Cho Sun Korean BBQ - Kingsway

  Yesterday my dad and I were driving around Kingsway debating where to eat dinner! My dad suggested Sui Sha Ya! SERIOUSLY dad?!! Of all places?! I told him that they had already closed down, but he didn't believe me LOL. If he wanted AYCE Sushi we should go to Kingsway Sushi instead. We did park in front of Kingsway sushi, but we changed our minds so we kept on driving! I wanted to go to Lucky Noodle for Hunan but my dad wasn't in the mood for chinese, so he suggested Cho Sun instead!  

  There were so many people when we got there! We even bumped into one of my dad's students there LOL what a small world eh? We ended up having to wait 20 mins for a seat because we didn't have a reservation. By the time we left there was already a huge lineup congregating outside, goes to show how popular this place is! Hey, can you blame them? Who doesn't like Korean BBQ?! :D

Signature Dishes
  Cho Sun specializes in Korean BBQ! If you're not in the mood for BBQ they have a wide selection of korean dishes like seafood pancakes, Galbi Tang, Gom Tang, bimbimbap, etc. They even have sushi LOL which isn't surprising considering 50% of sushi restaurants in Van are run by Koreans!

Service 3/5 stars
  Literally 3 mins after we had ordered all the food arrived! They brought us  extra banchan, rice, and plates on request. The servers were really quick since they were so busy! They did their job, nothing more, nothing less. No smiles or thankyous, but I didn't mind LOL.

Ambiance - Casual
  The restaurant is actually really nice, tastefully decorated with Korean decor. The tables are separated into booth seating which allows for more privacy! The seats are cushioned which makes it extra comfy!

Price - $$
  If you're in a group, your best bet would be to go with their combo BBQ sets. They have 4 types of combos:

Combo A
Medium for 2 people - $35.95
Large for 3 people - $49.95
B3ef Bulgogi, La Galbi, Chicken, Pork Belly

Combo B
Medium - $41.95
Large - $62.95
Beef Bulgogi, LA Galbi, Chicken, Pork Belly, Seafood & Veggie

Combo C
Medium - $49.95
Large- $63.95
Beef Rib Eye, Juicy Galbi, Beef Bulgogi, Beef Tongue

Value - Okay
  We ended up spending over $50 for our meal, which is kind of pricey imo. Sure, we got rib eye, but we still didn't feel like the food justified the cost. There wasn't alot of food and we felt that the value just wasn't there.

More Info!
3486 Kingsway Vancouver, BC 
Combo C
Medium - $49.95
Beef Rib Eye, Juicy Galbi, Beef Bulgogi, Beef Tongue

Rib Eye 3.5/5 stars
Beef Tongue: 3/5 stars

  The rib eye was nicely marbled with fat with rendered the meat nice and tender. The rib eye wasn't marinated so you have to dip it in the sauce they provide for extra flavour.  On it's own it just tasted...beefy LOL. The tongue was decent, I'm not a huge fan of tongue to begin with haha, so I only ate one piece.
Beef Bulgogi
3/5 stars
  The bulgogi was really chewy and had a good amount of fat on it. The meat had some seasoning on it but it wasn't enough so extra sauce was still needed. The chives on top added some extra flavour. I thought the portion size was a little on the small side though.
Juicy Galbi
4/5 stars
  The juicy galbi was my favourite! Like the name suggests, it was super juicy and moist! It was oozing with flavour, having been marinated in a sweet, teriyaki sauce. It wasn't too lean, and had the perfect amount of fat in it!
Sweet Soy Sauce: 3/5 stars
Sesame Oil w/ Salt : 2/5 stars

  I liked the soy sauce, it was sweet- salty, with an underlying unami flavour. At first I thought the yellow sauce was garlic or something but turns out it was actually salt w/ sesame oil LOL. The sesame oil actually paired surprisingly well with the meat!
Some grilling action! ;)

Bean Sprout Banchan
3/5 stars
  Like most Korean restaurants, you also get banchan on the side, which comes with unlimited free refills! We did end up refilling our banchan once haha! The bean sprouts were crunchy, sour, with a hint of sesame oil. Probably my second favourite out of the bunch!
3/5 stars
  This was pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary. The kimchi was crunchy, and predominately sour. I didn't find it all lol
Vegetable Banchan
3/5 stars
  This was salty, and like the other dishes, had a distinct sour undertone. There was also some carrot shreds and chopped up onion in it.
1.5/5 stars
  This is similar to the salads you get at AYCE sushi joints lol. The veggies were crunchy and tasted reasonably fresh. The sauce was gloopy, with a strong ginger flavour.
Radish Bachan
2/5 stars
  The radish was soaked in a spicy vinaigrette sauce. Personally I didn't find it that spicy, it was more on the sour side. 
Potato Banchan
3/5 stars
  The potatoes were soft, with a heavy sweet-soy sauce flavour. Another typical banchan dish!
4/5 stars
   You know me guys, I ended up ordering a second bowl of rice cause it wasn't enough LOL! I love the rice containers Koreans use! They're just so cute and soo much better than your average rice bowl ;) 
3/5 stars
  There was definitely MSG in this, because it was really salty! It was still good though! I didn't know what it was LOL, but there was a definite green onion flavour!
They gave us half an orange for dessert! :D 

The Verdict
Overall 3/5 stars

 We really enjoyed our Korean BBQ experience at Cho Sun! The food was tasty but in my opinion, not really worth the money. Since there are so many other Korean BBQ joints in Van, we probably won't be back anytime soon. Cho Sun is worth checking out though!

Cho Sun B.B.Q. Korean Restaurant on Urbanspoon


  1. The foods look good, and the tabletop BBQ experience is always fun and tough to beat. But I totally agree, $50 seems steep for that meal :-(

    If you are ok with no table top BBQ but want a very good food quality, service and ambiance experience, I recommend SURA (Robson; Richmond). I've only been to the Robson location for lunch. It was busy but the good friendly service and nice decor made up for it. Value ...... HIGH. They have lunch sets priced at $15 or $20/person. But each set is easily enough for two people. The dishes just keep on comin' !

    Check out:

    Hungry yet ? ;-)

  2. Haha, I agree, tabletop bbq is more of a novelty than anything else, it's fun, but the value isn't really there!

    Woahh the $20 set deals look awesomee!! You're right, judging by the pictures, the value is definitely HIGH!! :D I don't go to Richmond that often anymore (sad, I know lol) but if I'm ever near Aberdeen, I'll definitely check it out! Or maybe I'll just go to the Robson location! :)
    Thanks for the link!! Sherman makes it look sooo good, like always haha!

    LOL I'm getting so hungry now just from looking at the pics! :D

  3. By looking at the pics, I think the Robson location is more "cool":

  4. LOL I like the paneling + mirrors in the Robson location! They even have a screen projector haha! But the backless seating in the Richmond location is pretty neat and definitely adds to the experience! Which one have you been too? :D

  5. Only been to the Robson one. But if I'm in Richmond and hungry (not hard to do) I may try that one next time.