Trisha L.
Yelp
Honestly, Gen was one of my go-to spots to get cheap KBBQ around the Bay Area. There were multiple locations around the South Bay, but nothing beat the Mountain View location since the servers were nice, the portions were filling, and it was ALWAYS busy. However, times have changed and Gen really went down hill.
My husband and I came last night because he really likes Gen for KBBQ and we both enjoyed the spicy tofu soup here previously, but last night really changed our whole experience.
This location was not busy at all. We were able to walk up to the counter, tell the hostess how many were in our party, and we were seated right away. I didn't catch our server's name, but I can't fault her for anything tbh.
Since we've been to Gen a handful of times, we already knew what we wanted. Price for dinner is now $30.95* (this can change) and they have a premium menu for $20 more per person. I was like meh, we don't really see anything that's enticing on the premium menu, so we stayed with regular dinner price.
My husband and I ordered the following:
-Brisket
-Pork Belly
-Pork Cheek
-Cheese Tonkotsu
-Mandu
-Korean Pancakes
-Galbi
-Beef Rib Finger
-Spicy Tofu Soup
-Beef Belly** I'll mention a comment about this at the end
-Rice
-Rice Wraps
Honestly... where to I begin lol
MEATS:
-Brisket: If you saw how sad this plate was in real life, you would be appalled by what you got. You used to get an abundance of brisket, but I understand that with COVID + inflation, you have to cut back a bit. We HARDLY got anything on the plate and it was lack luster. Even cooking the meat was unpleasant and it was SUPER dry. I DON'T recommend getting this here because it's not worth it at all anymore, and brisket is typically the #1 most ordered!!
-Pork Belly: Our table did not have the best heating plate. The flame went out twice and we got a HUGE slab of pork but the table did not heat hot enough to cook it. My husband and I looked at each other and we were like.. it's like 0.5" thick LOL HOW CAN WE COOK IT IF OUR TABLE ISN'T GETTING HOT??? It was still raw by the time we were switched to a different table, so we didn't end up eating it.
-Pork Cheek: This one took just as equally long, but this was ok when we were able to eat it. The portions are SUPER small for this.
-Galbi: This was probably the top meat of the night although they gave us thinner slices. It didn't take up too much time to cook, but the marinade was alright for the most part. A bit thinner in sauce, but decent.
-Beef Rib Finger: these were decent too. Thick slices, but small portions as well. They only gave us like 5 pieces of this and it took awhile to cook based on our table.
-Beef Belly: initially our server said they were out of beef belly, but magically had it at the end of the night. We only got like 4-5 thin slices and when we cooked it on our table, it definitely shriveled up and turned into a chip. Not the most pleasant experience with this meat.
APPETIZERS/SIDES:
-Spicy Tofu Soup: Unfortunately they changed the recipe for this!! It was more filled with zucchini than tofu, no shrimp as part of the soup base, and it was not as spicy as before. It was still good, but not as before. Sad because we thought this could be a saving grace to our meal, but we were disappointed as well.
-Cheese Tonkotsu: Honestly this was reaching to point where it was almost burnt. The cheese inside the pork was ok. The meat was somewhat juicy, but the breading was a bit more toasted than usual. The sauce that's paired with the tonkotsu was too strong of a flavor for the pork cutlet. Super disappointed with this.
-Korean Pancakes: I kept seeing this one being brought out and wanted to try this out. This was probably one of the best things I've tried all night. The pancake itself was mochi like and the filling inside was a thicker paste that had some cinnamon notes to it. Definitely a saving grace, but not enough to get me to come back.
Honestly disappointed at the experience I had last night at Gen. The food was so lackluster than other locations and it didn't seem as lively anymore. I would recommend getting KBBQ elsewhere.