Elite Event: Family-Style Dinner at Makan

I really enjoyed myself at this event. It was my first one as Unilocal elite. Everyone was really nice and I met some cool people. We even went for dessert after.
It was a bit hard finding the restaurant. My GPS said you have arrived but I still passed it. I actually didn’t see it until I turned around. They should probably make the sign bigger. I parked right across the street in the $ 3 dollar parking lot.
I saw all of the Unilocal Swag on the tables outside so I knew exactly where to go. I’m pretty excited about my coffee mug especially since it’s getting super cold outside. We mixed and mingled for a little while before cocktail hour with Pork Belly Buns and Korean beer. The pork belly buns were definitely my favorite dish of the night. I had to be careful not to fill up on them lol.
We had a four course family style dinner and three drinks were offered. My favorite was the Boxer Rebellion. Out of the four dishes that were offered my favorite was the kimchi rice. .probably because it had bacon in it. Bacon is always good. The rest of the food was good as well and very flavorful. I will have to tell my family about it– we lived in Korea for a year when I was younger. I also thought the plates were pretty.
I truly enjoyed myself. Big thanks to Ben and anyone else that helped put this event together.
I look forward to visiting again.

Wow, where do I begin! I have to honestly say I was nervous before going to this event because this was not only my first Unilocal elite event in ATL, but I went without knowing anyone. Luckily everyone I met was super friendly and very helpful (I just moved here so everyone was telling me good apartments/​neighborhoods, good restaurants, etc.) Ben was very nice to me and made sure I felt welcomed which helped a lot as a newbie to Unilocal ATL and ATL in general ^-^. Thanks Ben!
So here is now my night went/​overview of what happened:
Started out with everyone gathering outside grabbing their name tags, then grabbing freebies such as the coffee mugs, tumbler, gloves, bag, bottle opener, etc. Then everyone basically socialized until they were ready to serve us makgeoli and pork belly buns. The pork belly buns were a great cocktail snack before dinner! As for the makgeoli I have no idea/​i can’t review it because well… I don’t drink lol, so I didnt try it lol. But you can refer to other peoples reviews of this event to find out their personal opinions lol.
After the mini cocktail time we headed to the dining room to eat dinner. I got to sit with Annie, Lena, Dan, and Kwanme. They are all awesome people! We got to try a bunch of different yummy items such as probably everyones fav which was the kalbi, and also braised fish, bacon kimchi fried rice, wontons. We even got double servings of some of the items. Oh, and there were alcoholic drinks but because I don’t drink I didnt pay attention to them but I remember Lena and Annie saying they were pretty strong drinks lol. Everything was all fun to try from meeting people and socializing while taking picture of the yummy food, eating the actual food, to taking pictures with each other and… for me, getting the chef and owners # :P. lol, Thanks Michael and George for being such good sports about it, hope to get some korean bbq with u soon!
The event lasted a couple hours but every minute was super fun. I can’t imagine my first ATL Unilocal elite (or ATL Unilocal event in general) being any better or more fun. Def made my first week in ATL much more enjoyable and memorable. I can’t wait to go to more Unilocal events in ATL! SYOY!

This was such a FUN event! After learning more about the restaurant and how they developed the concept for the restaurant, I was looking forward to meeting the owners and experiencing all that was offered on the menu for the event. I was surprised that all the flavors were super authentic. Typical Korean flavors that weren’t «Americanized» for our taste buds. It’s nice that they have an authentic Korean/​Chinese restaurant ITP for those who don’t have any desire to travel to restaurants on Buford Hwy or over 25 miles to Duluth.
Loved all the new Unilocal mugs, tumblers and coffee thermos. Always a bonus to attending elite events. I liked that that we had time to mingle and catch up with new and old Unilocalers before dinner. The outdoor patio area of Makan was equipped with heat lamps and it was very comfortable and created such a chill environment. The pork buns were FANTASTIC. I really liked them and look forward to returning again for their happy hour $ 2 special on pork buns soon. The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated. It’s not the tacky Asian décor you’d see at your family Chinese restaurant and they did a great job with the colors and furniture to mirror the hipster, Decatur crowd. Great job, guys!
Ben organized the event really well. After catching up with everyone and enjoying our pork buns, we sat in groups of 4 or more and it was perfect. I enjoyed all the entrée options but my favorite was definitely Kalbi steak. It was cooked to perfection! The other items on the menu were the braised fish, wontons and bacon and kimchi fried rice. I’m not a huge fan of fried rice but they did an excellent job and I highly recommend it. Loved my «There’s something about Maggie» drink which had vodka, pamplemousse rose, lemon and soda. I have no idea what «pamplemousse rose» is but it certainly made the drink. We had the option to choose from 1 of 3 liquor options and everyone at our table enjoyed their picks.
The event was awesome! Loved the experience and meeting Chef George and Michael. They shared their passion for their food and the restaurant and why they chose the location that they did.
Thank you Ben for yet another fantastic event and a unique dining experience!

