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There is not a genre of food on the planet that I don't embrace, as when it comes to food, I love it all. Even though I was briefly on the beach in Korea during my Navy days, my knowledge of Korean food was limited to kimchi and street vendor food carts. During a visit at my niece's place, when she suggested we enjoy Korean barbecue for dinner, I jumped at the chance, as I'd always wanted to enjoy Korean barbecue, but until today, I'd never had the opportunity to enjoy delicious Korean BBQ.
Photo: It's Monday, June 30, 2014, on a 106-degree evening in Clovis, but it's cool inside, and the food is delicious at Shila Korean BBQ.
Photo: The dining room is clean, comfortable, and very spacious. Note each dining table has it's own propane fired grill. That's right, the staff brings your meat to the table, and you cook it yourself! This was a totally new dining experience for me, but my experienced nephew, Conner, guided me through it, and I enjoyed myself, and totally pigged-out on delicious Korean barbecue.
Photo: After bringing a plate of marinated meat to the table, our friendly server, Alicia, poses with my nephew and niece. Note the amount of food on the table, and the Korean Hite beer that Elizabeth and I are enjoying. Note the vast array of side dishes... Keep in mind, at Shila Korean BBQ, it's all you can eat!
Photo: The side dishes are presented first - there are many of them - and the meat is brought to the table. We opted for the $18.95 per person dinner, which included all of the side dishes. Meat in our dinner included bulgogi, boneless short rib, spicy pork belly N.Y. steak, beef brisket, and beef tongue. Not all of the cuts of meat are shown in this photo, as the meat arrives in stages. The meat arrives to the table already seasoned, marinated, and all you have to do is to cook it yourself at the table, which adds to the atmosphere and is an enjoyable thing to do, and makes dining at Shila Korean BBQ a lot of fun. For slightly more money, you can enjoy exotic meat, but for $18.95, all-you-can-eat, forget the exotic, enjoy the fantastic food, pig-out, and be happy! The supply of meat is endless, so if you want more, just ask your friendly server, and she'll bring another plate of the meat of your choice. Amazing!
Photo: Conner grills steak at our table. In the restaurant, each table has it's own, propane-fired grill. The server brings the seasoned and marinated meat to the table, and you grill it yourself, and enjoy it. The meat is quite thin, so the grilling time is only a minute or so. Tongs, grill seasoning are provided. Conner and Elizabeth are "seasoned" veterans, so they use chop sticks. Alas, I'm a "wimp" so I opted for a fork. This dining concept was brand new to me, as I'd never experienced a cook-at-the-table type of dining. As I'm the "adventurous" sort when it comes to dining, I embraced the challenge, and enjoyed the concept. My nephew and niece live only a few blocks from this fantastic restaurant, and guided me through the process. Now that I'm a veteran of Korean barbecue, I know what to do. However, I'm still dazzled and amazed at the wonderful dining experience we enjoyed at Shila Korean BBQ.
Photo: New York steak grilling at our table. Between the three of us, we went through three plates of meat. As it's an all-you-can-eat, why not pig out and gain a couple of pounds? As a bonus, staff members came every few minutes to change the grill, as the grill gets "crusty" after grilling meat. If you love to grill, and you love great food, but you don't want to clean up, this restaurant is for you. My nephew, Conner, is a master cook, he did the grilling for tonight's delicious dinner.
Photo: May I digress a bit? After you're seated at your table, and place your order for meat - there are three price levels depending on your "exotic" tastes - you are presented with a vast array of side dishes. Whatever "level" of meat you order, the side dishes are the same. Actually, if you're a vegetarian, you could forget about the meat, as the side dish variety is staggering, and amazing! I can't really even describe what each dish was, as many were unfamiliar to me, but what I CAN say is that I stuffed myself, and each dish was simply amazing! I ate plate after plate of sides, meat and everything, until I was full. Here's my first plate of sides, as Conner was cooking the first round of meat. Fantastic!!!
Photo: Left to right, Conner and Elizabeth Habib, and your author, Eric Rench. Just in case you don't know me, Conner and Elizabeth are my nephew and niece. Check out the "spread" of food on the table. Awesome!
Photo: Conner grills pork belly at our table, while Elizabeth looks on, and uses her chop sticks to great advantage. Note the vast array of side dishes, which is included with the meal.
Photo: Round four? Maybe....? Grilled steak, Korean pancake, noodles, and kimchi. Kimchi is a staple with every Korean meal, even in North Korea, and with every plate of the delicious barbecue, I added a generous helping of kimchi, as I love it. Our friendly server, Alicia, brought us many additional plates of kimchi, as we're fans of the delicious food.
Photo: Another of many plates of food, from this awesome all-you-can-eat barbecue restaurant! Pork belly, noodles, pickled squash, and of course, more kimchi.
Photo: More! As you dine, if you run out of food, just ask, and the staff will bring whatever you request: Meat, kimchi, noodles, pancakes... whatever. My last plate of food, after eating, something like eight plates of food? I think I passed out after the 5th plate. More kimchi - kimchi with every plate as I love it more than anything - steak, tongue, and white rice. It's interesting to note that rice wasn't set out with the side dishes when we were first seated, but our friendly server, Alicia, asked if we wanted rice, and I said, "YES," and we were brought a bowl of white rice, at no extra charge. Wow! I have nothing but praise for Shila Korean BBQ! What a restaurant! All you can eat! I'll say it again: All you can eat! If you walk away hungry from Shila Korean BBQ, you're missing something, as the food is endless, the array is amazing, the service is friendly, and the food is simply delicious! What a restaurant, and what a concept! I love this restaurant, and I simply LOVE Korean BBQ! Shila Korean BBQ Copyright(c) 2014 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since December 22, 2002.
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