Lao

I came here twice, both were special occasions where we had booked a private karaōke room which costs € 100. However, you can either order € 100 worth of food/​drink and have the room free, or just pay € 100 for the room and no food, or if you order food less than € 100 worth of food, then you pay that plus the remaining balance up to € 100 for the room. There are about 5 karaōke rooms which are big with the large round tables used in Chinese restaurants with the spinning thing in the middle to share food.
Food: They have two separate menus; one for Chinese customers and one for everyone else as we had one girl in out party who spoke Chinese and tried asking for the Chinese menu to see it there was anything different! (I’m not sure if there was). But they a very extensive menu, mainly Chinese food with a bit of Korean food like Bibimbap and BBQ, and some sushi. Although if it’s sushi you’re after, then this is not the place as the ingredients are not very sushi-​like. I had bibimbap which was ok, the portion was massive compared to other places I’ve had it so we shared. Most of the things on the menu seemed to be served for sharing, in that everything was served on large plates and placed in the middle. I’m not a huge fan of Chinese and Korean food so the food wasn’t my cup of tea, but my friends who love that food said it tasted good! The number of vegetarian dishes are limited to half a page, but I’m not sure if they are 100% veggie as they could’ve been cooked in a meaty broth so it’s best to check if in doubt.
Service: The service was ok, the staff were friendly and accommodating despite their English not being exactly perfect. I had a bit of trouble getting my order across, but luckily my Chinese speaking friend ordered for all of us and it all went smoothly. I don’t really know what we would have done without her to be honest! If you speak Chinese or are with someone who does, then I’d say make use of that!
Karaōke machine: It’s a Chinese machine so the controls are only in Chinese, but they have almost 1000 or more songs in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese mainly. The search function on our machine was broken so we had to sift through 100s of artists and songs, but you can filter it by Foreign artist (which means American, Japanese and Korean), and then I think the other categories were Chinese, Taiwan and Hong Kong. You can also filter songs by language which made it a bit easier although they weren’t in alphabetical order. Another thing, I think the songs on the machines vary in each room, like a few song we sang on our previous visit was not in this machine.
We’ve probably tried almost every karaōke bar in the city and Parnell street, and I’d say this one is the best with the biggest collection of songs, lovely rooms and a very Asian atmosphere!
Overall: A hidden karaōke gem and also made our «regular karaōke place», food was cheap but taste-​wise I’d give it 4 or 5/​10, and the staff could work a bit on their English perhaps.

Can’t tell you is the best restaurant ever but it is a great experience. To try a new cuisine (never tasted korean food before) in such a nice atmosphere is something I can recommend anyone for a night out. The dishes were ok, very honest, lots of food on the plate, very tasty. I was intrigued by the «taps» above the tables, I still don’t know what are they for.
PS. Our dishes came a little late so they gave us prawn crackers for free… Man, they are THE BEST PRAWN CRACKERS I’ve ever tasted. Ask for them! They really taste like prawns! Finally!
PS. 2. Our waitress was very kind (a Korean girl working in Dublin who can speak Spanish, take that!)

Very eeeenteresting. The hotpot caught my eye so I decided to try this rather than the bog standard Chinese dishes. The staff were really helpful (and are very nice in general) but forgot to tell me basic things like how to switch on the hot ring on the table because obviously even a child knows where the switch is, right? Alas as a novice in this situation, I am not as smart as an Asian child. A very nice fellow guest sitting beside me helped out.
I was given a tour of the sauces and the bowls involved as well as the buffet of side dishes. The buffet contained greens, tofu, noodles and various forms of small silvery betoothed and betentacled seafood. Feeling I had already been adventurous enough by choosing the hotpot, I stuck to the greens. So, I had my sauces in my sauce dish, I I had my plates of greens and then the staff brought a simmering bowl of broth and the meat I requested, slices of lamb. All set! It was a lovely meal which you can cook at your own pace and, thanks to the buffet of sauces, to your own tastes.
The hotpot at Lao is not too challenging, quite delicious, and kind of fun. It’s also healthy as there was no salt or MSG in the ingredients, it’s as fresh as it could possibly be. I’m definitely going back for more, and now that’s it’s not at all intimidating to me, I may even try the seafood parts of the buffet. All credit to the serving staff, they really wanted me to enjoy my first experience and I did, tremendously.

Korean/​chinese Restaurant. I had the lunch special for 9.90 € + 3 € for a beer. Food was acceptable, nothing to write home about. Service was friendly, but not attentative (there were only 3 other guests at the Restaurant, so they werent in a hurry).
The Restaurant itself is decorated nicely, good asian athmosphere.