Hwaro – Coquitlam
Hwaro – A Korean bbq steak and raw bar. I saw their signage when I drove by; it replaced what appears to be a more traditional style Korean Restaurant in the Henderson Mall in Coquitlam. I was very intrigued by the place when I searched on the website. The website was very nicely done with the impressive profile of a owner/ executive chef – Ray Lee who has worked as a sous chef in a number well known hotels, and he has studied abroad as well. The thing that caught my eye was the descriptive menu they had and the impressive BBQ beef combo they offered. Space wise – it wasn’t very big but the decor was nice. I came with the intention of doing the combo they offered. I had selected the premium beef combo as I wanted to try their premium quality beef that they boast about in their website. From the beginning – the amount of food was very adequate or to some can be considered generous as well. The presentation of each dish was very aesthetically pleasing to the eye so it definitely made me look forward in eating the food. All the starters were nice and wasn’t bad. I can’t say it was “wow” but it was good. I was really looking forward to the beef as that was what I was there for. The display of beef on the board look very nice. Once we started grilling the meat, we can definitely tell the beef was really nice and tender and full of flavour. Each piece was nicely salted or either marinated well without compromising the flavour of the beef. Typically when you go to any Korean BBQ place, the meat tends to be chewy and hard to bite into after it’s cooked. I had no difficulty with that at all. The marbling on meat provided the medium of fat to get the nice fragrance and without worrying it would burn as well. The only disappointing part of the meal was the ice cream. I personally wouldn’t even bother having that as part of the meal combo. It just a scoop of ice cream which isn’t that great. I think having that as the ending leaves the meal great to good since the ice cream left a bad impression. If it was left off on the the meat – I think it would leave a better experience than a sad scoop no name brand ice cream. However, regardless of this, I think it’s still a place I would suggest to try out and to enjoy and experience. I don’t think you can go wrong on this price point!
