Grill right at the table: Springfield's new Korean barbecue restaurant is all-you-can-eat

Alissa Zhu | Springfield News-Leader

Bawi, a new all-you-can-eat Korean barbecue restaurant, will be the first of its kind in Springfield.

Diners will be able to cook their meat on natural gas grills built right into the tabletops, in a true traditional communal style.

Father and son David and Cosmo Kwon, the co-owners of Hinode Japanese Steakhouse, are opening Bawi together.

"It's supposed to be a fun get-together," Cosmo Kwon, 32, said. "That's what Korean barbecue is about — family and friends."

The project has been two years in the making, Kwon told the News-Leader. He estimates more than $2 million has been invested into Bawi.

The Korean barbecue joint is located at 4121 S. National Ave. The building owned by the Kwons used to be a Ruby Tuesday.

Kwon said his family talked about opening a Korean barbecue joint 10 years ago. They had previously owned a Korean barbecue restaurant in Garden Grove, California before moving to Springfield to take over management of Hinode in 2005.

But they weren't sure if Springfield was ready for it.

Now, with a growing "foodie" scene, things feel different.

"You can tell people here in the Ozarks are now open to trying new foods," Kwon said.

At Bawi, the price for all-you-can-eat is $24.98. That includes an appetizer, a wide selection of meats, including pork, chicken, beef and seafood, vegetarian options, as well as a dessert. There's a discounted price for children.

The restaurant will also serve soju, a clear Korean liquor, and a variety of beers.

Restaurant serves traditional Korean food in a modern environment

Decorative window screens, back-lit with color-changing lights, feature a pebble-like motif — a nod to the restaurant's name, Bawi.

Bawi means boulder or rock in Korean, Kwon said.

"In Korea, there are a lot of beautiful boulders," he said, explaining that the restaurant's name is an homage to Korea's natural beauty as well as the idea that a rock is a solid foundation on which anything could be built.

A "selfie wall," modeled with the same pebble design, glows with LEDs that provide the "perfect lighting" for self-portraits, according to Kwon.

There are two large private rooms for parties and special events that can seat up to 24 people each.

The music will be all K-pop, he said. Sometimes Korean pop music videos will play in the background.

"The K-wave is coming to the Ozarks," said Kwon with a laugh, referring to a phenomenon where Korean entertainment and culture have become increasingly popular across the globe.

Think: Psy's Gangnam Style, said Kwon. Gangnam Style's music video became the first YouTube video to reach 1 billion views.

Kwon said his family wanted to bring Korean barbecue to Springfield because it's something they like to eat.

His family used to go all the way to Dallas to eat Korean barbecue and buy groceries from Korean supermarket H-Mart.

"That's where a lot of (Springfield) Koreans drive to get their Korean fix," Kwon said.

There are a lot of people in the local Korean community who want to see this restaurant succeed, Kwon said.

He said the restaurant "wouldn't have happened" without help from family friends and church members, whom he calls his "extended family."

They helped design the layout of the restaurant, suggested names, worked on different recipes and offered menu suggestions, Kwon said — "everything."

A pioneer in cook-it-yourself, social dining experience in Springfield

Bawi, being Springfield's first Korean barbecue restaurant with tabletop grills, had to forge a path in its unique cook-it-yourself dining concept, according to Kwon.

"There were so many uncertainties. You're trying to get the city to understand why you're grilling your own meat," Kwon said.

Kwon said health inspectors asked a lot of questions, and the process was a lot more streamlined and efficient than he expected.

"The city was so helpful in getting through this whole process," he said.

Kwon said, like Hinode, which features a hibachi grill, dining at Bawi is not just about the food — it's also about the cooking experience.

"The entertainment is still at your table, but there aren't chefs flipping spatulas and knives at you and you don't have to sit with strangers," he said.

What you need to know about eating Korean barbecue

"A lot of people think of ethnic food as something extremely scary," said Kwon. "I want it to be fairly approachable."

Kwon recognizes that many of his customers may be trying Korean barbecue for the very first time at Bawi.

Customers can start off with a sampler plate, he said. Servers will be in charge of turning the grills on and controlling the temperature.

Each table is outfitted with at least one built-in natural gas grill. Vents on the sides of the grill suck in cooking smoke.

Servers will be making the rounds at each table to make sure everyone understands how to grill, he said. If people don't want to cook the food themselves, they can ask a staff member to do it for them.

"We don't want people to burn their own meat or eat something undercooked," Kwon said.

Traditional Korean barbecue features a variety of meats — some plain, and some marinaded — and comes with rice, dipping sauces and a selection of side dishes, such as kimchi, made up of salty and tangy fermented vegetables.

Bites of barbecued meat can be paired with other toppings and wrapped in lettuce, for a refreshing, crunchy texture.

Kwon said he expects the beef bulgogi, a thinly sliced ribeye marinaded in a sweet and savory sauce, and pork belly to be a hit.

Popular Korean recipe blogger Maangchi, called "Youtube's Korean Julia Child" by the New York Times, has some good tips for what to expect when dining at a Korean barbecue restaurant.

A lot of Korean barbecue is meant to be eaten by hand, Maangchi writes. So don't be afraid to use your fingers.

One of the first groups of people invited to eat at Bawi were Korean War veterans.

It's an ongoing tradition that Korean War Veterans of the Ozarks are treated to a free lunch once a year by the Kwon family. In the past, it's been at Hinode. This year it was Korean barbecue, according to Kwon.

His father was in the Korean military in a unit that served with American soldiers, he said. Kwon himself also served in the U.S. Marines.

"You always have to be thankful for the people who helped," Kwon said.

Kwon said he anticipates Bawi will open its doors to the public in early July.

Want to go?

Bawi is located at 4121 S. National Ave, near the intersection of National and Republic Road.

It will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

The price of all-you-can-eat will be $24.98 for adults and $12.95 for children aged four to 12.

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