My husband and I have been on a mission to try all the Korean BBQ places in South Florida. But that may take us a while.
Anyway, we tried R.O.K. last Friday night. It's in a strip mall, so no problems with parking. The place isn't very large but it's a decent size. We got there around 7:30 (they open at 5 p.m.) and didn't have a problem getting a table. A bit later, folks were waiting. And the place seems to be run by just two people. (There may be a chef hidden in back.) And it got crowded and both servers were very rushed. Nevertheless, service was still good even if we had to raise our hands a few times to get some attention.
We ordered the all you can eat BBQ with five meats: pork belly, spicy pork, beef ribs, chicken, and beef bulgogi. It's $32 each (despite what the website says) plus tax and tip.
The side dishes were scant. We got kimchi (that did not look good nor taste good, as if it was from the bottom of the jar), spicy cucumbers, fish cakes, marinated bean sprouts, raw onions with soy sauce, a lettuce salad with a delicious ginger dressing, sweet black beans, white rice, and the best item of all, Korean miso soup (with tofu and zucchini). With all the Korean food we eat and have eaten (we visited Korea in 2005), I have never had this kind of soup. I thoroughly enjoyed the crunchy zucchini and the firm tofu in the hot and spicy broth. I was looking forward to more sides, maybe a pancake, and some sort of dessert?
Now to the proteins. We were two people and the servers brought out 3 generously filled platters with the 5 kinds. The galbi (beef ribs) were a bit charred. The sauce on the spicy pork was chalky and the bulgogi was a tad overdone. The pork belly was done just right, but had no flavor. It seemed to lack seasoning. The chicken (also overdone) was good. It, along with the the charred galbi, were my favorites. I wonder if it would be possible to tell them how we wanted our meats cooked without sacrificing the Korean experience. We were stuffed but hubby had to have more galbi. We worried about not finishing the spicy pork and bulgogi (there is a charge for leftovers) but nothing was said, we were not charged, and we got our extra order of beef ribs.
The restaurant also has an ala carte menu with lots of offerings. I think next time I may try some traditional dishes (jap chae, bi bim bap) and a seafood pancake and skip the BBQ buffet. Although, I would welcome another serving of the chicken and the Korean miso soup. But I can always order them individually from the menu. read more