As mentioned earlier, there has been a long list of newly opened Korean BBQ restaurants around town. I'm not particularly sure why this is the case but there's definitely no complaints from me. The more KBBQ restaurants that open, the better. One of the more popular ones of late is Daega, which has received some fairly stellar reviews of late. I was quite excited to be trying it out.
I had made a reservation for the weeknight, but given how large the restaurant is, a booking is probably not essential. Despite the large space, ventilation was not done quite well and it was definitely smokey and meaty in the restaurant.
After being seated, side dishes were served. Notably, this came before we had even ordered and I found this to be a wonderfully hospitable and generous touch. The kimchi was very flavoursome and enjoyable. Our favourites were the wakame salad, fish cake, japchae and potato salad. It definitely made for a pleasant start to our dinner.
We were able to enjoy the sides while we perused the menu. Like most KBBQ places, they had sets of BBQ dishes, a la carte dishes as well as a selection of cooked meals. Of course, my heart was already set on ordering BBQ and the friendly owner was able to recommend the best set for two, being the assorted wagyu set.
The drinks menu comprised of the usual selection of soju, beer and soft drinks. It's not really a KBBQ without soju, so we had a bottle of lychee to share.
Our main event came before long. The set comprised of wagyu deckle, wagyu eye roll and soy marinated wagyu along with a small portion of veggies. I was a little skeptical after having seen pictures online becuase the portions didn't look very big, but the platter was actually very large and it was definitely enough meat for two people but probably not for three.
Of the three varieties of wagyu, my favourite was the delectably marinated soy wagyu with its sweet and umami tones. The deckle was also tender and flavoursome but I didn't enjoy the large amount of fat in the meat. The Dr favoured the eye roll more for it's fresh flavours and soft texture.
Two further dishes came with the set, this was the cheese corn. It was a generous portion with sweet corn and creamy cheese sauce along with melted mozzarella on top. It was filling and complimented the meat well.
Our other dish was soup, we had a choice between kimchi soup or tofu soup, I stuck with kimchi. This was boiling hot when it landed on our table. Tart and umami, it provided a foil to our decadent wagyu meal. In summary, we had a highly enjoyable time at Daega. With the strong competition in the crowded market of Korean BBQs, I do think that Daega sets itself out from the competition with it's generous and high quality sides as well as superb quality of meat. I think we have found our new favourite.
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 7/10
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