Guhng Korean BBQ, CBD

I love trying new cuisines and I had such a fabulous time at Guhng's this previous Friday. We were invited to the hip Korean BBQ restaurant to celebrate a good mates birthday, and it was a huge novelty for me having his Korean girlfriend order us all of this amazing food in Korean.

I am usually a huge control freak when it comes to menu's, but this particular instance it was really nice to sit back and have someone who knows the food really well order for you. It was a good surprise to see the food come to your table, where most of the food is cooked on a central charcoal BBQ that you eat the food directly off.

The restaurant itself is modern and very aesthetically appealing- funky booths, winding staircases, cast iron trimmings and gorgeous lighting.

Having never eaten Korean before I was amazed by the amount of bottomless sides you are served. Little bowls of caramalised type onion, pickled cabbage and 'kimchi', spicy pickled cabbage along with three different types of dipping sauces were scattered across the table. Our friend had us in hysterics as he went through bowl after bowl of kimchi on its own, loving the spicy cabbage salad.

We started with a rare beef salad. The meat was soft and tender, the salad crisp and the dressing sweet and zesty.

We also had some Korean dumplings. These were very different from Chinese or Japanese dumplings, with a really crispy pastry around it with a subtle mince stuffing.

Then came the BBQ-ing. I wasn't really sure what to expect when the plates of huge marinated pieces of pork belly and beef spare-ribs arrived at the table. But sure enough, the little charcoal BBQ was fired up and between our Korean friend at the table and the waitresses many courses of yummy, tender, beautifully marinated meat was cooked which we enjoyed with black rice and crispy lettuce leaves, along with all the accompanied sauces and toppings. I enjoyed mine the traditional way, by wrapping the meat in the lettuce leaves and adding the desired sauce and toppings. It was delicious, simple and healthy. A true caveman style feast! I loved the smoky smell wafting through the air.

Somehow I managed to have enough room after all that carnivorous action for dessert. The blackberry panna cotta was a beautiful, simple dessert. The panna cotta was of perfect consistency with just a subtle blackberry hint, topped with gorgeous berries in syrup and a chocolate curl.

Korean BBQ is a great, interactive way to share a social dinner with friends. I was so surprised by the bill as well, as between 5 of us we had two entrees, 2 large pieces of pork belly, 6 beef spare ribs, rice, 2 bottles of soju (like sake), two glasses of wine and about 4 beers plus my dessert and it only came to $42 a head. Such good value for high quality food served in a novelty setting.