The franchise, Orange County, just opened in Namchon. All you can eat, self serve, self cook. The meats are quality and the buffet quality is supervised by the owner (Mr. Lee Ki Sun) , who KNOWS good food (he has entrepreneured several restaurants). You will know who he is when you see a rotund, smiling man around the restaurant. He speaks very good English and is interested in talking with foreigners.

Open at 12:00 to 6:00 for lunch, 6:00 to 10:30 for dinner. Lunch costs 9,900 won, dinner costs 12,900 won.

Here is an idea about what you get.

10 salads, from white fish or tuna to spiral macaroni. Mixed salad with 2 dressings. Boiled shrimp. Vegetarian spaghetti ready to eat, but with sides of meat sauce or cream sauce. Various Chinese dishes, like tang so yuk. Fried rice, egg rolls, kim bap, etc. 3 soups, the cream is very good. Sides for the meat: 4 sauces, lettuce and other greens, kim chi, garlic, sliced mushrooms, etc. Deserts, fruit, jello, toc, and drinks like "sweet rice" or "cinnamon" Did I mention tortilla chips?

The fresh and frozen meats are quality. 10 kinds of beef, pork, or octopus. I recommend dipping the large beef slices in a marinade (that you make yourself from the dipping sauces) and cooking it on your table grill only until it loses its red color. Your marinade should have some oil in it: I guarantee a great beef-steak flavor and a tender mouthful. No matter what you choose, don't overcook it. Medium rare to medium, not well done.

I particularly like the "red" marinated pork and the minced marinated beef for tenderness and flavor.

I did not mention everything! The price for this is 9,900 won. (kids pay 3,000 less) ((like McDonalds, they have a "playground")

If you come after 6 PM, then they have a grill chef who will bar-b-que or grill to order. Then, you can also choose sirloin steaks and/or various fresh seafoods. (among other things not part of the lunch menu)

Open every day. Phone number: 626-7599 The restaurant is outside exit #1 of the Namchon subway station. Parking under the restaurant.

To advertise this place as an all u can eat steak and seafood is grossly misrepresenting it. They do not serve or grill any steaks here after 6 or at any other time i believe. the seafood consists of 2 kinds of raw fish and shrimp(which made my wife sick). I repeatedly asked both the 'rotund' and other chef present for grilled steaks and after waiting a while I got the trad. korean grilled hamburger. That is, by no stretch, a STEAK! The 'vegetarian' spaghetti was also full of vegie HAM, so no go there either.

What this place is is a good Korean style(typical) meat place, they have decent beef and pork for the price and the salads are Ok. Making it out to be anything else is just wrong. It's crowded, noisy and has zero atmosphere. I would go there again, but going there with the notions that the 'busanfoodguy' puts in your head makes it very disappointing.

huge shock!!

busanfoodguy: full of s**t again.

When you say it was full of veggie ham, do you mean it was the mock ham served at vegetarian/vegan places or do yo mean that, like happens so often in Korea, the cooks blank out on the idea that ham is meat?

I meant the later JH. . .

The latter? Well, that's no fun at all. Only in Korea have I ever had to explain to waitstaff or cooking staff that "no meat" means "No meat, no ham, no fish, no shellfish, and no shrimp."

Yes the latter. Was really hungry once and ordered some chicken. After it arrived I was getting ready to eat at my computer(which I sometimes do) and when I opened the soda boom all over my new keyboard! Hence many of my keys stick, like the 'T'. A little warning from the delivery guy would've been nice, "...hey pal, I hit every speed bump on the way here really hard so..." That time, like the time at Orange County, was disappointing. I'm so glad I'm not a vegetarian, it's quite hard getting food done your way here.

Sorry you didn't like it, but it IS "all you can eat", and they do have "steak strips" for you to cook. I personally have not tried their dinner, only their lunch. BUT, the owner showed me the grill and the description I wrote was his explanation. I guess my explanation gives you the wrong expectations. If anything does not please you, the owner would like to hear from you while you are there.

I have gone three times with friends, and each time the people I was with were very impressed and thanked me for turning them on to the place.

What was displayed on the bed of ice in front of the grill? No steaks? Just shrimp and fish fillets?