I really enjoyed this elite event! I’m a big fan of these smaller, more intimate get togethers. This one in particular was a great mix of Unilocalers I know very well and newbies with whom it was great to connect with for the first time. I hope I sold some of them on coming out to UYEs!
The food and drinks across the board were phenomenal at this event. Standouts for me included the Kalbi Steak and the dumplings, which reminded me of the Chengdu style dumplings at Gu’s — delicious! Overall, Makan is definitely not the kind of restaurant you expect in a Courtyard Marriott, and I wonder if that’s why they’ve been struggling. The inside is so cool and loft-​y feeling, and their patio is gorgeous as well. I will definitely be coming by to try their happy hour specials while it’s still warm enough to enjoy them on the heated patio area strung with lights. Loved that the owners came around to explain the concept, and that it is (partially) chef owned too.
The food and cocktails definitely bring this event to five stars, but there were a few logistical challenges. It didn’t seem like the restaurant was ready for us when we arrived, and there was some «waiting around doing nothing» time. Even once we were seated in the dining room, we didn’t have plates, water, etc. However, once the food started coming, the servers were very helpful and accommodating.

Can we say pork belly bun? I feel like i could eat 50 of them.
I thought the event was very well organized and I really enjoyed meeting the owners. I left more of a review on the actual Makan page, but as usual I think the Unilocal team worked hard to make this happen and make it great for everybody.
I got to meet a ton of other Unilocalers I hadn’t talked to before so that was very cool.
If I could change anything, id eat 40 more pork buns. –the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed this event. We were treated to a cocktail hour and seated dinner at one of Decatur’s new hot spots, Makan, a Chinese-​Korean restaurant. A lot of us have been eager to try this place since its opening earlier this year. It’s been on many people’s radars. This Elite Event was the perfect opportunity.
I guesstimate roughly 50 Elites attended. No +1s were allowed. We gathered on Makan’s cozy, heat-​lamp-​warmed patio and inside at the cool-​looking bar area for the cocktail hour. The hour consisted of Makan’s already-​popular Pork Belly Buns (bao) made with slow-​roasted local pork, pickled onions, and pecan sugar and the Korean alcoholic rice beverage Makgeolli (unfiltered beer). The Pork Belly Buns were one of the highlights of the night. Outstanding. It was neat to see makoli served at a Unilocal event and in its traditional fashion (in a bowl). Bottles of it were kept on ice until ready for our consumption.
After the cocktail hour was over, we moved to the dining room, the entirety of which I believe was reserved just for our private party. There was a set menu of three cocktails from the bar and four dishes from the kitchen. Here’s what the menu looked like:
Cocktails:
There’s Something About Maggie — vodka, pamplemousse rose, lemon, soda
Boxer Rebellion — bourbon, fernet, hibiscus, honey, blackstrap
Wild Heaven White Blackbird (GA Beer) — pink peppercorn, pear, lime
Dinner (plates listed in order):
Wontons — pork and shrimp stuffed, poached garlic, chili oil
Braised Fish — sea bass, turnips, radish, peppers
Kalbi Steak — roasted mushrooms, charred onions, ssamjang
Bacon and Kimchi Fried Rice
It seemed like the undisputed favorite was the Kalbi Steak. The kalbi at Makan isn’t like typical Korean BBQ, bone-​in, short rib kalbi, but more like rare, tender, sliced steak. It was terrific especially with the supplied ssamjang sauce (Korean spicy paste).
The chili oil saturated wontons were rich, spicy, and flavorful. Very Szechuan-​esque. The Braised Fish ended up being sea bass instead of mackerel as printed on the menu. It was an expectedly light, white fish entrée with plenty of vegetables. The fried rice was tasty and contained several savory bits of bacon, an ingredient that’s hard to go wrong with.
Schwag out on the patio included Unilocal coffee mugs, Unilocal tumblers, and Unilocal travel mugs/​thermoses. The latter were rare (Amanda D. snagged the only one I saw). However, we were later told more would be available at upcoming Cuppa Unilocal events this month. I hope to grab one.
Co-​owner Michael Lo and chef/​co-​owner George Yu went to each table and greeted everyone. Their friendliness and enthusiasm for both the event and their restaurant really shone through. I’ll definitely be back and hope these two succeed. I’m rooting for them. Makan is located inside Decatur’s Courtyard Marriott hotel.
Thank you to Michael, George, and the rest of the Makan crew for their generosity and hospitality in hosting last night’s event. Also, thank you to Ben G. for putting it all together, JJ for her Party Pass+ assistance, and Brittany Wages for the professional, high quality photos. Finally, it was great to meet some newly minted Atlanta Elites such as Helen C, Danae G, and Nkenge G. I had a fantastic time. Until next time, SYOY!

