Through Baekjeong’s sleek paneled walls lies the salty, savory smell of premium beef and the sound of families and friends chatting around the table. Westfield Valley Fair opened the first Bay Area location of this Korean barbecue restaurant on Aug. 16, 2023.
Located at the south side of the mall, the restaurant’s cerulean and charcoal walls rest between King’s Fish House and the South Valet Parking lot.
Baekjeong, meaning “butcher” in Korean, is owned and operated by Kijung Hospitality Group, according to its website. The first U.S. Baekjeong was opened in Los Angeles in Oct. 2012 and quickly expanded to a chain of seven restaurants in California and New York, according to their website.
Claiming to be the No. 1 choice for Korean barbecue in North America, me and some friends decided to check it out. I’d been a fan since visiting the Buena Park and Irvine locations in Orange County and the Santa Clara location was equally as impressive.
Firstly, I recommend you either make a reservation or be faced with long wait times. Thankfully two friends and I were timely seated for our reservation at a table by the window.
The menu
The menu listed hd combos ranging from $68 to $143 of assorted meats, as well as à la carte beef, pork and beef offal. The rest of the menu included Baekjeong bowls, rice dishes, appetizers, noodles and stews and beverages, according to their menu. The food also costs on average $50-$100 per person.
The customer favorite combo called Hodong’s Favorite Combo is what we landed on – thinly sliced beef brisket, boneless short rib, pork belly and marinated pork steak. A small portion of the combo is $78 and feeds 2-3 people while a large is $129 and feeds 3-4.
The small size fully satiated all three of us to a T. All combos are served with a choice of soybean or kimchi stew and we chose kimchi. It was the perfect spicy sour intermission from fatty meat and crisp sides.
The full bar was mainly focused on Korean producers including Dokkaebier, Chamisul and Jinro and korean-inspired cocktails such as the dongchimi martini and M-Cubed (a spicy mango margarita made with gochujang syrup), wine, mocktails and classic cocktails, according to a Sept. 10, 2023 The Silicon Valley Voice article.
Our table indulged in a large Cass fresh lager beer that we shared. The “Cheers to the designated driver!” note at the end of the menu explained that the designated driver of a group is eligible for a free soft drink. Meat-heavy East Asian restaurants tend to be paired with refreshing alcoholic beverages, so I commend the incentive to save a table or two from a buzzed driver.
Gracing our table first were an array of colorful banchan often translated as "side dishes", banchan are eaten as an essential part of any Korean meal, according to Korean chef Maangchi’s website.
They included kimchi (of course), pickled radish, fish cake, rice paper, mung beans, pickled onions, etc. Also accompanying the meal was a salad.
The meal
Each table has a ceramic steel grill in the middle, and a fan coming from the ceiling to control the smoke from cooking. The grill is lined with two wells where your corn cheese and fried egg will cook as additional side dishes.
Unlike other Korean BBQ establishments, Baekjeong employees cook your meat for you. The small wait time between the meat being on the plate to being on the sizzling grill is almost torturous, especially if you’ve fasted from the day to make room for the delicious food under your nose.
Seeing the fat melt off the pork belly as the worker flips it over to reveal a golden brown crust is an experience like no other. Our chef was an artist in this way. Each cut was cooked perfectly and delectable to the taste.
They provided a light teriyaki jalapeno sauce, as well as a dish of salt for dipping. A pro tip, especially for classic cuts like the beef brisket, is to ask for sesame oil in the dish of salt. I always have to wipe the oil off of my chin after a few chomps, but it’s a guilty pleasure I could never refuse.
I would also recommend getting an extra bowl of white rice which you can lay your banchan and cooked meat on before taking a bite. The flavors soak into the rice, leaving you with a symphony of different textures in your mouth.
My only complaint was that if I knew corn cheese was unlimited, I would’ve had much more.
