Welcome to Arirang Subiaco

Our experience at Arirang was the most enjoyable night out we have had in ages!

Hubbie and I dined with my Brother and sister-in-law. The restaurant had not been visited by any of us before, we had no idea where it was situated nor was it recommended to us by anyone. It was the wanting to try somewhere we hadn't been to before (a different cuisine) and a restaurant that was featured in our Entertainment Value books!

I had made contact with the restaurant by email after my brother made the booking, just to find out if Hubbie (with gluten/wheat intolerances) was able to be catered for. Had a lovely phone conversation from there with a guy named Robert, who advised me that his boss was onto my query and would get back to me well before the night of our booking. The boss (Birtan) assured me in his reply to my email that they would certainly be able to accommodate Hubbie's requirements I was told they welcomed the opportunity to serve us. Just from these points of contacts I had no concerns at all that we would not have a great time here. There was a genuine warmth and concern and I was so pleased about this! People without food intolerances take for granted that they can just walk into any restaurant and order whatever they fancy.

On the night (Saturday night) we arrived at Arirang and were promptly seated and welcomed. Our waitress, Laura (whom we were to learn was the manager) was very happy and chatty and we felt very comfortable and pleased we had chosen to book here.

I asked Laura to please pass on my thanks to Birtan for his email and his response. Laura said he was would most likely we there shortly and she would pass on my thanks. She then proceeded to explain the menu to us, in particular the dishes best suited for Hubbie and what other ones they could alter to suit his intolerances. We were very impressed that there was actually a real selection for him to choose from.

She explained the cooking BBQ style at out table concept, which we liked the idea of. It was after our entree when the rice, sauces, vegetables and marinated meats all came out that we realised how much fun this meal was going to be. We were impressed by how the simple the hot coals were installed into our table. We all could tell that we were in for a real treat before the first piece of food was even set upon the hot plate.

The flavours were to die for. We were encouraged to go 'real korean' and wrap the meat, rice, vegetables and sauces into lettuce leaves and roll them up. Eating with your hands while dining in a restaurant is usually not what one expects to be doing or to be acceptable! But they were open to a new experience and it was GREAT!
Birtan appeared and introduced himself to us, what a lovely man.

We were impressed by the fact were werent rushed through our meal, we took our time and I lost count how many times the comment 'This is great' was stated from our table. The wait staff were attentive and very happy to serve. Iced water was freely offered throughout the meal and we were topped up with extra lettuce for our 'wraps' in an instant when they were offered to us.

Our experience at Arirang lasted over 3 hours we were happy to sit and chat after we'd finished our main meals, no room for dessert though it was offered!

Our bill total with using the Entertainment vouchers came to under $120... which was pretty good for 4 people with entrees, mains and corkage (as we BYO'd).

I had read previous reviews left for this restaurant before submitting this one was amazed at the negatives some had experienced. I would like to say to those considering Arirang to DO TRY IT! It would be an awful shame for you to miss out on an amazing dining experience. We are not regular Subi-goers but we found the ambience anything but pretentious....and for those reading this that may have concluded that we had a great time because we'd made the effort to make contact before our booking etc. I particularly watched other tables being waited on last night while we were there and the service being offered to them was on par with the friendliness and attentive service being extended to our table. My only regret is that the grading scale on this website doesnt extend to 10/10 coz Arirang - you guys would have got a 10 for sure!

we tried this restaurant on Valentines 2007 there was 6 of us & i thought the idea of cooking the food at the table was good although i thought that they cooked it for us when we found out we had to it was a bit disappointing but still nice the food was nice but not enough it was a set menu & i would like to go back to see the full menu the service from one of the waiters was great but a few of them didn't speak a bit of english therefore the understanding of how & what to cook was a bit hard to find out as they got really busy the service wasn't very good but im sure on a normal day it would be ok

i would recommend this restaurant & go back.

I went to Arirang for a friends going away and I was quite excited to get a taste of how the whole "barbecue on hot coals" idea works. The restaurant had a great atmosphere although it did have the pretentious Subiaco feel about it.

The entrees that we ordered were very interesting and having not tasted any Korean food in the past I was pleasantly surprised. The dumplings in particular were a great dish.

We ordered our drinks from a waitress who spoke barely two words of english and they took 50 minutes to be brought to the table and were wrong altogether. Iordered a strawberry daquiri and they brought out a mango one, then later informed they had run out of strawberry. I then went without a drink for a further 25 minutes while they poured my beer.

