Chung Ki Wa — Restaurant in Sterling Heights

I cannot overstate how pleased I am with the service at this restaurant. My friends and I have never been to Korean BBQ before and were very excited to try grilling our own dinner in a comfortable and charming environment. I will now list what made this place so amazing:

On a Saturday night at 7:30pm, we walked in without a reservation and were seated immediately. Our group was only 3 people, but it was still a pleasant surprise.

Our waiters (we had 2) were both incredible. Our waiter could tell we kinda didn’t know what we were doing and asked if it was our first time. When we said yes, he showed us how to grill the first few pieces of meat before leaving us to our own devices. There was no pressure and he seemed enthusiastic and excited to show us how to correctly feed ourselves (lol). We messed up cooking one piece of short rib (this piece was attached to some bone) and he offered to replace and show us how to cook it again. Our waitress was very attentive and stopped by frequently (though not enough to be annoying) and made sure that our sides (of which you get unlimited) were filled up. She showed us how regulars put spicy sauce and rice, along with meat, into lettuce to make wraps. This was tasty as well.

The food was incredible. We got dumplings, and for our meats, pork belly and beef short rib. Incredible. The short rib in particular was just stellar. There were mushrooms, zucchini, and onion on the side with the meat. The acidic sides included tofu, bean sprouts, kimchi, raw cucumbers in vinegar, and fish cakes. These were all very tasty and also tasted good grilled.

The bottled water was included/free; after the meal, they brought us out a plate with Klondike bars and a snickers ice cream bar. We weren’t charged for any of this, it was just included.

Along the same lines, there were no surprises on our bill. Including all of the above, we were charged for: beef short rib, pork belly, and dumplings.

Overall: we left happier than we’ve ever felt walking out of a restaurant. We live in Milwaukee and will travel all the way down to Illinois for this restaurant again, simply due to the service. We were treated like welcome guests in their home. Absolutely delightful, I wish I could give...

This was my first time even trying Korean BBQ, WOW! First you walk into a nicely decorated (a lot of wood used as decor, kinda brings a certain warmth to the place). They ask if you're eating traditional or BBQ, this is where one can get confused(I did) no matter the waitress was exceptional in explaining the whole procedure in detail! First place order, for myself the BBQ FOR TWO it came with various types of kimchi, a seaweed salad, a regular romaine salad but with their BBQ dressing(quite tastey), the Korean BBQ sauce(this is what makes Korean BBQ awesome, a salty smokey seasoning sauce, oil based) you dip your meat on this, you get a bean paste soup, egg custard(basically scrambled eggs minus butter & milk) this meal comes with an alcohol drink one can of Sapporo beer is sufficient. Whew that was just the sides! I asked for any recommendations here the egg seafood pancake with a sauce made up of sesame oil, soy sauce and scallions very delicious portion big enough for 3 people. I wanted to try a hot pot too(omg here I hit jackpot!) The hot pot had beef, mushroom(3 kinds straw, oyster and shitake) rice noodle, bok choi, scallions, med tofu, in a very light but flavourful broth(here I asked for a pepper sauce, waitress came out with a homemade thick, spicey, pepper paste(chef makes it personally) suggest you put some of that BBQ salty sauce here to give it another note and an earthy depth. Finally about the BBQ itself! There was beef brisket, beef short rib(marinated) 3 thick cuts of non smoked bacon, and finally more Beef(4 different cuts of meat 😲) the waitress turns on the BBQ at your table and the magic is about to happen! The waitress helped in cooking as did the Manager/Owner (very friendly staff here) this all gets cooked in stages as the meat gets done to your liking just take it off, dip in BBQ sauce and eat! Simple! Warning if you're not big on meat order seafood instead they have a good selection. Whew! Come down be you're own judge but any establishment that has real Korean locals flocking here they must be doing something right! Please enjoy the pictures and videos attached, I spent over two hours here and they jus kept getting busier and busier! Everything is very fresh and flavourful,...

I'll start with the atmosphere. This place from the street is an unassuming store front in a strip mall, it's facade signage sits perpendicular to the road so it's easy to miss accidentally. Inside is clean, the decor has a clearly east Asian style and modest hostess counter. The tables all have the nifty and characteristic hibachi grill in their surface as is expected in one of these places. Later evenings seem to be when they're busiest, but I've never even had to wait for a table once. This place is likely family run, and if you're eating near enough to closing time you may notice the staff sitting down for their end of shift meal. I don't know why, but that feels welcoming and gives a home-like feel to this place of business.

My wife and I come in roughly 3 to 4 times a year. Obviously that isn't incredibly frequent but the staff recognizes us and asks for updates on us whenever we return. I always feel welcome. One woman in particular always takes great care of us, and I feel guilty for not remembering her name. I get the impression that she's the evening manager or restaurant owner, despite her personally handling my table every time I've been there. (Thanks ma, you know who you are)

The above is simply the details you take in on your way through the main event. There's a reason my wife and I keep coming back and it's always been the food. They do a great job of efficiently putting your order together accurately and it's always good. I've only ever once tasted anything here that seemed "off" and I noticed it at the end of my meal. I mentioned it, and they immediately offered to make me a replacement which I said was unnecessary. I was already full and they were trying to eat and close up, I simply wanted to inform them of the condition of that course so they could ensure their next customer's experience was like my first one.

Nobody's perfect always, but the willingness to correct problems without delay on the rare occasions when they occur is enough for me to overlook any mistakes and award a perfect 5.0

Come for the food, let these people prove to you what I already...