Review - Gogi Korean BBQ Restuarant, Chinatown

On the corner of Corrs Lane and Little Bourke Street is a new Korean BBQ restaurant “Gogi”.  Now I did not come for the BBQ on this occasion, what looked to be of some appeal was the $10 Lunch Buffet on offer.Now unlike most buffet restaurants, this one is not afraid to poster up a warning to food wasters.  “Please take as much as you can eat otherwise we charge a $5.00 penalty for food left on the plate”.  At first glance you think “That’s kind of abrupt”.  However, it does make sense, if you think of all the food wasted at buffets because people take it literally to have “All You Can Eat” but do not realize they cannot eat it “All”.  So venture cautiously through their selection and don’t take too much of anything on the first serve.  Make your first plate a tasting menu with little morsels of the appetising fare and for the adventurous type some of the not so familiar items. A cold salad bar is well stocked with plenty of Korean vegetarian accompaniments like Kim Chi and Pickled Cucumbers and even a dish labelled Fruit Salad (dessert maybe???). Other less Korean offerings are also to be found here such as sliced Oranges and Iceberg Lettuce – “space fillers” no doubt.   Under a gallery of quaint cloches is a rather generous array of hot menu items.  

A definite entrée would have to be the Spicy Crispy Chicken – although neither spicy nor crispy, but tasty enough when boosted with a selection of the sauces available at the end of the cold buffet. Choose from home-made mayo, chilli sauce, and teriyaki sauce to name a few.  

I was not brave enough to try the Seaweed Soup, although I heard from another diner that it is very appetising and nourishing. 
For the mains the definite highlight is the Kim Chi Fried Rice which is a complete Korean take on rice.  Its dark orange colour makes it look a little spicy but it is a subtle mild flavoured rice with sour notes.   

The Plain Fried Rice is less of a highlight but good as a bed for the more spicy dishes like the Stir Fried Calamari.   By the way the dish names are not very descriptive – simply the meat type – Beef, Lamb and my favourite pick – the Pork dish. There is also Soft Tofu and Korean style Rice Noodles

For a cheap lunch time buffet with a bit of variety that is different to the usual Cantonese “All You Can Eat” joints, Gogi fares quite well.  The dishes are anything but boring and as Korean cuisine is much less known, your plate is bound to have something on it, you have not tasted before.  I would skip the Fruit Salad if you are not a fan of mayonnaise like cream stirred in with chopped carrot, cucumber, sweet potato and apples.