New all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue opens in Houston Asiatown
Houston is flush with Korean barbecue options, and now a new player is adding its stamp to the dining practice of grilling at the table.
Hongdae 33 Korean BBQ, a new restaurant from the owners of Duck N Bao, has opened in Asiatown’s Dun Huang Plaza, 9889 Bellaire, already teeming with Asian dining and retail options. Named for Seoul’s Hongdae district, Hongdae 33 is an all-you-can eat barbecue restaurant with a full-service bar and cocktail program focusing on South Korean spirits.
The restaurant, in a 3,000square-foot space on the upper level of Dun Huang Plaza, is the newest culinary project from Grace and Leo Xia, Chinese immigrants from Beijing and Sichuan provinces, respectively, responsible for Duck N Bao, which has locations in Memorial and Cypress. The Xias said they wanted to open a Korean barbecue restaurant even before launching Duck N Bao.
“To Koreans, barbecue is not just grilling meat,” Grace Xia stated. “It is part of the culture. It’s gathering and making memories while cooking at the table and enjoying a meal with your date, family, friends or co-workers. Barbecuing together is a great way to relax and have fun. We hope to create that special experience at Hongdae 33.”
Hongdae 33 offers all-youcan-eat pricing ($33 per person for 90 minutes) where guests select meats, seafood and other specialties to cook themselves over tabletop gas grills. The grilling options include galbi, brisket, beef or pork bulgogi, garlic- or miso-marinated flat iron steak, pork belly, pork jowl and marinated chicken. Seafood options include garlic-butter shrimp, spicy baby octopus, and spicy squid. Vegetables and tofu are included, as well as house prepared Korean side dishes (banchan), including kimchi, japchae, bean sprouts, scallion and seafood pancakes, kimchi and soybean stews, spicy rice cakes, as well as marinades and dipping sauces.
The bar program offers soju (the Korean national spirit), Korean rice wines (makgeolli) and baijiu, a Chinese spirit distilled from sorghum. Creative cocktails made with these spirits, as well as Korean-style bomb shots, and
Asian and domestic beers also are among the beverage options.
The restaurant also includes custom-designed elements, such as a faux clay roof over the bar, window frames and crossbeams, and neon lighting.
“Our goal is to modernize the Korean barbecue cuisine and experience, which included collaborating with our designer to translate and share our vision with the neighborhood,” Grace Xia added.
Hongdae 33 is open daily for all-you-can-eat dining 11:30 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday-Saturday.