Moran BBQ is a hidden away Korean barbecue restaurant in Waterloo. It is tucked away behind a car dealership along a small alley of neighbourhood restaurants. They're known for their barbecued meats including one beef cut dubbed "Snowflake wagyu" as well as Korean fried chicken and an extensive menu. It is also one of the very few Korean barbecue restaurants that has a large outdoor section that is also pet friendly!
It's a warm Saturday night when Mr NQN and I head to Moran BBQ in Waterloo. Moran BBQ is named after the family name of owner Choe Moran - Moran means peony flower in Korean and the flower adorns their logo. The restaurant has a large indoor section as well as a leafy outdoor section and we take a seat at an outdoor table.
Moran BBQ are known for their barbecue meats as well as their fried chicken, soups and stews. You can also buy a set selection of pork or beef that includes 3-5 meats. We order a range of things to try. We start with drinks. For me it's a salted plum drink with a light smoky finish and for Mr NQN a peach makgeolli rice wine. He's a big fan of makgeolli and he likes to try new flavours of it.
The nine banchan arrive shortly afterwards: bean sprout salad, dried black beans, seaweed, egg omelette, broccoli, pickles, daikon kimchi, cabbage kimchi and a green salad with a sweet yuzu dressing that we really love.
A basket of crisp lettuce leaves arrives along with condiments for the meat: garlic, ssamjang sauce and sesame oil and salt.
The food comes out in quick succession. The first dish to arrive is the Korean fried chicken. The boneless chicken pieces are freshly fried so that they are crunchy and delicious with soy garlic glaze. It's crunchy without being oily at all and the chicken is moist inside.
There are three different types of pancake on the menu: seafood, kimchi and sweet potato. Sometimes when you order Korean pancakes, they're not quite crispy enough and they're a little bit soft. But this sweet potato pancake is wonderfully crunchy with a spicy sauce on the side. 10 out of 10, no notes and I would definitely order this again.
The beef bibimbap comes with bottles of chilli sauce and sesame oil to mix in. You break the yolk and mix it all up and add as much chilli and sesame oil. I love the crispy bits of rice right at the bottom and mix of vegetables and seasoned beef. I also like being able to add as much seasoning as I want.
The tteokbokki is satisfyingly chewy with batons of chewy rice cakes served with strips of fish cake and a boiled egg in a sweet and spicy sauce that is very moreish.
By now Melanie, our lovely waitress and restaurant manager starts to cook our meat for us and she controls the temperature expertly and changes out the grill plate before it gets too charred. If the restaurant is not too busy, the staff will cook the food for you which is nice if you don't like the responsibility of having to cook. And this also means that the meat is perfectly cooked.
There is one meat that I really want to try and that is the premium chuck tail flap aka the snowflake wagyu known for its high marbling and tiny snowflake pattern. The snowflake wagyu is so luscious and melts in the mouth beautifully. This is really such a remarkable cut especially if you enjoy a buttery steak.
The pork belly is also delicious and melts in the mouth. It achieves a nice char on the charcoal too. Meat cooked on charcoal tastes so much more flavoursome than a regular grill.
The beef tongue has that lovely distinctive texture to it and I really enjoy this cut. I usually have it thinly sliced but here it is thicker and has a juicy texture.
Then Melanie cooks the marinated beef short ribs that are also super juicy and charred on the edges. These don't need any of the sauces because they're already highly flavoured.
There are a few vegetarian dishes like the sweet potato pancake and the sizzling corn cheese. I always try and order the corn if I see it and it comes out bubbling and sizzling away on a cast iron plate. The corn is sweet and juicy and the cheese strings pull obligingly.
Usually this is more of a kids menu dish but I love these rice balls or jumeokbap, a medium grain rice with pickled daikon radish, nori and toasted sesame oil. Jumeokbap means "fist rice" because you don some gloves to roll the rice up into little balls. These are so much better than plain rice as they have so much flavour.
We also try the tofu soup which comes in seafood or a beef flavour and since we've got a lot of meat we go for the seafood soup with prawns and a spicy soup base. The tofu is so soft it's like a wobbly panna cotta in the soup and it is comforting and delicious with strands of enoki mushroom and other vegetables.
As we get up to leave a lovely lady and her mother arrive with their dog in tow as well as their cat in a stroller. Next time we will bring Teddy and Milo along!
So tell me Dear Reader, do you prefer cooking the meat on a Korean BBQ or do you prefer it when they cook it for you?
NQN and Mr NQN were guests of Moran BBQ but all opinions remain her own.
Moran BBQ
Shop 6/5 Potter Street, Waterloo NSW 2017
Phone: 0434 520 398
www.moranbbq.com
Monday, Wednesday to Sunday: 11am to 10pm
Tuesday: closed
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