If you get sick from eating raw fish/shrimp, perhaps you should cook it first? :-)

What is traditionally Korean grilled hamburger? Having eaten Korean food all my life I can say the only grilled hamburger I've ever seen in Korea is at the Burger King. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle between Orion and BFG. BFG is often wrong but Orion seems to be having a histrionic fit. Your wife shouldn't eat raw seafood unless it's sushi. I'll be checking out though because BFG has made me a little curious about the place.

Cook shellfish?! Jee wiz guys thanks for the tip! That aside, the trad. Korean grilled hamburger, as I refer to it, is 떡갈비. Pretty much resembles a hamburger patty, although his were mostly pork instead of ground beef. On the bed of ice were 2 kinds of raw fish, call it sushi if you want, cooked (orange) shrimp and little octopus. Despite the shrimp having already been cooked, it was still grilled at our table until hot. In front of the grill were 2 warmers, pretty much empty the whole time, except when he put out a few tiny 'Korean burgers' in one and fried garlic in the other.
NO STEAKS~

Like I said before, as a Korean Meat Place you get what you pay for and it's a good deal, the meats are not all 'quality', but not bad overall, the beef 진갈비살 was pretty tasty. The others hit and miss.

The 'histrionic fit' remark was uncalled for, my post is pretty straight forward and I don't think 1 exclamation point warrants a fit. If you're trying to bait me into a stupid argument ( the kind so many of the frequent and long term posters often engage in, squabbling over minute and meaningless details instead of providing useful information for others) try someone else.

BFG, I do appreciate the effort and keep posting. Devils in the details though.

Orion, raw fish and sushi are different. Sushi is cured, I believe by marinating in sweet cooking sake and/or vinegar. That's what Tyster was telling you when he wrote, "Your wife shouldn't eat raw seafood unless it's sushi."Even sashimi, I believe, is partially cured, and thus is not the same as eating raw fish.

Korean hoi 회 on the other hand might (or might not) truly be raw fish. Does anyone know?

Actually sushi is not cured. It's supposed to be as fresh as possible. The rice is mixed with vinegar and sugar. Sashimi is just sushi minus the rice and hwe is just Korean sashimi. All raw fish. But not all raw fish is sushi or sashimi or hwe.

Tyster is right. In my defense, someone whose opinion I respect told me the vinegar and sugar in the rice cures the fish (a little); and also that the sugar blows away the illusion Americans have of sushi as a health food. That bit of knowledge caused me to move on to sashimi. I've never looked back; and over time it somehow mutated in my mind into "sushi is cured" (like ceviche). Sorry.

I read today that some sushi is cured (e.g., mackeral); and of course some sushi is cooked (e.g., unagi, anago). But Tyster's right.

By the way, what do people think of Korean hoi, thin-sliced and ice-cold to give it a crunchy texture? I am not a fan, especially given the high price. I think Japanese and North American sashimi is far superior. But will it grow on me, over time?

It's just different species of fish for the most part. The only real difference is in presentation. I like the lettuce and other extras you get with Korean hwe but I also like the variety of Japanese sashimi though I think some of the 'small' fish that Koreans eat are as good or better than most Japanese sashimi. The Black Rockfish and the local Flounder are both excellent. I also like the local squid and the abalone as well as the local sweet shrimp.
I'm not sure what you mean by ice cold. I've never had hwe served to me ice cold but rather very chilled. Sashimi should also be chilled. This being raw fish spoils very fast and the texture of most fish gets soft very quickly if served at room temp.

Parsing the difference (if any) between "ice cold" and "very chilled" is an unfortunate illustration of what Orion deplored as "squabbling over minute and meaningless details." Next time, try this: "Thanks, WeikuBoy, for being big enough to admit it when you are wrong. That's all too rare, especially on the Net. Actually, I do get the idea that contact with vinegar and sugar in sushi rice cures the fish a bit. I hadn't thought of that before. Now to answer your question, I think you might appreciate the very chilled, crunchy, thin slices of Korean hoi more if you . . ."

That's much better.

LOL

Tyster, sorry I got cross with you. You're obviously very knowledgeable about food. Do you know the Korean hangul for the local species you've named: black rockfish, flounder, squid, abalone, and sweet shrimp?

I know squid is 오징어 and shrimp are 새우; but I'm asking if you can take me further. I'll try Naver's translator; but I doubt it won't have all of those names. I only recently learned the 고갈비 I like at Jagalchi is mackerel. Thanks.

