Sand Under My Feet: Meet the Mega Meat BBQ Set from Soban K-Town

I always deny that I like things that are Korean, but actually, I do. I buy a lot of makeup and beauty products from Korean brands. I like their fashion style, a select few of their K-Pop bands and I've watched 1 or 2 of their telenovelas too (back in college). As for their cuisine, I was just ok with it. My liking of Korean food was turned 180 degrees until I tried Soban K-Town Grill. I have tried a few Korean restaurants before, even during my childhood (my late father loved it) but all I can remember was that how I hated Kimchi because it is super spicy and I'm not really big into spicy food.

Soban means small tray or table. Soban K-Town Grill is a collaboration between award-winning Korean restaurateur, Mr. Sung Rah of Sariwon Korean Barbecue and their Philippine franchisee, the Happyfoods Group. It is inspired by K-Town in Los Angeles where Korean immigrants settled and began fusing traditional Korean ingredients and techniques with American comfort foods and the Mexican street food scene, charting a bold a new flavorful path for Korean cuisine. At Soban K-Town Grill they aim to serve their client's favorite Korean pork, chicken BBQ and tacos in a bold, new flavorful way.

In Soban K-Town Grill, one key inspiration it longs to share with the Filipino market is combining traditional Korean techniques and recipes with ingredients and flavors all over the globe, to produce one-of-a-kind dishes. Here is the characteristic of the Korean food evolution happening in K-Town communities over L.A, New York, Hong Kong and more, led by Korean immigrants with ties to the past and to the present. Set to revolutionize the local food scene, Soban K-Town Grill graces the Philippine shores with offerings - some familiar while others unique - for a redefined Korean dining experience.

Soban K-Town Grill has become one of my favorite Korean BBQ restos. I’ve visit their Eastwood branch one too many times already with friends and family. Recently, I was invited at their Greenbelt 3 branch to try their newest and meatiest set ever: The Mega Meat BBQ Set!

The Mega Meat BBQ Set comes with 1,200 grams of premium meat! Feast on 300g Fresh Beef Belly, 180g Marinated Beef Belly, 180g Fresh Pork Belly, 180g Soy Garlic Pork Belly, 180g Chili Bean Pork Belly, 180g Korean Fried Chicken and Unlimited White Rice, Soup and Side Dishes. This set is good for 4 persons at P2,000+.

Ok let’s start with the banchan or side dishes first. Like in all Korean BBQ restos, they are refillable which is super well worth of one's money. Included in this newest set are the following: kimchi, soup, sweetened peanuts with anchovies, spinach, mashed potato, spiced beansprout, and my favorite, Gyeran Mari or the Korean egg roll. As for the rice, you can upgrade it to Kimchi rice.

Now on to the meats included in this set. The set includes Dak Ganjeong or the Korean Fried Chicken. I love this super crunchy chicken that is coated with hugely addictive sesame and sweet soy flavors.

Fresh Beef Belly

Chili Bean Pork Belly

Marinated Beef Belly

Soy Garlic Pork Belly

Fresh Pork Belly

Here are the meats for indoor and smokeless grilling. My favorites has to be the fresh beef belly and the fresh pork belly as I get the real and raw flavors of the meat and they are the best ones to roll with the fresh lettuce leaves and dip in various sauces. My next favorites are the marinated beef belly and soy garlic pork belly; which I eat as is or with plain white rice. As for the chili bean pork belly, it was too spicy for my liking but nonetheless tasted so good too. If you're a lover of all things spicy, this one is for you though.

The meats are very flavorful and tender and they came with three signature Soban dips/sauces. Their Lychee shake is so good too! I love all-things grilled so I'm giving these grilled meats two-thumbs up! Soban is a grill-it-yourself restaurant, but their servers are super helpful and pro-active and they offered to grill our meats to perfection. Another thumbs up for that!

Sure, theere are a lot of new Korean BBQ restaurants sprouting all over the metro that offers unlimited meats for grilling and I’ve heard they are ok too. But when it comes to quality, questions might come up. So I would likely go for the ones that uses high-quality and premium meats for maximum dining experience. By the way, the Mega Meat BBQ Set is only available from September 1 to December 31, 2019 across all Soban branches.