Arirang Korean Bbq Restaurant

It's probably better if you know what you are...

It's probably better if you know what you are doing here. We were hosting a visitor from out of town who enjoys different kinds of dining experiences and the idea of cooking for yourself in a restaurant intrigued him. We have been frequent diners at a sushi restaurant in this shopping and dining plaza. I had been curious about this restaurant for a while after looking in the window and seeing the drop-in grills in the center of all the tables. The dining room was clean and kept pleasantly smoke free by large exhaust hoods over the tables. We were cheerfully greeted immediately upon entering and before we had a chance to remove our coats and sit down the server was requesting our beverage order. I thought that degree of urgency was peculiar since the restaurant was only perhaps 1/4 occupied. We choose sake and beers from a rather limited beverage menu and then perused the dinner menu. It contained about a dozen each of appetizers and entrées along with the list of all-you-can-eat selections. We all choose the AUCE meat and seafood combination at $22 per person. The grill was preheated and our beverages were promptly served with 4 or 5 small bowls of appetizers including Kim-chee and seasoned noodles. The sake was served warm rather than cold as is the growing custom in Japanese restaurants with a good quality sake. Soon our server arrived bearing many platters each with a different type of marinated meat and seafood. The small portions included strips of pork ribs and pork slices, beef short ribs and sliced beef, boneless chicken thighs, un-peeled shrimp, and lightly scored pieces of squid. Our server crowded all the beef, pork and chicken onto the grill to start the cooking. She returned in a few minutes with individual bowls of steamed rice and a decanter of soy sauce. No other condiments or accompaniments like lettuce for wrapping cooked items were provided. We found the beef and pork ribs tough and not particularly flavorful while the slices of beef and pork were considerably more tender and tasty. Perhaps they had the benefit of longer marinating. The marinated chicken was the best of the group, still being moist and tender. As we worked on the meats the pieces of shrimp and squid went on the grill. Unfortunately, they were left on too long and overcooked. You can't get too involved in conversation here if you are doing the cooking. The shrimp were almost impossible to remove from their shells and the squid was very tough. We only ordered second portions of the chicken and the slices of pork and beef, about 2 pieces of each per guest. We took charge of cooking these items and they turned out even better than the first serving. In reflecting on our experience here I recommend that diners take charge of cooking their own items and do so at a leisurely pace, just a few items at a time. Too much was cooked for us at the same time and much of the food was cold by the time we ate it. In spite of the warning on the menu that a charge for unconsumed items would be added to the bill, we were not charged anything extra for the inedible items left uneaten. The service was perfunctory and not very informative in spite of our telling her this was our first visit to Arirang. A smart restaurant manager would get involved with customers and ensure they had a great first experience so they would be eager to return. Another shortcoming here is the lack of vegetables. Just meat and rice certainly doesn't result in a balanced meal. We thought the meals were a little expensive considering how little we consumed, but that is why we generally avoid AUCE restaurants as we don't have large appetites and therefore subsidize those that do. In summary, it was a slightly disappointing experience but a lot of the cause was our own unfamiliarity with Korean restaurants and their dining practices. Restaurants that want to grow their business ought to pay more attention to their customers' needs.