Unfortunately, I have no images to share for this post. For some reason, they didn’t turn out properly on my iPhone. So, my apologies.

If you have never heard of Korean Barbeque, then you’ve been living under a rock. It’s been around for aaaaaaages in Perth. to the best of my knowledge, it started with Arirang on Perth’s Barrack Street, and has expanded from there into Victoria Park and now Northbridge.

Essentially, you are seated at a table with a strange looking pot in the middle of it. You make your order from a menu. Generally, it is meat with some sides,  like pickled cabbage and other vegetables. The waiter then turns on this pot in the middle of your table and takes your order to the kitchen, returning with uncooked meat and your sides. Yes, you guessed it. That pot in the middle of your table is where your meat is cooked.

Now, for someone like myself who likes their meat cooked to very specific standards, this is perfect. If you’re not aware of how quickly this method of cooking is, it may be a bit of a steep learning curve.

Tong 86 is a very large venue. There is a relatively large front dining area, but then there is an even bigger dining area downstairs. There are big screens playing K-pop, which makes the fan-girl in me happy.

The menu isn’t that extensive, and there are no pictures showing people unfamiliar with their meat what it looks like. The portion sizes are okay, though you have to order rice separately and I would have liked to have had more rice and sides. I realise I am not familiar with the quantities of food eaten in this style, but I did find room for going into Northbridge for ice cream after.

The pickled cabbage was nice, although a little cold for my liking. Actually, most of the sides were a little too cold, considering you were eating freshly cooked, straight off the grill meats.

Personally, I would probably not got here again, unless I had heard they had expanded their menu and fixed their portion sizes. The food was nice enough, but there was just not enough of it and I actually found it a bit pricey in view of that fact.

Establishment details:

Tong 86

86 Beaufort Street
Perth WA 6000