Sorabol Korean Restaurant

The Sorabol has been in the Miramar Shopping Center for some time now. The location is not the best because it’s located on the fourth floor and you could only get there by elevator.
Only recently they added a hidden escalator after extensive renovation at the Miramar Shopping center.
The setting is simple and décor is typical for a Korean restaurant. Staff is not too attentive, friendly though. Service slowed down the more tables filled. Our first round of beef was still cooked by the staff which they advertised on their homepage. The second round we cooked ourselves because the staff was too busy.
The menu is classic for Korean BBQ with all different cuts of beef as well as some seafood, pork and lamb.
Food wise I was disappointed. I tried the Sorabol on Percival Street already many times and was never disappointed. I expected the same quality here.
The beef short ribs were marinated nicely but the meat was just not tender enough. Same for the prime sirloin. It was just too chewy.
The marinated pork was the best meat dish of that night, juicy and tender enough. All side dishes were done nicely, no complaints there. The vegetable for wrapping was fresh and crispy.
Beer and Sochu go best with Korean BBQ.
Given the fact that Sorabol belongs to the more expensive BBQ restaurants I’ll probably won’t come back especially with so many alternatives in that area.

This was my first time having Korean Cuisine (at least, I think so).
We had some time in between meetings so, we decided to sit and take the time to do the «cook at the table» menu.
The meal my coworkers ordered included some meats, vegetables, and a fish soup.
The soup was extremely hot but, once it was safe to taste it, it was delicious. Hearty, flavorful, really good!
I’m not sure if you are allowed to cook the meats yourself but, our server did it all for us, explaining the right way to do it, and how to tell when all is cooked.
I really enjoyed the process, I’ve always loved watching people cook and open kitchen restaurants so, this was fun for me. On top of that, everything was cooked perfectly and all tasted so fresh.
They also had a sort of mini salad bar on the side, with some few items for you to help yourself from. I only tried the pumpkin soup. I was a little hesitant at first but loved it. It’s creamy, a little sweet plus, it’s pumpkin so, you feel like it’s good for you. If I’d known of this before I had all the food on our table, I would have had seconds.
Do note, the two servers we had did not speak English. Thankfully I was with locals so they helped me order, if not, I’m sure pointing at the pictures in the menu (those are helpful) would have done the trick.

We were supposed to go have Roasted Goose and salt & pepper pork chop at Chan Kee tonight, but mom didn’t get home till fairly late with her fan club and student, so I was not exactly in the mood for cold Goose. It was getting pretty cold and I felt like having Korean BBQ, figuring that I could get warm and pig out at our usual AYCE (all you can eat) Korean joint in Tsim Sha Tsui. Unfortunately the place went out of business so she took me to a place called Sorabol instead.
I thought the name was kindof familiar, and upon some Unilocaling after I returned from the meal, I found that there are 2 of those near Los Angeles area! One in Sherman Oaks and another in Canoga Park. However, the Sorabol in Hong Kong looks like a classy joint and doesn’t look like the ghetto food court type restaurant in malls in US of A.
I was initially fairly shocked by the prices, especially when the Bulgogi ($ 280) costs more than the Galbi ($ 190)!!! With some choice cuts even going $ 450 per plate or above. We settled on the basic Bulgogi and Galbi plus a spicy tofu and clams soup on the side. The spicy tofu comes with a bowl of rice while the meats don’t come with anything (!!!).
At this point you’d probably think I would give this restaurant a negative review… AU CONTRAIRE, MON AMI! This SHIT is GOOD!
Okay, I can’t really compare Sorabol with Genwa and Park’s BBQ in Los Angeles as I’ve only tried the premium wagyu/​kobe cuts at those 2 places while I only consumed the 2 cheaper beef cuts here. BUT, the bulgogi at Sorabol is something else.
They have a separate utensil to cook this shit in, it is a reversed bronzed plate with a groove surrounding the edge containing beef broth, the cilantro and sliced mushrooms that come with the meat are placed in the groove and cooked in the light broth, while the meat is cooked on the plate while the juice from the beef flows down the plate into the groove to make the broth richer. You have the choice to let the beef cook normally and drier or dip it into the broth when it gets dry to keep it moist or even switch to cooking it in the broth. The resulting broth is HEAVENLY! Mixing it with the spicy tofu soup result in a concoction that makes my dick hard just thinking about it! Unngghhh… ughh… uuhhhh.
The Galbi on the otherhand, though still really good, doesn’t quite compare to the sheer fucking awesomeness of the bulgogi. It is cooked on a pretty meh wire meshed net, it is not fatty enough and I hate that they cut it for you and not leave enough meat on the bone. Come on! The Galbi is all about the bone! What the fuck???
There is no question that the prices are really high, but it is worth it for the bulgogi, I probably won’t get the galbi again though I wouldn’t mind trying the premium cuts. I am docking a star from here because of the price.