Lockdown-Born Kravin Korean Is Melbourne's Newest At-Home Korean Barbecue Experience

From fine dining to boozy brunches, the past 18 months have seen plenty of classic culinary experiences turned on their heads and swiftly reimagined to suit the eating-at-home schtick. While hot and smoky Korean barbecue (fondly known as KBBQ) might seem like an ambitious couch experience at first, thanks to new local venture Kravin Korean — you can now enjoy this culinary endeavour with a click of a button. Just remember to open a window.

Kravin Korean is the work of civil engineer David Le; and Korean restaurant owner and head chef Dong Hyuck Kim. The niche food delivery service was born out of nostalgia for the inimitable smoky KBBQ experience during last year's lockdown.

"I remember talking to a friend during lockdown and we were asking each other, 'what is the first thing you would go [out to] eat when lockdown lifts?' — and we both said Korean BBQ," explains Le. "It was at that point I was thinking: 'Why can't we just bring KBBQ to [the people]?'"

Since launching in February this year, Kravin Korean has been busy sating barbecue cravings by delivering its signature meal kits across Melbourne. The kits are designed to feed two or four diners, each stocked with four 'banchan' (side dishes), three different meat cuts, a trio of sauces and loads of veggies. If needed, you can even rent out a portable gas stove and grill, which you simply leave on your doorstep the next day for contactless collection.

By Jess Moses

On the menu, expect a curation of Korean classics; from ready-to-grill meats like pork belly and soy beef bulgogi, to sides including spicy fish cake and corn salad. House-made dipping sauces include a traditional ssamjang, sesame oil and a special soy creation.

But of course, as fans will know, the KBBQ experience goes beyond just the food — and Le and Kim are keen to help diners recreate all those other key aspects, too. Each kit comes with a QR code that scans through to a series of how-to guides and videos showing you how to set up and prepare your Korean feast authentically. You'll get access to a curated K-Pop playlist to groove to while you eat, mirroring the bold tunes that would normally soundtrack a meal out at your local KBBQ restaurant. And those keen to really bump up the party vibes will find fun, easy-to-follow tutorials for a selection of popular Korean drinking games — stock up on some soju and make a night of it.

There's an extra win here for the planet, too. Mindful of the mountains of waste and packaging that can often go hand-in-hand with food delivery services these days, Kravin Korean's owners have opted to use only sustainable biocompostable and reusable products to package their kits.

Kravin Korean is delivering at-home KBBQ kits to a (growing) range of suburbs every weekend, with order cut-offs at 5pm each Thursday. Head to the website to learn more and place an order.

Images: Jess Moses and Levi Andrew Momo