No sweat, I rub everyone the wrong way. That's makes me so endearing. I know a bit about food, that is to say I'm educated in the basics but I wouldn't consider myself any kind of expert, just someone with a little cooking background (line cook at an old fashioned Italian place during uni) and a lot of interest in trying to eat well. I also happen to work in the fishing industry so seafood is a big part of palate by requirement.
For Squid, you could also try 한치 which is the Loligo species. 오징어 is the local species or Illex squid. The Loligo species is what is typically consumed in Europe as calamari. It's a little higher in fat content and the flesh is a milkier color. You probably won't find it live. Cuttlefish, when and where you can find it is 갑오징어. This is not very commonly eaten in Korea though you might find it if you really look around Jagalchi. The giant squid is locally known as 몽고. Seems appropriate for a giant. This is the pre-shredded white squid you see pretty much everywhere. A lot of Koreans will mistakenly refer to this as cuttlefish in English.
The black rockfish, which I think is not only a great raw fish but is also one of the tastiest in a stew, is called 뽈락 or 우럭 (from the Japanese which a lot of people in Busan use given the proximity with Southern Japan and linguistic similarities to Okinawan dialect). Halibut and most other flounders in general are 광어 and sole is 가자미 but there is very little true sole sold in Korea (yellowfin sole called 가자미 from Alaska for example is really a halibut species whereas the peluda you can find here from Africa is a true sole). Abalone is 전복 and the sweet shrimp is 아마애비, a Japanese term that is universally recognized.
There is a fantastic local variety of Snapper called 돔 which is silver and black striped, many people confuse this with angelfish. This is another great raw fish as well as having an excellent texture for grilling.
FYI the 고갈비 is a contraction of 고등어 (mackerel) and 갈비.
Happy eats.

That was an awesome education, Tyster. Thanks. (And Mongo? Hilarious.)

Tyster, is 돔 easy to find? And if not, where do you suggest seeking it out? I'm a big time griller and would love to have a nice Snapper fillet to throw on, especially if it even remotely resembles Gulf Coast Red Snapper in size and/or taste! I realize that I'll have to do the filleting myself..that's ok.

돔 is easy to find but very expensive. Nearly all of it is used in the live seafood restaurants. I've only had it grilled in top-end sushi restaurants. You can't mistake its appearance. It's a striking fish with the snapperish shape but a beautiful silver and black striped coloration like an angel fish.
I would suggest redfish (not the snapper but the ocean perch aka Sebastes mentella or Sebastes marinus) from the North Atlantic as a fair substitute. You can find this more easily though you'll have to filet it yourself. Sizes range from 100g to over 1kg. A lot of restaurants in the Northeast of the US sell this as a cheap snapper substitute since both are known colloquially as redfish. Price aside, the flavor profile is very similar. In fact, I prefer the ocean perch due to its higher fat content. This is called 적어 (literally redfish) in Korean. There is a local variety but since a lot of that is sold fresh it's a little more expensive.
Note the classic bug-eyes of some of the North Atlantic varieties. This means this particular fish has been caught in very deep waters, the main difference between mentella and marinus. Bringing it up to the surface makes the eyes pop out due to pressure differences. Don't let that put you off. This is a great eating fish in either a stew or pan-fried or fileted and grilled.

smoky,
When's your next cook-out?

Haha! You just missed a biggie last weekend. So probably won't be having another one until.........tomorrow?? Weather's getting nicer & they'll be more frequent, that's for sure ..

Tyster, thx for the useful info!

What do you guys know about getting scallops here? Ive never cooked w/them before but I want to make an attempt.

I am assuming I can stroll down to the Jagalchi fist market and get them, but I dont know what they look like in the shell or what to ask for. Are there many varieties of them here? Id like to find the bigger ones.

Thanks!

Scallops are called 가리비 in Korean. Most of the ones here are from local waters though there are occassional frozen scallops from China. Either way all of them are of the larger variety. This is a scallop:

Try looking for an elephant clam 키조개 as well. It tastes similar to a scallop but has a firmer texture. The meat cooks pretty much the same. This is often served as sushi though many people mistake it for scallop meat. Couldn't find an image for this.

Mmmmmmm Scallops! Pan seared is a great way to cook them. Some people clean the scallops before cooking them, because they do not like the appearance, texture, or flavor of the "roe" or "coral" which is orange or red in color. Do yourself a favor and read up on different cooking techniques before enjoying this great mollusk!