Wow what a event. I got in last min was glad my wait list cleared. I arrived early with another elite we parked across the street since parking is limited. You know its Decatur. This elite event was at Makan is located inside the floor level of the Court yard by Marriott hotel. Makan is a Malaysian meaning to eat or consume. That very interesting since this is a Korean Chinese restaurant.
We first started out with Pork belly Buns consist slow roasted local pork,
pickled onions, pecan sugar. It was really good. The pork fat actually melt in your month. It was follow by a Korean unfiltered rice beer Makgeolli. Now the beer was served in metal bowls that was pretty neat. The beer it self was very sweet and milky look not like normal beers. But the sweet taste dose go a way after you eat the pork bun.
After the beer and pork buns we were all seated for a four course meal consisted .
–Kalbu Steak– roasted mushrooms, charred onions, Ssamjang sauce. Awesome the meat just melt in your mouth.
–Braised Fish– mackerel, turnips. radish and peppers. Not bad kind of sweet
–Wontons– pork and shrimp stuffed, poached garlic, chili oil. Its a different approach to make wontons. Spicy but really good.
–Bacon and Kimchi Fried rice. — Again. very different. The first time I had bacon in rice, Not bad.
Drinks offered were
–There Something about Maggie– consist vodka, pamplemousse rose, lemon and soda. had a sip of this drink. Iwas strong you can actualy taste the vodka.
–Boxer Rebellion– consist burbon, fernet, hibiscus, honey and blackstrap– not bad you can taste alittle bit of everything in one sip.
–Wild Heaven White blackbird– local beer brewed in Decatur, ga mixed with pink peppercorn, pear and lime. unfortunately did not taste this drink
The service was great. One of the owner and chef greeted us at our table and explained each dish and wanted our feed back. Over all great event. Thanks to the staff and Makan and Ben hosting a great event!

Makan is an interesting Asian fusion restaurant near downtown Decatur at 130 Clairemont Ave — you can find it at the base of the Decatur Marriott Courtyard. Parking is in the lot across the street or if you’re lucky, one of the spaces lining Clairemont Ave.
The restaurant features a hip and modernist interior with plenty of beautiful real wood finishes with some metal surfaces thrown into the mix. The walls are artfully painted with Asian motifs and the oak butcher block table-​tops will make even the pickiest restaurant snob swoon.
For this fantastic Unilocal Elite event Ben G. and J.J. have pulled off another stunner, with great atmosphere, delicious food, fabulous drink and some of the best foodies to share a meal with — other Unilocalers! Staging began out in the courtyard with plenty of Unilocal goodies to take home — I managed to meet several Elites that I hadn’t had the pleasure of knowing previously, then settled in with several long (relatively speaking) acquaintances. Appetizers to start included a really delicious Pork Belly Bun, made of slow roasted pork, pickled onions and pecan sugar. This was accompanied by an unusual unfiltered Korean beer, Makgeolli — a light, milky and slightly sweet fermented drink that reminded me a bit of the Russian kvass (though a bit sweeter).
As the first wave of diners opened up the main dining area, we adjourned to tables for a four course tasking along with samples from the bar.
I tried the Boxer Rebellion, bourbon, fernet, hibiscus, honey and blackstrap — this was a think, sweet and delicious sipper that will certainly creep up on you and rock your world if you’re not careful. I rate it more of an apéritif that would work nicely as a finisher.
First course were a couple of pork and shrimp stuffed wontons, with poached garlic and chili oil.
Second course was a braised fish (supposed to be mackerel but a late substitution was made to sea bass), with turnips, radish and peppers.
Third course was a delicious rare kalbi steak with roasted mushrooms, charred onions and Samjang sauce.
Final course was a bacon and kimchee fried rice.
Noted by several of the Asians seated at my table, all the food tasted very authentically Korean (not Americanized as you would normally find in a fusion restaurant). All of it was delicious and recommended.
Chef George came around and spoke to us about how important the authentic flavors were to him and his partner Michael (both of Asian ancestry and married to Koreans), both for this evening’s Korean selections and in their Chinese cooking (they opted to do Korean tonight as it was easier to manage the larger crowd using braising techniques to stage the larger quantity of food).
In all, a great evening with good food and great company!