Ansan : Meat Lovers' Heaven at Kogi King (고기킹)

2nd December 2012.
Ansan, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

Are you hungry for meat? Prepared in Korean Barbeque style? Then you probably will fall in love with Kogi King, a Korean BBQ chain with its meat buffet. The guys in my exchange party went to Kogi King one dinner and almost wiped out their meat supply thanks to one or two hungry carnivores in the pack.

I only ate a bit and my favourite is the Tteok Galbi, or “burger” patty. The meat here are being replenished oftenly and there are more than 7 kinds of meat to choose from. But besides, beef and pork, I don't see any other kinds of meat here. Rice incur an extra charge on top of the 14900 KRW per pax for buffet.

The classics such as the beef galbi (some of them were marinated) and pork belly (samgyeopsal) were available as well. You could enjoy them ssambap style with the lettuce provided to wrap these grilled meat with a piece of grilled garlic and brush some gochujang with garlic sauce and eat it like sushi. Yummy.

When it comes to Korean Barbeque, it is a rather straightforward affair. You grill the meat and chopped it up when and put it to the side when it’s done, and it can be enjoyed in the traditional ssam bap style, or on its own, or dip it into a mixture of onions, soy sauce and vinegar. At the end of it just enjoy the communal dining experience, the Koreans love to have several cups or bottles of soju along it but I am not into alcohol and I want to enjoy my food sober.

Kogi King
Various Locations around Korea. The one we dined at was near Handaep Station, along the main street opposite Lotteria.