Bali's hottest new Korean BBQ spot

Written records of Korean barbecue date as far back as 37 BCE. But Korean barbecue as we know it today dates back to the US in the 1970s and 1980s when Korean immigrants introduced a more affordable, healthy and entertaining twist on traditional American steakhouses in which grills or cooking elements were nestled within individual dining tables.

Waiters would bring steel plates piled with chicken, pork and beef that customers then cooked to their liking and shared among themselves.

Korean cuisine is deeply rooted in the concept of sharing; the word for “family” in Korean literally means “people who share meals”. It is this communal aspect, a testament to the Korean value of collectivism, that makes Korean steakhouses so much fun.

However, in the past decade or two, traditional cook-your-own-meat Korean barbecue joints in the US have lost their allure and been replaced by a different model in which waiters grill the meat to precise specifications at the table, and there is no risk of customers overcooking a $100 Wagyu steak.

There are about a dozen Korean barbecue restaurants in Bali, but for those in the know, Moggumung Seminyak is the place to go.

“All the Korean people in Bali, they eat here,” said my lunch companion, Yaz Duralex, a French expat and passionate foodie who once owned a restaurant in Paris. The interior could not be more elementary: a tiled floor, exposed commercial air conditioners, metal stools and stainless steel tables with large gaps where solid iron gas cooking elements sit.

Yaz ordered for us from the set menu (they call it “Best” menu) that has three different options that feed two or three people.

He chose the first option which included pork belly, pork shoulder and boneless beef chuck short rib, and included all the sides, for $70. There are slightly more economical options for $60.

Another minute or two later (you don’t have to wait long here), she returned with the cuts of meat and a cube of fat that she used to grease the element.

Using tongs, she then grilled the meat to order, medium rare, and used a big pair of household scissors to cut it into bite-size pieces.

She also fried up an omelette and heated a serving of fried rice with shredded seaweed and soy sauce.

As she worked, Yaz and I picked at the kimchi, talked about business, politics and life.

When the food was ready our waiter turned off the gas and left without saying a word. The service was brisk, but the moment I put the first morsel into my mouth, I knew I’d found a winner.

I cannot remember the last time I tasted a piece of steak as tender as the beef chuck short rib, which we ate on its own and washed down shots of Soju, a Korean alcohol distilled from rice that cost $16 for a bottle.

The pork was faultless but what really left an impression was the rice. I’m not a big rice fan; I rarely eat it at all, much to the consternation of my Japanese girlfriend, whose mother is of the opinion that there is something fundamentally wrong with me. But the rice at Moggumung Seminyak, which had been scorched on the grill, was smooth and silky but with crusty, slightly burnt bits on the edge. Half an hour after the main course had ended, as we sat there talking, drinking soju and cleansing our palettes with strawberry ice cream, I was still trying to scrape more crusty bits of rice from the element. It was that good. I give this place four and a half stars. See instagram.com/moggumung_bali. Bookings after 6pm and on weekends are essential.