The Hong Depot Korean Self Grill BBQ and Bar was a good find in West End in Brisbane. My friend and I searched for something different and were rewarded.
Image courtesy of Google Plus
Hong Depot has a small bar section for drinking customers and has plenty of seating for dining customers. We opted to sit in the terrace to get a good view of the West End street scene. The place was full and busy; still we received prompt and quick service. The staff were very helpful with introducing us to what Korean barbecue is.
Image courtesy of Google Plus
Every table has a chamber for hot coals, which are put in place once the order is about to arrive. Ducted vents hang on top of the chambers to suck the smoke out and away from the tables. The menu has tapas, mains, sides, re-orders, extras, seafood, and desserts. Individual tapas are available in small to large sizes. Prices range from eight to eighteen dollars. Special tapas plates for one to two persons and three to four people are priced at fifteen and twenty-one dollars, respectively. Mains come in 200-gram choices of marinated meat and if that's not quite enough, they can be re-ordered in 100-gram amounts. Extras and seafood are also available to augment or complement the chosen dish or dishes.
Image courtesy of Google Plus
We ordered the tapas plate, which came with two pairs of tapas dishes and a portion of japchae. For mains, we chose the bulgogi or spicy pork, gan jang chicken and rice cakes. They also give you complimentary kimchi and dipping sauces. The tapas plate was a good choice for tasting three different tapas dishes. I liked the japchae, which are potato glass noodles with stir-fried beef and vegetables in light soy sauce and sesame oil. The tofu kimchi was piquant and savoury. The gan jang chicken tasted bland after the flavoursome tapas, but the spicy pork was indeed spicy. We needed not worry though; we were well-prepared and had ordered good Korean beer to counter the effect.
Hong Depot has a different bibimbap menu for lunch and it looks very interesting. Bibimbap is a signature Korean dish, which is a bowl of mixed rice (white, brown, black) topped with your chosen ingredients and an egg, and is seasoned with red pepper paste. It can be served in a normal bowl or a hot stone bowl; the latter is apparently better as it gives the bottom rice layer a delicious, golden crust. Sounds really good to me, but that's another trip for another day.
Image courtesy of koreanbapsang.com
