Emilia reviews a CBD Korean BBQ where you can cook your own meat

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Here’s a new concept for you, a butchery with premium cuts of wagyu, organic chicken, duck and pork from a local supplier all available to buy, take away or, if you so choose keep on going through to Korean BBQ where you can sizzle them yourself on the natural gas KBBQ stove. It seats 104 people throughout many grills, table sizes and seats.

The whole idea is getting to have your choice at cuts of meat, making your grilling experience completely personalised. Whilst it might sound like there’s no staff necessary, the staff were incredibly attentive the whole time.

So, the process starts in the butchery, you pay for your meat and take it through to your grill where you can scan the QR code for any starters and extras.
They bring out some complimentary, refillable dishes and sauces, as is customary in KBBQ. Soy, chilli and sesame oil become your dipping sauces for the array of options. They also started us with pickled vege, kimchi, broccoli, a pasta salad that I couldn’t quite work out and a korean mashed potato / potato salad called gamja salad that I got multiple refills of: “Korean-style potato salad is a balance of fluffy mashed potatoes, crunchy carrots, fresh cucumber, and fatty egg pieces in a sweet and savoury seasoning of rice syrup and mayonnaise.”

They’re not even the orderable starters, for those you have to get the fried octopus and of course, Korean Fried Chicken, edamame was a welcome greenery add to the table and we ordered Udon noodle soup that was great but if you were being economical about stomach space probably could give a miss. My favourite starter was the prawn fry, I noticed this about all their food but it was a stand out in their prawn – the freshness would make you think you were by the ocean. They clearly choose their suppliers well and know how to cook and store fresh produce.

The team sources its pure-bred wagyu from Elbow Valley in Queensland, where the cattle are fed a combination of orange pulp and locally grown grains like wheat, barley and corn. This results in outstanding meat quality, with the team sourcing plenty of cuts with a 9+ marble score.

Meat wise we tried the wagyu, chilli pork belly, ‘must try’, duck breast. I was a little worried our cooking skills might ruin such amazing cuts but luckily they proved hard to stuff up, despite our best efforts. The wagyu was a standout, melting like butter in the mouth with the distinctive smokiness you can only get from an open flame.

Other than the meat we ordered the pumpkin slices and king oyster mushrooms for the grill too. I would recommend getting some lettuce on the side to wrap the meat up in as it can be a very meat-heavy cuisine.

Price wise the meat varied depending on the size and cut, obviously. So you could pick anywhere between $15-$35 ready to take away meat. Most starters were under or only just above $10 and an accompanying soju is under $20. So, you could spend as much or as little as you like, I loved the experience – something fun to do with your partner or friends and the service, despite it being somewhat self-serve, was always immediate and welcoming.

Woo399

4/399 Lonsdale St

Melbourne