There is a vibrant world of Korean BBQ in Taipei, where sizzling meats take center stage. The interactive nature of a Korean BBQ dining experience allows you to grill a variety of marinated beef, pork, and chicken at your table. Paired with an array of flavorful side dishes, Korean BBQ offers an unforgettable culinary adventure that is sure to leave you wanting more!
It’s no secret that I really like Korean food, and it definitely helps when Taipei has a plethora of Korean restaurants throughout the city, serving up Korean classics such as Korean BBQ, Bibimbap (often served in a stone bowl, with lots of rice, vegetables, and meat mixed with a spicy sauce), Jjajangmyeon (those iconic noodles with the deep rich black sauce over it), and Naengmyeon (cold-served noodles).
Get strapped in to read about why Annyeong Korean BBQ is worth travelling to Xindian for.
Table of Contents
Down a side alley just off from Dapinglin MRT station (take exit 1) in the Xindian District, Annyeong Korean BBQ is waiting to give you a great BBQ experience that will impress you.
The Menu at Annyeong Korean BBQ
I came here on a BBQ crave, but I have also had the Dak Galbi from here before and it has been great, too!
What We Ordered
All we wanted was enough Korean BBQ food that would leave us feeling satiated, after having not eaten it for quite a while. But, we couldn’t resist when we saw fried chicken on the menu, too. Here’s what we ordered:
- Pork Belly
- 豬五花 zhū wǔ huā
- Matsusaka Pork
- 松阪豬 sōng bǎn zhū
- Korean Fried Chicken
- 韓式炸雞 hán shì zhà jī
When you order the BBQ food here, they give you one of these on which to cook the meat. On one side you have cheese, and on the other side, you have egg. What they said was when the cheese has melted, the pan is hot enough to cook your meat on. So, I stared at that cheese until it started to bubble, excited at dipping the belly pork into it!
Matsusaka Pork
Characterized by this thinly cut pork neck, Matsusaka pork tends to be slightly more delicate and lean in comparison to many of the other cuts of pork that you may be familiar with. It’s cut thin, so you must be careful not to cook it for too long. There’s not much fat to render out, remember, so it is easy to overcook. However, don’t let that put you off ordering it, as when cooked just tender it is a genuine joy.
The pork flavour isn’t as strong when compared to many other cuts, giving it a much more delicate feel.
Pork Belly
I’m all about that pork belly. I mean, you just need to look at my other pork-belly-related posts to see that. Other posts tend to center around braised pork over rice, though, which uses the more fatty part of the pork belly. But, here, when chowing down on Korean BBQ, you’re looking more at the layers of skin, fat, meat, fat, meat, fat, then some more meat. When slapped onto the griddle, the fat renders down and feeds pockets of delicious flavour into the meat.
You should always get pork belly at a BBQ restaurant, it should almost be the standard charge on the menu, really. Another interesting thing here is those king oyster mushrooms on the side next to the pork belly, they are not there to be eaten, but they are there to help you clean down the griddle pan if/when it gets dirty. Simply grab a mushroom with your chopsticks and wipe it around the griddle pan, you’ll be amazed at how easy the pan cleans!
Cooking the meat
Remember, that the Matsusaka Pork doesn’t want to be cooked quite as long as the pork belly. Make sure to cook the pork belly until that fat renders down a bit, then also make sure to dip it into that cheese lake flowing around the griddle pan. As that cheese lake bubbles, it creates a crusty skin on the bottom that oozes decadence. The egg is completely fine, but if I could sub out the egg for a 2nd cheese lake, then I would do that without question.
I go through phases of wanting the restaurant to cook the meat for me or wanting to cook it by myself. As you may have read in my post about Kazuma BBQ restaurant in Taichung before (if not, see the link below), sometimes you cannot quite trust the skill (or the time allocated to you) of the server, therefore doing it on your own could be the best way to go. Of course, this assumes a certain amount of competency.
Taichung Kazama BBQ Restaurant-Taichung has some amazing BBQ spots, but is it worth the trip out of Taipei?
The Extras
This is one of the big draws of a Korean BBQ restaurant. I want all-you-can-eat lettuce leaves to provide a healthy vessel for my fatty pork belly, and I want to slap some kimchi, chilli, pickled daikon, or/and spicy beansprouts on top of all of it, too.
The kimchi here is nicely spiced, the pickled daikon is sweet and vinegary and manages to cut through the fatty meat really nicely, and the all-you-can-eat lettuce is right on the money.
Take some of the cooked meat, add on every extra that you can find, then grab some of that crunchy crusted cheese that has been continuously cooking at the side of the griddle pan. Fold it all up, and push it right in your mouth. Enjoy it, then do it again and again. The beautiful simplicity of Korean BBQ is really wonderful, and it keeps me coming back for more and more!
Korean Fried Chicken
One side of this Korean Fried Chicken is the original (the right) and one side is the spicy (the left). There is a divide of potato wedges, and there's some added cheese on top for good measure, too! When looking for Korean Fried Chicken in Taipei, I tend to gravitate towards BBQ Chicken or Cheogajip. But right here at Annyeong Korean BBQ in Xindian, I think we have a contender for some of the most deliciously fried Korean Fried Chicken in Taipei. Huge pieces of chicken are deep fried to juicy and succulent perfection, with a crunchy yet chewy skin, and bags of flavour in each mouthful. It was really quite enjoyable!
What made it even more enjoyable was the fact that it was all sitting atop a cheese sauce, increasing the level of decadence just that little bit more.
Tangy, spicy, crunchy, chewy, juicy, succulent. It is delivered on all levels. Happy.
The bottom line
Is it worth it? It's a really good option for Korean BBQ in Taipei. It's not one of the most popular ones, so you're not likely to queue up for a significantly long period of time if you choose not to book, but I think it's worth checking out for your next Korean BBQ fix.
Do you need to book? You don't, but I would advise it.
What is the best dish? The Korean Fried Chicken was surprisingly good, and I would definitely order it again. But the Korean BBQ with the all-you-can-eat lettuce is where it's at right here at Annyeong Korean BBQ in Xindian. Get that pork belly, and settle into Korean BBQ gluttony.