[Tustin] [Korean] Gen Korean BBQ and Yakitori Bar

Gen Korean BBQ and Yakitori Bar
13741 Newport Ave
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 505-1800

Thanks to reader Sheens, I found out about the newly opened Gen Korean BBQ in Tustin. The standard all you can eat Korean BBQ price in Orange County is about $20 to $25, and typically with maybe 5 or 6 choices of meat. So when Sheens told me about the $19.99 AYCE offer for 25 different items at Gen, I told Dr. P that we HAVE TO try this place.



We went for lunch on a Sunday back in October (Gosh! I'm so behind on writing....). The restaurant was busy with quite a few parties waiting for tables. Since there were only 2 of us, we got a table faster than the bigger parties. We were seated in a nice comfy booth seats. We were so excited when we saw the menu. 25 items to choose from! Woohoo!!



Banchan

When we sat down, the table was all set up already. This AYCE Korean BBQ restaurant felt more "high-end" than the other ones. The dinner wares that they used, the decor, and the nice waitstaff all made the $19.99 price seemed unbelievably low. There were 6 different banchans on the table. Kimchi, potato salad, green bean jello, broccoli, bean sprout, and cucumber. I liked everything except their kimchi. The kimchi was too soggy for my taste.


Dipping Sauces

Dipping sauce tray had a soy sauce based sauce, sesame oil with pepper, and a delicious seasoned salt.


Radish / Chili Sauces / Rice Sheet

Radish, rice sheet, chili sauces, garlic and jalapeno to wrap the meat with.


Salad

Fresh salad to go with the meat.


Kobe Chadol (Kobe Brisket)

There were just too many things to choose from. So for our first round of order, we asked our waiter for his recommendation. He said Kobe Chadol is their most popular dish. After one bite, we wanted to order another plate immediately. The meat was really fresh. With just the right amount of lean meat and fat, it was the most delicious brisket we've had in Korean restaurant.


Saeng Galbi (Black Angus Short Rib)

We didn't realize there were two different choices for kalbi. One is the original, the other one is the marinated one. We wanted the marinated one, but mistakenly ordered the unflavored one. The cut of meat was great, but we still like our meat with galbi sauce more.


Gen Signature Prime Steak (Black Angus Top Sirloin)

The prime steak wasn't bad, but we just thought it was too big piece of meat. I guess we liked the thin brisket too much, and didn't want to eat big chunks of meat anymore after tasting that brisket.


Saewoo (Shrimp)

We got really excited when we saw shrimp on the menu. We love BBQ shrimp. But Gen's shrimp was bad, really bad. It wasn't fresh at all. It tasted like old frozen shrimp that was about to go bad. We would never order shrimp from Gen again.


Mushroom & Vegetable

I liked everything on the vegetable plate.



After our first round of food, a bus boy came and changed the grill for us.


Kobe Chadol (Kobe Brisket)

We ordered our favorite Kobe Chadol again. This time I cooked it with grilled onion, bell pepper, and pineapple. I kinda "sauteed" the meat with veggies on the grill. I liked the result, but Dr. P didn't. He liked his meat with pure meat flavor.


Yangyum Galbi (Marinated Angus Prime Short Rib)

We also ordered Galbi again. This time we got the right one, the marinated Galbi. Yup, it did tasted better with marinate.


So Bulgogi (Marinated Angus Prime Rib Eye)

So Bulgogi was great as well. But at this point, we reached our limit and started feeling uncomfortably full. We managed to finished half plate, and thought if they wanted to charge us for leftover, fine. But they didn't seem to care about the leftover too much. We still felt kinda bad for wasting food though.


Dwenjang (Soybean Stew)

To finish the meal, we ordered a pot of soybean stew. This is Korean version of miso soup. A little spicy, a little salty, and very tasty.



It was a delicious and satisfying lunch. I didn't eat dinner that night, and was still full when I woke up the next morning. Thanks Sheens for letting us know about this great restaurant. We definitely will be back again!

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