The Best Korean BBQ in LA: Park's BBQ vs. Gwang Yang BBQ [Thoughts + Pics]

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Great report as always.

Have you tried Ten-Raku?

Hi @ipsedixit,

Thanks! :slight_smile: No I haven’t yet. What do you think of it? What are your recommended dishes there? Thanks.

Totally agree Park’s banchan are just ridiculously good.

Park’s grilled kimchi is magical with that thick cut pork belly.

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Been meaning to try GY! Thanks for the review as always

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Kobe style prime rib, tongue, and the skirt steak for the Q.

The beef tartare for the non-cooks in us.

Of course the pan fried octopus, and the octopus fried rice to follow.

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Great report! Gotta try GY pronto. Something tells me the lines for GY are gonna start getting longer!

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Hi @JeetKuneBao,

Thanks. I hope you enjoy your visit. :slight_smile: (and maybe see if they finally started making that Korean dessert next door at Zion!)

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Has anyone ever done a bang bang w/ BBQ??? Impressive. :slight_smile:

Tried Park’s once many yrs ago. Enjoyed it but didn’t know if I thought it was worth the $. Will have to try GY. Do they cook it for you by default or only if you wave them over or are clearly struggling?

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I love Park’s BBQ, but personally always thought their kkot ssal was overrated. Too thin, lacking meaty flavor, better versions found at Gwang Yang and even Ahgassi Gopchang. My go to orders are the non-marinated kalbi and the pork belly.

I’m a big fan of GY’s pork belly also. Park’s BBQ had hands down the best pork belly when they had that Tokyo X version (with all that grilled kimchi), then the quality dipped for a while, but it’s picked back up in the past year. A waiter told me they switched up the sourcing.

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Kbbq bang bang… you’re on a different level.

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Hi @frommtron,

Thank you. Please report back about your meal, and hope you enjoy it as well. :slight_smile:

HI @paranoidgarliclover,

Thanks! Gwang Yang cooks it for you by default. They also have the “doorbell” button on every table (found at most Korean restaurants), so you can also call over a server if you need anything, but in our 4 visits, the servers always grilled everything without us asking. :slight_smile:

My view on Korean BBQ has always been that after the first few bites, it really becomes all about the overall mix of dishes, items, and flavors. That is because, to me at least, the ideal way to maximize meat is definitely not the way it is cooked at Korean bbq places. In recent months I had Park’s, Gwang Yang, and Oo-Kook. The meat at all three were basically pretty close to the same level. I thought what put Park’s ahead is (1) the superior banchan and (2) the superior side/a la carte dishes. They have an outstanding jap chae. Their cod dish is wonderful, as good as anywhere else in town doing it.

For the overall experience Park’s wins for me, but I can see on a given night Gwang Yang, Oo Kook, or even Kang Ho-Dong having a better meat dish or two.

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Let’s not pass over the utter importance of reservations, which means you’ll pretty much never find me at KHD or Quarters

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Hi @Haeldaur,

Thanks. Definitely agree that the mix of additional items (banchan, dipping sauces / condiments) helps break things up and enhance the eating experience. :slight_smile:

That being said, ultimately it is about the quality & taste of the meat, and having visited both places multiple times, including the back-to-back on the same day, Gwang Yang is definitely the better tasting place for Ggot Sal, Galbi and Bulgogi.

And both Park’s and Gwang Yang were so far ahead of Kang Ho Dong and Oo Kook (for us at least), that it wasn’t close, but your mileage may vary.

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To be fair one plate of prime meat at Park’s is about the same as 2 people doing AYCE Oo-Kook.

I think we might be comparing apples to oranges here probably due to bad translations. The Ggot sal from Parks’s comes from the rib eye or short rib section while GY’s “ggot sal” is a chuck flap cut? Even in your pictures, the two ggot sal’s look nothing a like.

Hi @Ns1,

I didn’t bring up Oo-Kook. Someone else did and claimed it was better.

Oh. Yeah that’s just nonsense.