Ben and I headed to Los Angeles after work for a fun dinner double date. We went to ChoSun Galbee Restaurant. It’s a Korean BBQ place.
I have never been to a restaurant like this before and wasn’t sure what to expect – or how to even order!
We met up with Ben’s college friend Phil and his girlfriend Erin. They live in Boston and are in town for a wedding! 
(Side note:Both Phil and Ben are in the wedding. Ben always gets to be in weddings and I never do because my friends don’t get married. Feel free to invite me to be in your nuptials. I’ll try not to get all drunk on your bachelorette party and get us kicked off the plane to Vegas.)
Anyways, I was too distracted by this odd spoon to worry about ordering.
I still don’t know what it’s meant for…
We ordered a few different kinds of protein. Then, the waitress brought out a bunch of side dishes to enjoy while our food cooked.
There was everything from fermented tofu to some egg patty thing to sprouted mung beans?
Phil had to explain everything to me…
I dominated the table’s salad. Sorry guys.
Meat. They ordered a lot of meat.
You can check out their menu here. As a BBQ place it’s predictably meat heavy, that’s how they roll.
I do have to admit the smell of cooking meat is pleasant.
I ate some of everything. Okay okay, A LOT of everything.
As a rule, I do not eat meat besides poultry but I do have an exception to that rule when I am out of the country and trying to experience new cultures. I decided to count this as a new culture experience.
This was cold buckwheat noodles in a beef broth. I expected not to like it, but it was good.
Our table was completely covered in food and dishes. My dining companions assured me this was normal at a place like this – little did they know this is how my table looks during breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday!
At the end of the meal they brought us a sweet rice drink. I called it “Korean horchata”.
The bathroom had mouthwash for your mouth washing pleasure. Thought that was random…
But, I’m pretty random anyways so I appreciated it.
Overall, I loved it! I have a deep appreciation for the part where the waitresses bring you more and more side dishes as you want. And the company was great too. The only downside is it’s pretty expensive. But, this was a special occasion and a new experience so I give it 3 out of 4 stars 
There’s an *excellent* Korean BBQ in Irvine – Jefferey Road – ShiDoRak. Go at lunch when it’s all you can eat…..
catching up on some of your older posts…Anytime you’d like to try Korean again let me know! We have some really great buffet style rest. where I live! Korean food is comfort food to me! I’m def. a “kimchi girl!!” “Machiso-yo!!”…tastes soo good!!
that’s near me! i have never been to chosun galbee – i go to the less fancy places for korean bbq – but i have seen their commercials!
Next time you have a new Korean cultural experience, you have to try bulgogi–it’s delicious (and so worth making an exception to your usual meat policy for)!
I <3 Korean BBQ! The place I go to in San Francisco is called Brothers, pretty popular. They do their meat in thinner slices (I believe it's bulgogi style) and it cooks a lot faster as such. I think I might get impatient if we were waiting for a whole steak to grill! Hah! But yes, I adore all the little side dishes and the 1001 things on your table. I'm a variety queen and Korean BBQ is good for that!
My husband and I were OBSESSED with Galbi restaurants when we lived in Korea… and then I stopped eating meet and they became a lot less fun. But I still wish all places just kept bringing fun little side dishes!
I have never gotten to be in a wedding either! I’ve been to a lot of them, but was not quite close enough to be that involved. And then the only friends I was close enough to did weddings in far away destinations! Poo on them! 😉
I am the opposite in that I eat meat but not poultry. Always wanted to go to this Korean BBQ spot near my apartment, maybe I will check it out soon – this looks like a good time!
1)Last time I went into the Japanese restaurant here (yes, I know, not Korean) I went to the bathroom and they had an electronic toilet with buttons and front and back washes. It totally freaked me out. I went in the other stall with the regular old non-washing toilet was. I would prefer mouth wash.
2)I doubt I’ll be having nuptials anytime soon, but if you want to fly to North Carolina and drink with me, we can pretend someone is getting married.
I’m getting married on January 14 in Phoenix! It is coincidentally the day before the Phoenix Rock ‘n Roll marathon and half marathon. I’m debating signing up for the half, but I am pretty sure that my parents and finance might try to deter me from doing so. What’s better than getting married? Getting married and PR’ing the next morning! You’re welcome to stop by my nuptials if you’re going to be in the area. : )
yay korean BBQ!! my mom is korean so i grew up eating that stuff and yes all those little dishes on the table is totally normal. glad you got to have the cold buckwheat noodles (i call it cold noodle soup). its so refreshing on a hot day!!!
I’d love to experience something like that but I feel like I’d be totally lost without someone who “knew” what they were doing.
Isn’t it weird when places have mouthwash in the bathroom? I’ve seen that a couple times before too. Random.
ohhh fun! i love korean bbq places they’re so interesting and delicious!
Love the slight reference to Bridesmaids… I saw that this past weekend, so funny!
I love Korean BBQ.. one of the many things I miss about living in LA. They were on every block!!
Too bad I just got married, or I would have asked you. Under the condition that you give away puggles in pink berets at the shower!
I think it’s crazy galbi restaurants in America are SO much more expensive than Korea (where I lived for a year). To give some perspective, the ‘all you can eat’ galbi place near by Seoul apartment was 8,000 won (less than $8). Unlimited side dishes are a Korean staple — some are delicious, others are, well, ‘interesting.’ 😉
It would be like the blind leading the blind if Dear Hubby and I went there. It’s so good you had a guide/friends there to help you. I do think the mouthwash is random, but I’d definitely do it up.
I wouldnt know what to do at a place like that either! Looks good though. And I would have probably appreciated the random dental wash too. LOL
Did you use the mouth was? That is weird.
I have never been to a Korean restaurant! Looks like fun to cook your own meat. LOVE the mouthwash in the bathroom. Totally random and awesome at the same time.
I’ve heard that these restaurants are a blast and so much fun! It kind of reminds me of Asian fondue.