Review: Wuji Asian Circle, Edinburgh

I know what you’re thinking – why go out for BBQ when you could do it yourself at home? But that’s not the point.

With BBQ, you’re not going for fan fare of a plated meal but for the selection of quality ingredients and the bonding experience with family, friends, and/or colleagues.

And sometimes you just need to comfort yourself with a copious amount of marinated meat.

Don’t mistake cook-it-yourself for poor service, however. The staff at Wuji Asian Circle were friendly and helpful, from making suggestions on what to order to helping you with cooking time of each ingredient. They simply let you enjoy the experience while being a shout a way should you need them.

The process of ordering was very simple. Much like many dim sum restaurants, you are given a laminated placemat-sized menu and a dry-erase marker to check off your choices.

Most of the items are included in the £33 unlimited BBQ base price (£20 for children 6-9, £10 for children 3-5), but there are a few items that have a supplementary fee.

We ordered beef fillet (£10), beef sirloin (£6), spicy marinated skirt, pork belly roll, rosemary cumin lamb leg, garlic and ginger marinated thighs, miso marinated mussels, spicy marinated squid and prawns, mushrooms, courgette, and a selection of banchan – Korean side dishes.

We also had two mains, bibimbap (£6) and because it was rainy and cold that day, a warming bowl of pork belly jjigae (£6). Chilli salt, chopped garlic and sweet and spicy sauces were brought to season our meat along with flatbread and kimichi.

As the staff brought our selection to our table, our eyes popped out of heads when we realised how much we ordered. Make note of our mistake and start small. Most of the options are unlimited, so you can always ask for more if you are still hungry.

Once our feast and gluttony were on display and the staff heated and oiled our grill, it was time to start cooking. Usually, I like to save the best for last but we weren’t confident that we would make it to the end, so we cooked our beef fillet first.

While it sizzled, we grilled the thin pork belly rolls that cook within a minute. Dipped in the garlic and chilli, these small fatty parcels were the perfect snack to tide us over for the main event. Cooked medium rare, the beef fillet was a perfectly juicy balance of meat and savoury fat, and we could taste the quality as it melted on our tongues.

My guest, who earlier commented that they were quite keen on a skirt steak, wondered if they had been lying to themselves the whole time.

As a spicy food lover, I was quite keen to try the spicy marinated skirt myself, along with the spicy marinated prawn and squid. The marinade held a nice balance of spicy and sweet without drowning the original flavour of each ingredient, especially the seafood with their delicately sweet flavour.

The rosemary cumin lamb legs were also a favourite of both my guest and I as they were perfectly seasoned and delightfully tender.

It’s hard to go wrong with bibimbap as each ingredient works harmoniously with the sesame oil and gochujang to deliver in rich, sweet and spicy flavours.

The pork belly jjigae (stew) was comforting, especially accompanied with a bowl of rice. I prefer mine a little spicier, but that can easily be fixed when topped with some kimchi.

We sipped Japanese Yamazaki Distiller’s Reserve (£5.35/single) as we ate and through we both fond of Scottish whisky, we couldn’t deny the smoothness of the dram and how easy to drink it was.

My only criticism was that the vegetables could have used either some oil or tin foil before grilling, but it could have been the way we were cooking them. This wasn’t my first BBQ rodeo, but admittedly, usually someone else is in charge of the grilling.

At the end, I felt like I had to be forklifted out. Full of meat and satisfied with the experience, I will definitely be back to Wuji Asian Circle to try more of their selection of Japanese and Korean BBQ and perhaps try out one of their karaoke rooms upstairs.

Wuji Asian Circle, 75 Holyrood Road, Ediburgh EH8 8PJ.

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