BERLIN BITES: Arirang Korean Lunch
You can tell I really love a restaurant because I tend to obsess about it. I ate in Arirang Korean Restaurant three times in one week. I wrote about having dinner there so I thought I’d write about my lunch time experience. We were a bigger group this time 7 people (and a baby) and initially my companions thought we were ordering too little. I reassured them that the servings were massive and true enough, we couldn’t finish everything we ordered. We were all completely stuffed and happy with the delicious Korean food. I highly recommend everything we ordered.
Korean Kimchi Pancake
The BBQ dishes are traditionally cooked on your table. In Arirang it is self-service and BBQ-ing your food and smelling like delicious food is all a part of the experience.
Beef Bulgogi BBQ
Pork Belly BBQ
Also pictured below is the Chicken Ketchup (always a hit!)
How I like to Eat Korean BBQ:
- Once the pork is nice and fried to your taste (we like it crispy) you can also do this with the other dry Korean BBQ dishes
- best way to eat with hands and chopsticks combined: with a lettuce on the left hand and chopsticks on the right
- Place cooked pork on top of lettuce
- Top with whatever you fancy from the side dishes try different combinations to find out which you like best
- Then roll up the lettuce and dip in both dipping sauces that they provide each of the dinners and bite!
The different flavours combine in your mouth and tickle your tastebuds! I remember the phrase equivalent German expression my friend taught me:
…dem Gaumen schmeicheln!
Can you tell how happy the group was?
GOOD TO KNOW:
- LUNCH TIME SERVICE. We went at 12:00 which is the time it opens and there was only one male wait-staff and we were the first table to be occupied. With one person serving, service is understandably slower at lunch time and I felt for the nice man, when the place started really picking up at around 14:00.
- LONG LUNCH. I don’t recommend ordering the BBQ pork belly for people who have a limited time for lunch. It is more laborious than the Bulgogi. If you really want BBQ then the Bulgogi is much faster.
- HOT. If you come during lunch time on a hot summer day I don’t recommend sitting by the glass because it’s really warm. But if you are German and love getting direct sunlight, they have an outdoor area where you can bake yourself to your hearts content.
- DRINKS. Arirang serves mineral water and other drinks, like apfelschörle, in big bottles so if you go in a group it will be more cost-effective to order these.
- BEWARE THE HOT OIL. The pork belly is very fatty and there is a bowl for the fat to drop out, but because of the heat it also splatters all over. So keep a safe distance. Fast reflexes will also help haha. I used a fan as my “shield.” =p
- BBQ SERVINGS. It says portion for 2 people in the BBQ menu but I would say that it’s more for 3 hungry Germans or 4 smaller Asians. Hehe. Seriously the portions are large. When in doubt, as the waitstaff if you have ordered enough or too much.
- CHOPSTICKS. They provide metal chopsticks for eating and wooden ones for cooking. If you are not too handy with chopsticks, ask for wooden ones which are easier to handle. They provide spoons for the rice.
- REFILLABLE. Rice and side dishes come free with whatever you order. If you run out of kimchi or any of the other side dishes and rice, ask for more.
All in all we ordered 4 dishes, but with the rice and side dishes that came with it we couldn’t completely wipe it out. We ordered about four 1Liter bottles of beverages. in the end it came out to 10 Euros per person. Not bad for the quantity and quality of food.
I have only tried one other Korean Restaurant in Berlin, but I can believe this Berlin foodblogger when he says that Arirang serves the best Korean food in Berlin.
Have you ever been to Arirang? What are your favorite dishes and why?
