Moo-lah Restaurant Limited

Hanwoo beef comes from a special breed of cow that is exclusive to South Korea. In some ways, it is similar to wagyu: highly marbled, rich in flavor, and extremely juicy. However, hanwoo beef offers a slightly different taste profile. Hanwoo isn't quite as fatty as wagyu, has a more prominent beef flavor, and has a tad more chew. The main difference between these cuts is the exclusivity. Nowadays, wagyu can be found all over the world. It is the highest standard in many fine dining restaurants for beef. But hanwoo beef is almost exclusively found in South Korea. The only countries South Korea exports hanwoo beef to are the UAE, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos. Personally, I prefer the highest grades of hanwoo to wagyu. Although eating the highest grade of wagyu is a more unique experience, I don't find myself craving it. It is essentially eating pure fat. For me, hanwoo provides a more steak-like experience. While still being extremely tender, the meat still has a pleasant chew, similar to the texture of a tenderloin. However, unlike most tenderloins, there is much more flavor. There is still intense marbling and juiciness in every bite, with a meat flavor akin to a New York strip. This combination makes for the best aspect of every premier cut: tender, meaty, and bursting with juice and flavor. We were walking around Central on Hong Kong Island to go to Bar Leone and stumbled upon Moo-lah. Having just come from South Korea and contemplating going to Born and Bred, a modern and refined omakase experience for hanwoo beef, we were shocked to see Moo-lah: a restaurant not only serving hanwoo beef, but serving beef from Born and Bred. After glancing at the menu, we decided to give Moo-lah a shot. The restaurant wasn't very busy. It's a small space, but we were one of three parties dining when we sat down. We opted for the "Taste of Seoul" set menu for two that included beef brisket casserole, two bowls of "chadol guri", and ribeye bulgogi. I figured this would be a fun way to experience hanwoo beef. This set was HK$658 or about 84 USD with an optional HK$300 supplement for the tenderloin cutlet sandwich. Split between two, 42 USD per person felt like a fair price. Given the association with Born and Bred and my excitement to try hanwoo beef again, my expectations were extremely high. The first dish to come out was the casserole. I don't know exactly what I was expecting, but this dish was extremely plain. The only components were rice, scallions, and the beef. There were no spices or aromatics. Taste-wise, the casserole was fine. The rice absorbed flavors from the beef fat, which also helped it get crispy in the pot, and the scallions added brightness and freshness to the dish. However, the beef felt like such a minor component of the dish. It was cut so thinly and into such small pieces that I couldn't even chew it. The beef was barely incorporated into every bite, which overall made for a boring dish. The only aspect of the beef that came through was the flavor from the fat and the greasiness that came with it. The next thing to come out was the ribeye bulgogi. Unsurprisingly, the portion here was small, but again, the beef was cut thinly. The marinade was good, but my main gripe with this dish wasn't even the thinness of the cut, but that the meat wasn't served hot. This dish was just above room temperature. However, by the time we were finishing this dish, the pieces at the bottom were already getting cold. The final dish was the "chadol guri". This was a neoguri instant ramen-style broth served with ramyeon noodles and beef brisket. I thought this was the best dish that we got. The broth felt a step above neoguri broth, with a more intense flavor and a little more thickness, while the noodles were just ordinary ramyeon noodles. However, once again, I felt that the beef was not the star of the dish, but was rather just thrown on top just because. Not only this, but the beef was inconsistently dry and chewy in some parts. Some bites were juicy, but most were flavorless and hard to bite off. As a whole, the dish was still tasty, but not because of the beef. I was expecting the hanwoo beef to be the highlight of every dish we had, but it was really more of an afterthought. Because each piece of beef was cut so thin, I didn't feel like the strengths of hanwoo beef stood out at all. I didn't get the meaty flavor, nor the tenderness, nor the perfect level of chew that I remembered. For 42 USD per person, I was disappointed. I left Moo-lah still feeling a little hungry, but I also felt that we barely got any meat for what we paid. What put me off the most was that Moo-lah brands themself as one of the few restaurants outside of South Korea serving hanwoo beef while also associating with Born and Bred, and choosing to feature it so minimally in their "Taste of Seoul" set menu. It really felt like the beef could have been replaced with any ordinary cut and would've been the same dish. The fact that Moo-lah brands themself as a hanwoo beef restaurant feels disingenuous. I recognize that we did not order any "traditional" steak dish, but the set menus were highly advertised and recommended when we sat down. Additionally, Moo-lah had an opportunity to showcase hanwoo beef beautifully with the bulgogi, being a pure meat dish, and yet it was still underwhelming. Many other restaurants in Hong Kong offer better experiences and better food in this price range, especially in a neighborhood like Central. Although the food was not amazing, it also wasn't bad. If I were to be served this same food at a restaurant charging half the price without the hanwoo beef branding, I would have been happy. Moo-lah is an overall mediocre dining experience that doesn't impress on any front.