Meet Balls

A review from journalist and avid foodie, Lincoln Tan 

On Victoria Street West, not far down from the junction where it meets Albert Street, is an unassuming, small eatery called Meet Balls. I’ve observed many people walk past this place - peering in with curiosity - and then walk away. But for the few who have ventured in and tried, they would have discovered Khris Seo’s absolutely mouthwatering Korean-style tteokgalbi meatball meals.

Opened early last year, Khris tells me this little shop is his “dream come true”. Since moving to NZ from South Korea, he loves entertaining friends and introducing food from his motherland - but this often means cooking at home because the options at Korean restaurants here are limited to Korean barbecue, stews and noodles. So during the pandemic, when he decided to chart a new life chapter, Khris opened this eatery specialising in his favourite dish.

This dish is called tteokgalbi - literally translated to rice cake ribs. But no rice cake is used, the name comes from the way the minced meat is kneaded and shaped as rice cakes are made there. To spare people the confusion, he decided to name his restaurant Meet Balls, a play on the word meatballs.

“Tteokgalbi represents my roots and my culture personally, it is something my mother made for me when I was growing up, and eating it connects me emotionally to home,” he said.

Tteokgalbi hails from the royal court, which is one of the courses served to the king during the Joseon dynasty more than 500 years ago. Today it is a dish popular all over Korea.

Khris uses about 30 ingredients to flavour up his meatballs which are packed into 250g patties, and my personal favourite is the beef short-rib and pork one, served with seaweed rice and white kimchi. There are also chicken and vegetarian options, priced at 12.50 for a meatball meal, $8.50 for carb bowls and $6.50 for sides that include rice cakes, buttered potatoes and k-corn salad.

If you want to have a full Royal Court cuisine dining experience, Khris does that too.. I’ve had this on my last visit to Seoul, and since Hansik - the popular Korean restaurant at Victoria Park - closed two years ago, Meet Balls is the only other place in town that offers this.

These tasty, tender and super delicious grilled patties from Meet Balls, it’s worth making a trip to the city centre for.