Arang (Korean) – London, England (7/10)
Jan 21st, 2009 by admin
Background:
After our recent experience at Leong’s Legend, I thought that my brother and I should avoid Chinatown for our next meal out. We used to eat quite a lot of Korean barbecue when we lived in Beijing over a decade ago, and as we’re both meat fanatics, I thought Korean would be a perfect choice. tasty treats! provided me with some central London options, and I eventually settled on Arang (although I have to point out she has only had the takeaway lunch there!). Incidentally, Arang is also owned by the same people behind Ran on Great Marlborough Street, which I used to visit before Koba opened.
First impressions:
Arriving at 7.30pm with a reservation, the restaurant was heaving and we had to wait a few minutes by the bar while our table was vacated and then prepared for us. The large majority of diners were Asian, which was a positive sign. The interior was slick and modern and I noticed that it didn’t smell much of barbecued meat. I always worry about what to wear when I go for Korean barbecue, because I inevitably end up smelling from head to toe of it.
Menu:
The menu is rather substantial. You can see it in its entirety on the restaurant website. I’m no expert on Korean food, but Arang seems to offer the standard dishes found in most Korean restaurants. But we were there for the barbecue, even though I could spot a couple of favourites – dwen jang chi ge – soy bean paste soup with beancurd & rice (£7.50) and dol bibimbab – steamed rice with beef & vegetables in a hot stone bowl (£7.50).
What we ordered:
I’ve become used to having to pay for namul (small dishes of seasoned vegetables) in this country, but it was always free in Beijing and Koreatown, New York. So I ordered the shi kum chi namul – seasoned spinach (£1.80) and suk joo namul – mildly seasoned green bean sprouts (£1.80). These and kimchi usually make up the trilogy of namul dishes that are served. They arrived with kimchi (normally £2.00) and a mash potato dish, both of which were on the house. Everything was fresh and crunchy (the potato wasn’t). A good start.
Next came the haemul pajun -spring onion & seafood pancake (£8.50). I actually preferred this to the one at Koba. This was thinner and crispier, while the Koba version is a bit thicker and more doughy in texture. It depends what you like, I think. It comes with a small dish of dipping sauce.
Then the barbecue was prepared. I chose bul kalbi – seasoned & marinaded beef short ribs (£8.50) and bulgogi – sliced & marinated beef (£7.50). There were plenty of other options including seafood like sliced beef tongue, pork belly, prawns, scallop and squid, but I wanted to concentrate on pure beef this time. The barbecue banchan (side dishes) included a basket of lettuce leaves, a dish of slightly spicy, finely sliced spring onions and a small dish of kochu jang (Korean hot sauce).
In case you haven’t had Korean barbecue before, the waitress usually cooks the meat on the built-in grill in front of you, but I prefer doing it myself and took over from her after about 5 minutes. Otherwise it feels a bit awkward and you’re rushed to eat at her pace. Place a lettuce leave on the plate, add some spring onions and a small dollop of kochu jang, add a couple of pieces of meat, wrap the lettuce around it and eat! The meat was of good quality (apart from a couple of chewier bul kalbi pieces) and both portions were substantial. We also had small bowls of rice which neither of us could finish.
The verdict:
The service was friendly, despite it being very busy throughout the entire time we were there (with up to ten people waiting by the entrance to be seated at one point). And the food was perfectly fine. Not outstanding, but on a par with any of the good Korean restaurants in New York.
I was surprised though, when I saw the bill, and am still pondering over this days later. Not only was there a £3.60 charge for the lettuce, spring onions and kochu jang, because I asked for more after we ran out, they charged us twice! So for two small baskets of lettuce leaves, 2 bowls of spring onions and 2 tiny dishes of sauce, all of which are essential to the Korean barbecue, I had to pay £7.20, practically the price of a barbecue dish. I should have queried it then, but as it sometimes happens, I didn’t.
On my way home, I tried to remember all the times I’ve eaten Korean barbecue (plenty of times in Beijing and New York, not so regularly in London), and couldn’t recall ever having been charged extra for these ingredients that form an integral part of the barbecue. If you know this to be normal practice in UK Korean restaurants, please let me know. Otherwise I’m going to have to visit every other Korean restaurant in London to find out what the common practice is!
Dinner therefore came to a total of £46.50 including service charge, minus alcohol.
10 – Perfection, 9.5 – Sensational, 9 – Outstanding, 8.5 – Superb,
8 – Excellent, 7.5 – Very Good, 7 - Good, 6.5 - Above Average, 6 – Average
All the London restaurant reviews on World Foodie Guide
Contact details:
Arang
9 Golden Square
London W1F 9HZ
Tel: 020 7434 2073
www.arang.co.uk
Helen Yuet Ling Pang @ World Foodie Guide
This looked very interesting, although you were unfortunate with those charges. You may like to investigate ‘Dotori’ in Finsbury Park which I enjoyed recently. It is certainly cheaper – not least because of the amount of freebie ‘banchans’. I would put the link here although after the L.A. event, I don’t want to be seen to chase link-love…!
I’m beginning to suspect that the majority of Korean restaurants mow practice the art of latent surcharges for sides and petty accompaniments. The flipping ‘orrible Ran wanted to charge us extra for some vermicelli to go with the already overpriced Chungol (Hotpot) [This is akin to you'll need to pay for the pancakes to go go with your Crispy Quack]. The nearby Arirang pulled a fast one by charging us for the banchan when it was so blatantly free for the Korean diners. Oh, more salt in wound, I’m not even going to rant about the refilling of our teapot; my blood’s got an extremely low boiling point.
I think that we’ve seen nothing yet in Central London, New Malden is something else!
I went to Azzi on Poland Street last weekend and paid around £7 for mixed appetisers – kimchee, spinach, beansprouts, pickled cucumber etc. I found this quite startling, especially as it’s usually free. We had a pretty good meal there though – 2 dol bibambap, a mixed bbq platter (which was huge), 2 bottles of wine and service for about £30 a head.
Banchan and namul should be free. And charging twice for lettuce and sauce is ridiculous!
This is horrible of me to say, but this is sort of why I try to put a damper on my Korean cravings until Hong Kong. Someone mentioned to me once that they thought it was because restaurants don’t want customers unfamiliar with Korean food to fill up on banchan without realising that it’s more an accompaniment than a starter. But I think it’s ridiculous to charge you for the lettuce and spring onions! They should put a disclaimer on the menu if that’s what they intend to do.
Douglas – thank you for the Dotori rec, I’ll read the review. I’ve put the L.A. event behind me now, so any links are more than welcome!
Fat Les – I think a trip to New Malden is long overdue for me. Taste Memory, who is Korean, did mention that some Korean restaurants in the States charge for these, but not when you’re a Korean customer. Outrageous. And I wouldn’t have known to be offended by the charges had I not eaten so much Korean in Beijing and New York.
Lizzie – your meal sounds lovely – I love dol bibimbap. But you were charged for your namul!
Su-Lin – you’re so right. I wish I’d said something at the time. Paying for it once was bad enough, twice is just a rip-off.
DSD – I think they should mention the charge for the lettuce and spring onions on the menu, if they’re going to continue with this practice. Now I’ll always have to check before ordering the BBQ in other Korean restaurants.
Helen Yuet Ling
Hi Helen,
Most of the Korean places I’ve been to around London tend to charge for this. Most of the time I get it as part of a BBQ set, but if you ask for Namul or Lettuce (i.e. they interpret as salad), they will charge you. Charging for Kim Chi also seems to be a (horridly) common practice
Korean restaurants charge for everything you have on your table! Ive been wanting to go arang for quite some time during my korean food eating craze. hehe. Im glad its nice might try it one day (not any time soon since going hk in june…..which means i’ll have to go through ur blog and copy down the palces you visited! =p) but ever since my last korean meal at asadal which costed me abt 45 pounds per person -sighs- i havent been back to korean…………..yet. =)
Helen,
Looking at the starters, if you didn’t order the bean sprouts, that would have given to you as in house too!
i think my last visit was ‘07 sometime in september, but I have been to Arang so often that i find their quality much better than Azzi (near tottemham court road) or another one near Bodean’s around soho which i forgot the restaurant’s name.
I hear that Ran over charges…
mY friends and I have actually booked a table for 30th, since we havent had korean for some time.. ^^”
Patrick – it seems to be the case. I don’t mind quite as much paying for the namul as I do the essentials for the BBQ – lettuce, hot sauce etc. No one eats BBQ without these! Grrr. By the way, saw you went to Sushi Samba. The first one opened in 2000 (if my memory serves me correctly). I was living there at the time and went regularly. Loved it!
Vivi – Asadal was another option before I chose Arang. That sounds incredibly expensive – what did you order?! Better wait til Hong Kong, in my opinion. Lucky you, you’re going to have so much fun…
Suzie – can’t wait to hear about your next visit to Arang! You haven’t been back in a while, so it might be different…
Helen Yuet Ling
I went to Arrang last year and had the same experience with being charged for each portion of lettuce. But then I expected as much from any Korean restaurant in London, where you have to buy everything seperately.
I agree with everybody else that you have to go to New Malden if you want Korean food as the rest of the world have it. Growing up in the States and having numerous trips to Korea it’s really inconceivable to pay for everything that would normally be included, refills as well!
Also, speaking in Korean doesn’t help when the server isn’t Korean, which has happened a few times. So maybe that would have given me the ‘National Discount’?
Btw, great site! Keep up the good work!
Dave
Dave – thanks for letting me know about your experience at Arang. I can just about accept being charged for kimchi, spinach and bean sprouts. But not the essential accompaniments to BBQ! So it seems like a trip to New Malden is called for…
Thank you for the compliment, and for visiting!
Helen Yuet Ling
where is the korean restaurant in new malden?
i keep hearing it. Is it far from west london and easy access via public transport?
We ordered some set menu thing, which was not very value for money considering its that much money for mainly vegetables……..so i say dont order set menu and order urself!!!!
vivi – sorry, I think there are a few, but I’ve never researched it properly because I’ve always thought it too far to travel to. But people are always saying go to New Malden, so maybe I’ll have to drag myself there one day! It seems like my favourite Koba also charges for the BBQ sides. Outrageous.
Helen Yuet Ling
In the States, Korean restaurants do not charge for these side dishes if an entree is ordered. Usu. a seafood pancake or japchae is considered an appetizer so sometimes one does not get as many dishes when these are the only items ordered. Kimchee is always free though.
admin Reply:
July 12th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Thanks for confirming. When I used to eat in Korea Town in NYC, I never had to pay for banchan!
I would like to say if you go any restaurants in the world, there is no sides for free except in Korea. Even though some restaurants served something for free, I think the bill includes the something tricky.
In these days, Korean restauranteur use the sides that offered previous coustomers. It is very big social problem in Korea.
When Korean visit some restaurants, they want to have sides without charging but they have 2,3 times used sides.
In London, some Korean restaurant is same.(ask it to the owner, they would not answer properly I think)
They do not charge for sides but use it again and again if you do not have or if you left it.
I would like to recommend if you want to Kimchee or some sides, you have to pay for it fairly. it is safe, healthy.
In Korea or USA, if Korean order 3 potion of Kalbi BBQ, the price of 3 Kalbi includes sides and lettuces and garlics etc.
In London, they would charge it separately, because some British people do not have spicy or fishy Korean foods.
If you want to have Korean food with sides, you can choose set meal.
When I went to an italian restaurant last year, they served some bread. but I think it was used one because there were some scars who somebody put it buttered at the bottom of bread, the waiter had not been notice it.
Be fair
admin Reply:
July 26th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Healthy Kim – I don’t think that’s true actually, as I was surprised the side dishes weren’t free in London, precisely because they have been free in Beijing and New York (and not just in one or two restaurants but every single one I visited in a total of nearly four years I spent living in the two cities). But it’s interesting to hear from you about the different ways of charging! Very interesting…