Our table had no where enough room for all the food they brought out and at first we thought they had forgotten half of our meal as there were 6 of us and it looked like it was enough to only just satisfy 3 or 4. We were very much surprised. The only problem was sitting in front of the barbecue! It was incredibly hot.

We ordered one of each banquet the meat and seafood and it was a great experience cooking your own meal, and everything was very flavoursome (especially the pork!). I dont think one of us left with an empty stomach and there certainly was no room left for dessert.

With the exception of the service I have no hesitations going back.

Dropped into Arirang subiaco on the spur of the moment on sunday afternoon.

Restaurant was very quite so no problem getting a table, being such a cold wet miserable day outside we decided to order the set menu and cook ourselves and warm up over the hot coals!

Entree was honey chicken and mandu dumplings both very tasty.

After a fair wait out come our bbq set comprising of beef, chicken, pork and some veg plus an assortment of sauces and rice.

We were given a demo on cooking the meat and off we went....the meat was lovely, flavoursome and tender but i must say that the kimchi and the mungbean paste were not to my liking...im sure they were lovely but they are not for me!

We definitely had plenty of food for $29 there was no thought of dessert!

All up i think this restaurant is fun and good value also a huge novelty being able to cook your own dinner at your table, the ambience is cosy and it would be an ideal place to take a first date.

We went to Arirang Subiaco for valentines day 07 it was a set menu & a different place hence cook it your self a great idea although we thought they might have cooked it for us the food was lovely besides the miso soup the service was great besides the few that couldn't talk English but they got a waiter for us quickly weren’t there early which was good as u could see it getting packed & waiters running all over the place but they always had a smile & humour which I thought was great as you don’t get that much lately you could see they liked there job will definitely go back again I was recommended the Subiaco store apparently that one is the better of the two.

As a rule, I don't go to Arirang. Mainly because it's the most expensive Korean restaurant in Perth. I don't mind small servings of meat, as long as I get unlimited side dishes (kimchi, beans, radish, etc) as in other Korean places. Paying for sides is just not heard of in Korean restaurants!

However, went to Subiaco a while ago because I had a Jambong fetish - I had just returned from living in Korea and couldn't go any longer! Anyway, got the menu, ordered my soup.. only the European backpacking waitress had no idea what I wanted - I basically had to go tell the kitchen.

No major problem.. I was hungry, and they were close to closing. The staff out back were helpful and the food was brilliant - left me satisfied for days!

Great food! Great staff! Great experience!

After having a bad experience at Arirang in Perth city we decided to try the Subiaco version with some trepidation. But we are glad we did.

The food was fresh, the meat of good quality and the sauces home made and not a hint of MSG.

Service was fast and efficient and the staff friendly and charming.

Read the other reviews. I have been there three times now dine in and once takeaway. When we first stumbled on the restaurant nearly a year ago after the football, I was very apprehensive about doing my cooking. I go to restaurants for the night off. - Alas!!! They can cook it for you as per any normal (in the nicest sense) restaurant. Wow impressed. Fabulous squid like I had never tasted and also had the beef and chicken. Really enjoyable food, staff very friendly and helpful with choice etc.

Now we often buy a takeaway hot box. Great!! Fabulous value and very "fresh/clean" tasting. Not full of additives, MSG...

Love It!!!

Arirang in Subiaco has a very good value for money lunch deal. Normal meal is only $9.90 and set meal which includes soup, and others small dishes (such as kimchee, beans sprouts, etc) is 11.90. I have ate there on 2 occasions. First time I ordered a Chilli Pork set- which was way too spicy for me, but was a joy. 2nd time, I ordered Bulogi beef which was done PERFECTLY.

Really nice place for lunch and I can imagine it should be very nice for dinner.

Definitely a different dining experience, but one well worth it. Excellent food, friendly staff (although waiting times did get a bit long) and a great atmosphere. It was particularly pleasing to see a children’s menu that was more than just "nuggets and chips". My primary school children loved both the choice and the food. I will be going back.

I thought the idea of preparing your food to your own liking was good at first. I tried this place twice but since you only get a few sauces to get some kind of flavour on the meats you get to fry yourself, its kind of hard to get a real seasoning effect happening. Given that the price is 18-25$ and you have to cook your own food it appeared less than value for money to me... still if its the ambience you are after then this is the place for you...