8 Hungry College Boys v.s. All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ

Before last week even began, I knew there was going to be steam to be blown off. Two presentations and a midterm in the span of three days mentally exhausted me and prompted me to think of a way to relax after this hellish week ended. So, I looked to gather as many of my friends as possible and head to Koreatown in hopes of stuffing ourselves with the greatest invention known to man: all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue. The week was full of ups and downs, friends committed to plans, backed out, then recommitted again, but on Saturday, we were ready to take down the beast. Our goals were to stuff ourselves senseless. Jongro BBQ Market would be conquered by the eight of us.

We arrived at the restaurant and were immediately met with a few parameters: a time limit of 90 minutes was enforced the minute we sat down at the table, a 30% fee would be enforced if we stayed longer than our allotted time, and another 30% fee would be enforced if there were any leftovers on the meats we ordered. My friends and I made the controversial plan of starving ourselves, beginning from the previous night’s dinner to maximize stomach space for the ensuing day’s lunch. However, upon further thought, I ditched that idea and had a light breakfast of fruit and water. But at 2:00 p.m., the crew strolled in hungry and ready to roll.

The eight of us sat down and positioned ourselves between two grills, immediately discussing our strategy to maximize the number of meat platters to hit the table without wasting anything. As we were talking, dozens of the small shareable sides arrived at the table, a tantalizing distraction from the main topic at hand. I admit we had a few nibbles of the kimchi, pork belly, radish, and noodles before locking back into our main focus.

After a few minutes of discussion, we ordered a restaurant set first order, a maximum of 16 plates of meat. In anticipation of an absolute feast, I set up a time-lapse on my phone, and swiftly, a plethora of meats arrived at the table. We all took turns grilling and snatching piping hot meats off the grill and popping them directly into our mouths and trays of sauces. Although the all-you-can-eat price came with many choices of appetizers and sides, such as bibimbap, kimchi stew, and fried dumplings, the only sides we ordered were rice and scallion pancakes. In fact, I rounded out the day with 4 bowls of rice, the most eaten at the table.

The first 30 minutes flew by as the table was in complete mayhem, everyone looking to satisfy their hunger and practically eating straight off the grill. Whoever controlled the tongs controlled your hunger level for the next hour. Thankfully, everyone got their turn and had a good start to the meal. The smell of cooking beef bulgogi, beef brisket, marinated hanger steak, and pork belly filled the large dining room, with the occasional order of beef tartare. Waiting for our fourth refill order of meet around 45 minutes in, we decided to mix in some seafood and added marinated shrimp and spicy squid to the table. I checked in with everyone at the table, well aware that their hunger levels would be used in this article; nobody was close to full yet. 

The next 25 minutes were when the tide turned as we ate over 45 plates of meat and seafood. Adding in scallion pancakes and bowls of rice provided a nice starchy complement and a shift away from the salty red meat. Suddenly, the clock struck 3:10 p.m., we had 20 minutes left, and over a dozen plates of uncooked meat waiting to be eaten, but there was a problem. A wave of fresh meat arrived at the table, more than we anticipated. I looked around the table and noticed the pace of eating decreased drastically, along with a couple of sleepy faces. My suite mate tapped out uncharacteristically early, leaving my side of the table to carry an even larger burden. Dreading each bite and now sick at the sight of beef, we crawled our way through each piece of meat. Stomachs were stretched to maximum capacity, but we had to keep going even if there was no room left. Our rallying cry centered around an obligation to never pay the “leftover fee,” and this united us toward the finish line. The mounds of beef were daunting at first, but slowly we got through each plate, leaving each one spotless. With half of the table tapped out with five minutes to go, we were sure this was the end of our journey, but somehow my four friends sitting across from me ordered two more plates of bulgogi and beef tartare. I found this to be an impossible feat, as I didn’t have to eat for the rest of the day.

Our bellies full, time expiring, and our server letting us know our time was up, we were eager to check the damages and see if we had truly conquered this Korean BBQ experience. Our item count totaled around 108 dishes, including rice and a single soft drink. For the set price of $50/person, I thought this was quite reasonable, as we were able to order whenever we wanted, and each portion was nicely sized. Extremely full and even more satisfied, we left the restaurant in a blissful state. However, in the conversations that followed during our walks back home, we pondered whether we had more in the tank.