Meat House is marketed as Canberra’s first Chinese BBQ Buffet, taking over the space where Hanok Korean once operated. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Over the last decade, Korean BBQ has become a staple night out in Canberra, and when it comes to choice, there’s a long list of restaurants specialising in the self-service cooking technique.
So when Hanok Korean at the Capital Food Markets relaunched as Meat House, Canberra’s only Chinese BBQ buffet, I was intrigued.
Not wanting to remain merely intrigued for long, I popped into Meat House on a Wednesday, keen to see first-hand what their discounted all-you-can-eat mid-week pricing of $54.90 per person would get me.
Arriving via the internal markets entrance, the rebrand from Hanok to Meat House is a little confusing, with prominent Hanok signage still above the entrance. The lower eye-level digital screens offer a contradictory branding, confirming that this is no longer Korean BBQ but Chinese BBQ.
Disregard the signage, Hanok Korean has left the building. Photo: Tenele Conway.
If you’re familiar with Korean BBQ, you already know no one has reinvented the wheel here. The concept of gathering raw ingredients to cook at your table, along with a selection of ready-made buffet dishes and sides, is exactly the same across the two genres.
What differs here are the flavour profiles and ingredient selections.
Most importantly, they really live up to their name. The meat is plentiful, and the focus is on beef, a hallmark of Chinese BBQ.
Beef belly, brisket, chuck roll, oyster blade and beef aorta sit alongside king prawns, spicy pork and a small selection of vegetables, including some lovely plump king oyster mushrooms.
The buffet covers both raw ingredients and ready-made dishes. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Meat choices include a mix of marinated options heavy on cumin, reflecting their northern Chinese origins. You won’t find Korean favourites like galbi and bulgogi here.
If you’re reminded of Sizzler’s open displays of food, you’ll be glad to know the full selection of raw ingredients is neatly enclosed in large standing fridges. Each dish appears in its own serving bowl, and the whole setup is kept spotlessly clean.
In addition to the raw ingredients, there’s a selection of ready-made buffet dishes, including salt and pepper chicken cartilage, a tomato beef brisket stew, a spicy glass noodle salad and sweet and sour crispy pork, which I found quite tasty despite steaming away in its own juices in a bain-marie.
Back at your table, the ample and attentive staff promptly set up your tabletop cooking station. The cooking method here is charcoal, not gas, a defining feature that really separates the offering among BBQ restaurants.
The cook-your-own setup takes place over charcoal, giving the food a strong smoky quality. Photo: Tenele Conway.
With an hour-and-a-half time limit for your feeding frenzy, I’m pleased the charcoal is piping hot, allowing for a fast turnover of meats and their accompanying friends of the vegetable persuasion.
For lovers of this style of BBQ, you’ll know a dipping sauce is essential, and the primary sauce on the make-your-own sauce station leans surprisingly Korean in flavour, with what I’m fairly sure is a base of Korean Gochujang. There is also a garlic sauce, an oil-based dip and several dry ingredients like coriander, salt and chilli powder.
Ironically, the standout ingredient for me wasn’t a specific cut of meat; it was the king oyster mushrooms. These hearty fungi soak up the smoke from the charcoal and morph into something far more delicious than one might expect from a simple ‘shroom.
To keep the food moving through the system at the speed appropriate to an all-you-can-eat setup, drinks can be ordered via QR code. Sadly, there’s not a Tsingtao in sight, with Cass beer, Kloud beer and soju from Korea creating another slightly confusing crossover in this cultural rebrand.
There’s also Japanese whisky and gin, but many were sold out on our visit, though there’s a surprisingly large wine list covering local, national and international labels.
Those aren’t bacon bits in the dessert … but I can’t tell you what they actually are. Photo: Tenele Conway.
All-you-can-eat wouldn’t be complete without dessert, and in true buffet fashion, you can build your own sweet bowl from a selection of colourful jelly substances, nuts, sultanas, coconut and all the fun things you need to form a franken-dessert of your dreams.
In a sea of do-it-yourself BBQ restaurants, Meat House is a worthy competitor. You certainly can’t complain about the value of the all-you-can-eat arrangement, and if it strikes you as poor value, it may just be your personal time-management skills that are in question.
Visit Meat House Chinese BBQ Buffet to make a booking. It’s located in the Capital Food Market, 14/10 Lathlain Street, Belconnen. They’re open Tuesday to Friday from 5 pm to 9:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 am to 3 pm and from 5 pm to 9:30 pm.
