the call buttons at Funny Funny is how loud they are; they make you feel like apologising every time you press one, compounding this is that even with the call buttons the service is slower than at other comparable establishments.

Food wise Funny Funny is alright, but it lacks anything that defines it especially from its competitors except for perhaps a general quality of tasting ever so slightly worse than its rivals. It’s not particularly cheaper than other Korean in Brisbane either and drinks are the same price as anywhere else at $6 each (for Cass or Hite) making it not a particularly appealing place to drink, although it does look like there are domestic Australian beers for cheaper than that. This obviously dampens my disposition in treating it like a pub and while there were a significant number of people there on the day in question, I feel that generally the bar/pub functions of the place are played down in favour of a more restaurant style menu, while unfortunately lacking a particularly strong restaurant aesthetic.

What is notable about the food is the serving size, with our order of Kimchi pancake being the size of a large serving plate, meaning we ended up ordering way too much food for the two of us, we also got “Nakgi Somyun” which was spicy octopus with noodles without realizing that it was also large enough to comfortably feed two people as well as a noodle soup that was a large single serving. In the face of this Everest-sized challenge, we proceeded to call in reinforcements to help finish off the mass of chilli and seafood that was present.

Overall, I think Funny Funny is alright and if you are up that end of town it’s an option, however, the other Korean options in this city are better, are comparatively priced and are probably worth the short walk to get to them.

Funny Funny is open lunch and dinner every day.

Our meals cost around ~$10-~$25 and the beers cost $6 each which at a place like this adds up quickly.

Thanks again to Theo for doing the editing of this review

Jong Ga

Jong Ga
316 St Pauls Tce Fortitude Valley
1.5/5
Jong Ga is a dodgy looking Korean BBQ restaurant at the top of the valley, in what may be described as the dodgier part of the valley, and when entering you completely understand why it is in that location. This restaurant takes up a massive room with no air-conditioning and windows that only half open; unlike other BBQ places it has no ventilation device to take the heat away from the table and in the awful humidity of a Queensland spring/summer results in a meal where sweating is the main course.

The dining area of the restaurant is exceptionally bright and there are several Bain-maries with a selection of awfully dry dishes and dreadful sushi, however I didn’t come to this restaurant for the buffet of dreadful food, I came for the buffet of all you can eat BBQ meat, unsurprisingly the meat was frozen (it almost always is in Brisbane) but this being Korean BBQ meant that the loss of freshness was nigh irrelevant. Otherwise the room felt similar to a Sizzler or something with tables lined up in rows and feeling cheap, with a tiny fridge not out of place in a school tuckshop holding all the beers (only really Sapporo and Cass) The relative emptiness gave off a vibe of general dislike, and other people at the restaurant appeared to be the type that came because it was cheap all you can buffet.

The service was alright with a lot of attention every now and again but very little when it was actually desired, due to it being buffet style, there were very few staff in restaurant with most attending to keeping the Bain-maries stocked with food. The food was at best average and at worst sour, and when a frozen piece of meat is sour, something is seriously wrong. The Kimchi was obviously store bought, and the Chadol Baki (thinly sliced beef brisket) was in far too small pieces to be manageable on the grill plate. The remainder of the types of meat were mostly unmemorable, with the ox tongue (normally a fantastic part of BBQ) being too thin and small to get the flavour that I desired from it. The constant need to get up and get more meat, lettuce and Kimchi, made the dinner a lot of getting food, broken up by eating it.
I would not return to Jong Ga unless it was due to another’s insistence, due mainly to the fact that there are several much better BBQ’s in this city, and while they may be more expensive, I believe unless you are a greedy eat everything in sight person, the plates of meat at other BBQ restaurants will be sufficient and the quality will make up for the loss in quantity.

The all you can Eat Buffet costs $28.5 per person. Sapporo’s and Cass’s cost $7.5 each
Jong Ga is open 5pm to 10pm 7 days a week.

Sakura & Obaltan

Sakura 3.5/5
Obaltan 3/5
This double post is born out of the fact that i have been too lazy to post in a long time, also in the future i am going to take a camera with me to enhance this page from just text.

