When it comes to ethnic cuisine, my reverse food snobbery dictates that fancy environs often foreshadow mediocre meals. Goong, a fancy new Korean barbecue restaurant in the southwest, proves that theory wrong. The massive space serves up flavors (and quality portions) to match.
A meal here requires quite a bit of decision making, starting with your choice of seats. Booths with built-in grills are the standard option, but you can also kick off your shoes and plunk down on some floor cushions, the traditional Korean way. From there, every square inch of the table is covered with banchan, or complimentary sides: Kimchi, daikon pickles, potato salad, vegetable pancakes and crudité with gochujang (spicy red pepper paste) were just a few of the dishes offered on a recent visit.
But you’re here to satisfy your inner caveman, right? Feeling piggish (literally), we opted for the pork platter ($42)—a combination of pork belly, jowl, marinated skirt and dwaejibulgogi (sliced pork slathered in chili paste marinade)—and an order of galbi ($16), or marinated beef short rib. Servers will cook your meat at the table, but for maximum flavor it’s best to grab your chopsticks and take the DIY route. The sweet and garlicky flavor of the galbi marinade is wasted unless the beef has a proper sear, and the staff is sometimes too busy (or impatient) to hover over your grill and coddle each piece of protein.
Every barbecue order comes with a steamed egg soufflé (for fans of Japanese cuisine, think of a rustic chawan mushi) and your choice of a stew: kimchi, doenjang (a funky fermented bean paste) or soondubu (spicy silken tofu). The only dish that fell short was mul naeng myun ($10), cold buckwheat noodles with sliced beef in a vinegar-spiked broth. The noodles had a proper elastic chew, though the traditional additions of Asian pear (for a touch of sweetness) and crushed ice were noticeably absent.
The arrival of Goong doesn’t just offer an alternative to Korean dining options on Spring Mountain Road. It is, on its own merit, a destination for any Korean barbecue enthusiast.
Goong Korean BBQ 7729 S. Rainbow Blvd. #5, 702-979-9118. Monday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.