Today I was out in Richmond with a friend, to try Tanlu’s at table charcoal grilling experience. Located in an outdoor plaza, parking is complimentary for up to 2 hours.
I had skip the gym this morning in lieu of rest, so decided to make up for it by having a carb free food day. And grilling meat for lunch seemed like a great way to do just that.
We came in with a budget and was pleasantly surprised by how much food we got out of it. The reality is depending on cuts of meat, such grill spots can be pricy, even though you are essentially cooking for yourself.
To be honest I don’t like such concepts as a place to have a bbq dinner at, as the meat is only as good as your grill it, and not everyone can cook or even just watch food without burning it. But this is one of those meals you do it for the activity. The experience with a friend or group is just as important as what you are eating.
What sets this Chinese style bbq grill restaurant apart is their use of actual charcoal. When you are seated, one of the staff members brings around a pot of already lit charcoal rocks. There are two different types of grill plates. A thin wire one for beef, chicken, and seafood. And a more covered and solid plate for fattier cuts of pork. It is recommended that you grill in sets to differentiate between the two. You also have the ability to ask for and trade out as many grill plates as you like, especially as they are quick atl get covered in burnt debris.
I appreciated how low the exhaust fan was to the grilling apparatus. This ensured that majority of the smoke got immediately sucked up and less of it filled the air. Thus, creating excess grease pile up, and less absorption into our hair or onto our clothes. Although as an extra precaution, each chair had a cloth wrap that you could use to cover your jacket or any layers, to create an extra barrier of smell protection.
When ordering you pick what you want via check box menu. Dipping sauces and sides are complimentary to start. If you want more of the latter there will be a charge. Included in this is the basket of washed and rinsed lettuce leaves that went for $5, after the first free one. In hindsight I suggested that we should have saved and eaten the blood soaked greens that our raw meat was place on in a decorative manner, instead. Grilling it to cook the blood before eating.
For sauces there is a sesame based one and one ideal for pork belly, which we would order. This is also where the lettuce came in. In truth, most of the meat comes seasoned and we found it tasty as is. Whereas dipping the meat in the sauce is a nice ritual and gives the bite a completely different flavour. With high acid and tang this offers a decent palate refresher.
Similarly, the sides were pickled to offer the same break with daikon, kimchi, roasted natto (fermented soy beans), and a light green salad. Given the amount of meat you eat it also would have been nice to have a couple bowls of steamed rice complimentary. Although that would have defeated my goal of not having any carbs in this meal and on the day, as I ain’t about turning down free food.
As for what we ordered we stared with the pork platter; knowing we wanted pork belly to have with the gochujang-like sauce, raw green peppers, lettuce, and garlic. This gave us just the right amount for two people, plus allowing us to try other pork items like pork jowl, pork shoulder, and mini pork sausages; all for $49.99.
With three slices of pork belly cut up using scissors was just enough for our pork belly lettuce wraps. In hindsight sight, a normal portion size might have been too much. With three slices cut up using scissors, we had more than enough meat, and the need to ask for a second helping of sauce, and once again turning down the $5 extra charge for more lettuce. Although, we should have at least paid for rice, given how fatty the pork jowl ate. It gave us a similar firm gristly chew as belly meat, just without the same calories. The shoulder was leaner and cooked up grittier in texture. And the sausages were cute, but didn’t really flow cohesively with the rest of the more premium cuts of pork. Plus they were saltier, sweet, and too needed a base to have with it.
I wanted to try grilling some seafood. When ordering the Tanlu mini squid for $18.45, I had hoped it was an entire mini squid cap and tentacles still in tact; to be later cut down to size with the set of scissor already available at our table. Instead, it was sliced up for easier and quick cooking. As soon as its edges curled it was ready to be removed from heat and eaten. This one was for the texture and needed a sauce for more taste interest.
We splurged on some meat from The Prime Cut Beef section of the menu. This was black pepper marinated, thick cut skirt steak for $26.86. It had a good amount of fattiness that caught heat and cooked quickly. The seasoning was fantastic as is and did not need help from any of the sauces. This was our favourite dish of our meal.
Although it didn’t seem like that much food, we ate more than our fill and even had a little to pack to go. Our budget was a great way to portion control and make healthier eating decisions.
And for dessert each person got a single large marshmallow on a wooden skewer. The grill plate is removed and you are invited to roast your marshmallow directly over the charcoal. This was a nice bonus activity and complementary gesture. However, it would be nice to give guests the option to add on chocolate and some graham cracker for a s’mores moment. Chances are most guests would opt in, myself included.
In short not the most inexpensive grill experience out there, but we were able to find a way maximize it at a more reasonable cost for two.
Tanlu Grill 探炉烤肉
4771 McClelland Rd #1430, Richmond, BC V6X OM5
(604) 370-2833
tanlugrill.com
