First-time restaurateurs Jason and Ella Lee wanted to bring a modern Korean charcoal BBQ experience to the eastern suburbs, spotted a vacant shopfront by a railway station in Glen Waverley and engaged architects to create a cool space. Hinoak was born. Four months after opening, this 50-seater is going gangbusters with stews and hotpots, dumplings and pancakes.

Barbecue is front and centre, of course, and Hinoak — a combination of “hin”, meaning fire, and “oak”, meaning pot — does it in classic K-style using cutting edge technology. Grills and flues are integrated into every table for a smell-and-smoke-free environment.

Food

Heads turn and chatter ebbs when staffers lug “toasters” into the dining room. The steel boxes, glowing with hot coals, are inserted vertically into cavities beneath table grills and supply the heat to barbecue seriously good meat.

Anyone for cow tripe ($19), oxtongue ($19) and pork jowl ($23)? They’re here, but Hinoak’s big seller is beef rib, served plain ($20) or steeped in a tangy marinade. When the ribs reach pinky perfection, lift them off the grill with sawtooth tongs and drop into cups of lettuce.

Layer with bean sprouts and kimchi (Korea’s famous fermented cabbage). Turbocharge with chilli. Then gobble. Hinoak’s state-of-the-art grill also lends smoky intensity to tender cuts such as pork neck ($18).

But it’s not all about meat. Starters sing with the tang, crunch and pungency we expect from Korean food: from spicy rice cakes ($16) and kimchi pancakes ($15) to fried lotus root ($12) and boneless, bite-sized chicken ($28) lathered with sweet chilli.

Buckwheat noodles ($16), swimming in chilled broth, are a cool bridge to the pleasures of spicy pork bulgogi ($16) on a hotplate and a vegetarian medley known as bibimbap ($16). Both come with rice. Naturally.

Hinoak’s Army Stew ($35), a tongue-stinging hotpot of Spam, sausage, tofu and ramen, is one for fusion seekers — and straight out of M*A*S*H.

Drink

Hinoak has good Korea moves. A grape punch ($3.50) here, a Cass beer ($8) there. Even a Korspresso Martini ($18). But the drinks that best match charcoal BBQ are Hinoak’s “truly Korean’’ soju spirit or the peach rice wine ($18), poured from a kettle, filling a wide ceramic bowl with fragrant sweetness.

Service

Big team effort. Hinoak’s young floor crew, kitted out in aprons, are uniformly engaging and helpful, but kitchen and front of house need to refine the timing of dishes.

X Factor

Mod. Vertical timber slats define the facade, a gentle wave of wood curls across the ceiling, and custom-made banquettes run the length
of the room.

Bang for your buck

Very good. The seafood pancake is big enough for three, while a dumpling order lands eight prettily pleated specimens. Char sets (from $80-$139) put a whopping mixed grill on your plate.

Verdict

We’ve been getting fired up about Korean food for a while. Hinoak lifts the bar.

This review originally appeared on heraldsun.com.au.