My friends and I caught up for a Korean BBQ dinner at Insadong in Gungahlin. At 6pm, there are already 6 tables of diners busily cooking away.
I’m the first to arrive and wait for the others. My friend asks for the menus, and tap water and plastic cups are provided at the same time. Our waitress is lovely, explaining the menu to us and coming back after giving us some time to mull over what to order. We decide on a special BBQ set, a dish of japchae, and Korean fried chicken.
The BBQ is uncovered and a new gas bottle inserted. Small bowls of banchan – small side dishes arrives for us to share. I get to eat all the kimchi as no one else likes it.
The Wagyu Set B ($135) comes with a mix of various beef cuts like oyster blade, beef brisket, rib fingers, inside skirt and flap meat. This comes out on two plates with some mushrooms and sliced carrot on the side.
We don’t remember the name of the cut that’s our favourite, but it was delicious, almost buttery and tender. We also order a bowl of steamed rice to share and to soak up the juices of the barbecued meat.
The Wagyu set also comes with a stew of our choice. There are 8 stews to choose from, some spicier than others. None of us had any preference so we went with my friend’s recommendation of the soybean paste stew. It doesn’t sound the most appealing, but is a Korean staple. Basically, it’s a Korean version of miso soup using fermented soy beans. It’s filled with tofu, enoki mushrooms and other vegetables with a hint of chilli (we asked for extra mild). Awesome light comfort food – better in winter.
The generous portion of jap chae ($22) has plenty of glass noodles that have a good texture (not mushy) mixed in with onion, carrot and shallots. I don’t recall seeing any other type of vegetable in it but it’s really all about the noodles anyway! The balance of sweet and savoury leaned slightly more towards the sweet, which is fine by me.
With the Korean fried chicken ($38), we’re asked if we want it boneless or on the bone, to which I shrug. Somebody makes an executive decision for it to be on the bone. I was not expecting the mountain of fried chicken that’s presented to us. The chicken is topped high with no shortage of spring onion, and comes with a side of pickled radish and various sauces to dip. By this stage I only have room for one drum stick (which is huge). There’s a lovely crunch as I bite into it and some of the batter falls into my bowl but mostly onto the table. The batter isn’t seasoned and quite bland, until you dip it into the sweet soy sauce mixture that’s provided in a bowl. The sauce is a little sticky, not sickly sweet, and provides that punchy flavour I’m after. I now get why it comes in a separate bowl so that the crunchy chicken doesn’t turn soggy after a few minutes. The pickled radish provides a refreshing break to cut through the heaviness of the fried goodness.
The beef set is recommended for 3-4 people and is actually pretty filling, but I’m glad we ordered some other dishes as I was soon getting bored of just beef. We took some of the uneaten beef and most of the fried chicken home.
There are plenty of other dishes on the menu I wouldn’t mind trying – other types of fried chicken, more noodles, deep fried goodies and hotpot.
There’s no individual exhaust for each table, but with any BBQ prepare to leave the restaurant a little BBQ-scented. There is an undercover outdoor area (but I didn’t venture over that way) which might be a better option.
Insadong
51 Strayleaf Cres, Gungahlin ACT
Opening hours:
Monday – Thursday: 5.00 – 10.00pm
Friday – Sunday: 5.00pm – 11.00pm
Foodgasm 8/10
Value for money 7.5/10
Service 7.5/10
FPJ score 23/30
If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal