Restaurant Review- Meat Brown

Happy Valentine's Day!

This is how you say it in Korean

해피 발렌타인 데이 – haepi ballentain dei.

The Korean way to do Valentine's day is the women are the ones who buy chocolate for their lovers, while the men return the favor in March on something called White Day.

We did Valentine's Day the good old Canadian way, Hyper took me out to a restaurant after work and then we watched 50 First Dates, one of my favorite romantic comedies. 

The restaurant that he took me to was called Meat Brown. It's basically a Mongolian-style grill buffet. 

The tables are equipped with a grill in the center.. I want one of these for my home one day. BBQ indoors while sitting down.. Amazing! 

 Basically, you sit down at your table, the waiter brings you a place mat, a bowl of marinade, cups and a water carafe. Then he leaves and doesn't come back. In Canada, we are used to waiters checking on us every once in awhile, asking how everything is going and refilling our drinks. In Korea, they have a little button on the table that will bring the waiter to your table if you need something.
The utensils (chop sicks) are kept in a little box on the table , and you can get scissors and tongs from the meat counter if you choose to not touch the meat with your hands.


Another Korean custom is that you never pour your own drink, it's considered bad luck. The other people at your table are supposed to keep an eye on your cup and fill it before it hits empty. If you are drinking alcohol, the smart thing to do is keep your glass half full so you won't end up drinking more than you plan.  Whether you pour using one or both hands is important. If the person for whom you are pouring is older than you or of higher status, then you should pour holding the bottle with two hands, otherwise pour with one hand.

 This is what the bowl of marinade looks like. (Picture on the right) It has all sorts of yummy spices and veggies floating in a sweet/salty liquid. Sooo delicious!
This is how you eat at Meat Brown:
1- You go up to the buffet area where there is an assortment of fruit and vegetables to choose from as well as rice, sauces and soups. There is also a meat counter with many different cuts of chicken, pork and duck.
2- You choose your side dishes and meat cuts and go back to your table.
3- FIRE UP THE GRILL!! (see pictures below)
4- Munch on side dishes while you wait for the meat to cook
5- Nom nom nom nom nom
6- There's also a bread and jam bar near the entrance where you can get tea and coffee

The round pieces are duck! I really liked the
long green pieces on the edge of the plate. Yum!

The meat cooking *drools*

I have discovered that I like duck. This was my first time trying duck and it was fantastic!

Cheers! My first Soju experience.

I also tried the famous Korean alcohol Soju while we were at Meat Brown. It tastes similar to really watered down vodka. It wasn't that bad, for a drink that only costs a few dollars. It doesn't taste strong but once it settles inside you, there's definitely a strong kick to it.

Meat Brown is a restaurant I wouldn't mind revisiting. Good food, decent music and lovely decor. The only thing I didn't like was they had too many tables and chairs close together if the restaurant had been full it would have been uncomfortable to have people sitting so close to you.


I can't wait to try more local restaurants!