Sakura
9 Gladstone Road Highgate Hill
Sakura could be described as in Highgate hill, but by foot the best way is from South Bank Station (Vulture St) and on the corner of vulture st and highgate hill.
Sakura is easily one of the best Japanese restaurants in Brisbane, and i would say in my opinion has some of the best sashimi the capital has to offer, apparently being run by an ex-sumo makes your sashimi the best around. The staff are attentive and efficient, and the Ala carte food good, however in both times i have been there i have failed to get the hot pot (i suspect being the best part of the restaurant) however whilst the individual dishes are not the greatest to be found in Brisbane, starting off with a plate of sashimi will leave memories of fantastic food that will last beyond the above average mains. Additionally Sakura is fully licenced with a wide selection of Japanese beers (Yebisu!!) Sake, and also Shochu (Shochu Calpis highball!!). Also Sakura has the option of buying a bottle of Sake and if failing to finish it on this visit allows for the holding of the sake until your next visit (up to six months i think). Prices range from $15-$50 for food
3.5 out 5



Obaltan
91 Elizabeth St Brisbane City
Obaltan is a Korean style BBQ place in the row of Korean restaurants around where skinnys music used to be. From outside or inside the restaurant it appears to be well designed, with a nice aesthetic and at lunch or dinner a fair number of diners. Forgetting the main dishes on the menu other than charcoal BBQ (why go to a BBQ place for anything else), the food is quite good, with tasty and substantial cuts of meat ready for you to cut with scissors onto the grill. Oh i forgot to mention the grill sits over a tub of burning coals providing the meat with charcoal flavour, this is opposed to other BBQ places where gas is used to heat the grill. The table bells (a regular feature of Korean restaurants) assure prompt service, and the presence of Hite beer on tap provides many a pint to have over lunch, particularly recommended over lunch is cucumber soju, as its cool refreshing taste combines well with the bitterness in Hite, all of which combines well with the charcoal flavour of the meat and spiciness of the kimchi. My only real problem with this place is the price, which will undoubtedly end up over $50 each, however for a great dining experience i recommend it with a 3/5.



I've also eaten at Hunan Chinese restaurant recently, and while it was alright, and the service was excellent (admittedly we did eat at 3:30 on a Sunday) i wouldn't recommend it due to the presence of better restaurants in the area, and the food was just alright.

I need fellow diners to try out some restaurants I've been meaning to see for a while.
Contact me

Madtongsan 2

Madtongsan II
85 Elizabeth St, City
3/5
The rating i gave this place is probably a little out of whack. Mostly because i love bibimbap and everybody who knows me, knows that the two madtongsan's in the city are two of my favorites. especially for lunch and now with the presence of tap hite (which at least madtongsan II you can get by the jug) which makes the idea of spicy hot Korean food even more appealing, just writing this post makes me want to go back.

Madtongsan 2 is a fantastic restaurant evidenced by the fact that most of their single dish menu is under 15 dollars and most of their hotpots (for two or more) are under or around $30 and the fact that on Sunday lunch time it is difficult to get a table for more than two people.
So on this particular Sunday lunch time my lunch partner and i were able to get a table for two at about 1pm. When you are seated at your table, they usually bring round the complimentary Kim chi, and provide you with chopsticks and a spoon, service is easy due to the use of call bells on the table that bring the waitress to your table and the presence of jugs of hite beer (13 dollars a jug at a restaurant???!!!) means your first order is always known (unless of course you like soju)

We proceeded to order with no hesitation, knowing exactly what we wanted from the menu, two bibimbap's (mixed vegetables and rice with raw egg and chilli paste) and a jug of hite, the beer coming almost immediately, food a little longer, for those who haven't had Korean food before i know of nothing better than kimchi and beer. upon arrival of the food the usual stirring up of the bibimbap and the devouring that comes soon after proceeded as normal for me with my cold non stone pot bowl, my company however took longer due to the furnace like heat emanating from the stone pot ("dol soot" and the heat is a good thing) the dish came in. The food was of its usual high quality. i would recommend going here anytime you have free.

again my blog writing is rubbish, however hopefully ill learn to write better soon enough.