Gaon Korean BBQ

This is a really long overdue post! Last weekend, James Bomb and his family discovered this new Korean barbecue place that opened up near Old Town Pasadena. Being big fans of "korean bbq", we all were super excited to try this place out.

Upon arrival, we could tell the place was definitely brand spankin new. The walls, flooring, tables, everything was clean and the whole place didn't stink of meat fumes forever burrowed into the walls of an old time Korean barbecue venue. Anyways, onto the deets!

Good for: Families and big groups of friends
Parking: Street parking
Scene: Your usual crowd but a more ethnic mix than the Ktown joints
Service: Very enthusiastic, friendly waiters
Noise level: Dim
Seating: Indoor 
Price: $$
Rating: 3/5

We ate: Lemon soju, Kobe beef belly, Brisket, Prime rib, Beef tongue, Marinated short rib, Kalbi, Shrimp

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When you open up the menu, you realize that this isn't a cheap all-you-can-eat place. The AYCE menu had 3 different plans, with the cheapest Plan A being $24.99 and the most snazzy of the plans being $49.99! We decided to go with the middle ground, but $29.99 is probably on the higher end of AYCE Korean barbecue prices in the LA area...

This is going to be a sort of inaccurate review of the meats because I had no idea what I was eating most of the time. Everything sort of just came in a pile. 

Lemon soju (unpictured): Didn't have a strong alcoholic taste to it and the lemon was not overpowering, but the whole bottle kind of smelt like bathroom cleaner.

Kobe Beef Belly

Verdict: My favorite meat from our AYCE selection. We started off with this so we immediately thought we had found the best Korean BBQ place ever. The fat on the belly was juicy and made the whole thing just burst with flavor. 

Brisket in the center

Verdict: Very chewy and not cut as thinly as other Korean BBQ joints. Average meat quality.

Prime Rib (I could be making this up)

Verdict: Very tough to chew on, and had the overwhelming taste of cow. Does that make any sense? It basically didn't really taste like barbecued meat. Very lean...would advise a shorter cooking time on this one.

Shrimp

Verdict: You can't really go wrong with shrimp! It was fresh and our waiter cooked it with a whole lot of butter. Juicy and delicious!

Korean Pancake

Verdict: Everyone's favorite by far. These wonderful slabs of who-knows-what came free for every 2 people at the table. It wasn't burnt and had a great fluffy texture and lots of green onions!

Overall, we had high expectations of this place just because our meal started out realllllyyy good. The free appetizers that every Korean BBQ place seems to have was extra delicious here and the kobe beef belly was the best meat there. It sort of went a little downhill after that :(

However, if you're around the Pasadena area and you're too lazy to drive all the way down to Korea Town, this place is not a bad alternative at all. Still very authentic but just a bit on the pricier side.