Hangang 한강 @ Perth

Hangang 韩江, also known as the Han River, is a major river on the Korean Peninsula that flows through Seoul and also divides the North and South. And not surprisingly, many Korean emigrants would name their business after their mother river.

I was in Perth for a business trip and was looking for Chinese food. Turned out I could only find Korean BBQ around where I was staying. So I just went have a try but I was skeptical when it said “buffet” on its name. Turned out Hangang The Buffet serves only a la carte on weekdays.

Koreans have elevated enjoying all parts of a cow to an art form. Three types of meat comes with the set.

양념 앵거스 살치살 Marinated Angus Chuck Tail Flap

Salchisal 살치살, or chuck tail flap, has been separated from the triangular muscle attached to the front of the upper beef loin. As one of the portions that are best grilled on the spot, this part has excellent marbling with the rich juices and exquisite savoury flavours of the fat.

꽃살 Marbled Rib Meat (Grade 3)

꽃 is flower and 살 is skin, and it aptly described the marbling on the beef rib. Kkochsal 꽃살, or marbled short rib, is riddled with a good amount of creamy white fat marbling. MS 3 (and MS 4) Wagyu beef delivers mouthwatering flavour, and a softer texture than you’ll ever experience from supermarket steaks.

부채살 Oyster Blade

부채살 Buchaesal, or oyster blade, a Korean beef cut from the top blade of the cow, close to the shoulder. It’s also known as top blade steak or flat iron. It exudes intense meatiness being close to organs.

The set also comes with a selection of banchan 반찬, or Korean side dishes, besides kimchi. Also includes doenjang-guk 된장국 (fermented soybean paste soup) and corn cheese 콘치즈, together with unlimited lettuce and green leafy vegetables for ssam 쌈. The soup was quite lame, and so was the banchan.

I was told to start with the plain rib and oyster blade cuts without marinate and then the marinated chuck flap. I like the fact that they use a charcoal grill instead of the usual electric grill in other KBBQ restaurant. There’s not replacing charcoal in BBQ.

But unlike the ones in Korea, you have to do the grilling yourself. If you are not used to a table BBQ, just remember not to keep flipping the meat. The fats in the meat would grease the metal grill to make it non-stick, so don’t panic.

The only thing you need to look out for is the vegetables (trumpet mushrooms and enoki) as they can get burnt quite quickly.

The marbling of the beef was not top-notch, but it was quite good and still yielded a tender grilled piece of beef. However, it was tasteless. The condiments were not provided on the table, so you had to go get them from the empty buffet line.

The marinated chuck tail flaps were quite delicious, with a balance of sweetness and savoriness. But after a few more pieces, the saltiness overwhelms you, and you crave some steamed white rice. If only they came with a bowl of rice, which is charged separately.

짬뽕 Jjamppong (Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup)

Given that it was an untypical cold evening in Perth, I wanted to have something warm and satisfying. The soup that came with the set was blah. So I ordered a jjamppong.

This is Korean comfort food, and every emeoni 어머니 can do a decent version. I was not impressed; the noodles were lumpy, the soup was light and almost tasteless, and it came rather cold (not boiling hot like in Korea).

I would love to try their buffet, but on a weekday like this, I would only stick to the meat and skip everything else. The Korean fried chicken that the other tables ordered gave me food envy, but it wasn’t something I expected in a KBBQ restaurant. I guess when you are far away from motherland, you learn to deliver everything instead of specialising in one.

Hangang the Buffet 한강
97 Murray St, Perth WA 6000, Australia
Tel : +61 451 603 880

Visited Feb 2025