Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ, Esplanade Mall, Singapore

Another Korean barbecue has opened at the Esplanade Mall and since I was here for a show, I decided to drop by.

This grill here is a hybrid gas-charcoal one. The charcoal is evident to impart that smokey aroma but the strength of the flame is still controlled by a gas burner.

Like most of the Korean barbecues in town, there's quite a variety of sidedishes. The kimchis were decent but I liked the aubergine and pumpkin the most.

Even before tasting the chal dol bak-i (thinly sliced beef brisket), I knew I would like it just by the sight of the streaky amounts of fat.

You can opt to DIY or have the server cook the meats. These thin slices cook extremely fast, so a quick sear on each side is all you need.

Wrap the sizzling beef in a lettuce leaf with some pickled onion, raw garlic, chili bean paste and we're ready to have a little tasty parcel.

The suwon neobiani (marinated beef rib) is basically marinated sweetly (as with most marinated Korean barbecue meats). The beef was ok but I would rather still stick to unmarinated meats to taste that pure beefy flavor. The dipping sauce of sesame oil and salt and pepper did help dampen the sweetness.

The pork galbi (rolled pork rib) was up next.

The rib is rolled out onto the grill first.

Prior to being cut up into little pieces. I enjoyed this a bit more than the marinated beef because it was less sweet. All in all, Jang Shou provides a pretty decent meal. The number of Korean expatriates dining here may be testimonial to their authenticity. One thing they didn't have was ox tongue (more Japanese in origin?) though. Korean marinated meats are great for those who love sweet meats and to be fair to Jang Shou, the marinated meats I had in Korea were just as sweet as well, so I ought to stick to the plain ones.

D