Located inside 4th Street Market, Jarbecue is a unique culinary concept by Chef JJ blending Korean-inspired Texas-style BBQ with innovative techniques. Meats are cooked in a traditional Korean clay jar called Hangari, which enhances flavors and ensures even cooking. This technique makes it ideal for slow-roasting, resulting in tender and juicy meats. Make sure you try their delicious Ssam plate which is their signature dish! I had the pork belly but they also have beef available. read more

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Came in yesterday after a friend told me about it and I was not disappointed! They're located in 4th street market and only open until 2pm. I ordered the half n half ssam plate and it was so good. I love BBQ and Korean food so this combination of both flavors and style of eating was amazing. Traditionally, Texas BBQ can be a bit heavy, fatty and filling so the ssam with the lettuce and perilla leaves, pickled onions and plum sauce (side note: the plum sauce is addicting) made this meal lighter and easier to digest. I've honestly never had ssam before this so now I'm going to try it in koreatown! Shout out to the chef behind the scenes. He explained how all the meats are cooked in a clay jar and you can really taste the smokiness in each bite. I'll be back soon! read more

Jarbecue - Half Pork Half Beef Ssam Plate - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

We were looking for a super light lunch in the area and I came across this quick Korean bbq place and I'm so happy I did! I've never had traditional Korean food in this way and had only seen it on socials or videos. According to their website, they are here to "deliver a unique culinary experience by blending the bold flavors of Korean Texas-style bbq with innovative techniques." They have Ssam plates, rice bowls and a brisket sandwich as their main meal options. My bf and I split the Jarbecue Ssam plate ($25). We got the half and half option of half beef belly and half pork belly with the side of garlic rice. We are rice people so it was definitely needed when eating beef and pork! It came with a side of pickled radish, 2 sauces that I believe are chimichurri and a jalapeño sauce and fresh leafy greens. We enjoyed wrapping everything up with the rice, sauce, radish and meats! It was SO delicious. His favorite was the pork belly and mine was the beef belly. Looks like there were 7 slices each so we were able to eat an even amount. Eeeverything was gone by the end. We wiped the plate clean and felt satisfied with that light lunch! He felt full after but it was more of a snack to me since I have like 3 stomachs lol. The girl at the front was super sweet and helpful. Those that are just walking around the 4th Street Market wondering what to eat should come and check it out! With how tender and flavorful the meats were, I have no doubt their other dishes are also delish! read more

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Been wanting to check this pop-up for a while now. It's only available until Saturday, the end of March, and keep in mind it's only open Friday and Saturday evenings. I've heard it's a wait and they've mentioned it's less busy around 7pm, but I went at 5:45pm on a Friday and there was no wait at all. The hype might've died down. This spot is located inside Toast Kitchen , offering plenty of parking in a plaza. It's a fast-food style setup where you order first at the counter and they'll bring it to your table with the given number. I walked in alone ordering just for a ssam plate to try and the cashier mentioned it was small and suggested I might want to add another dish. I like how she kept trying to upsell the menu, giving me a heads up there was no carbs included and if I want to order rice with it, or if I want a drink to complete my meal. In all honesty, i checked out the reviews and menu in advance, and only wanted to try the ssam plate. I wasn't interested in paying $20 for a rice bowl or salmon pizza. The only dish that got me here was the unique take of Korean Texas-style BBQ smoked in Hangari. I initially thought everything is overpriced, but the half pork & half beef ssam plate that I ordered turned out to be decent and somewhat worth it for what it is- still borderline too expensive. But that's only because I cut each meat slice (14 pieces) in half for more bites, otherwise it's too little meat to match all the large leaves of mixed greens. Good thing i enjoy salad and the extra crunch from lettuce, or else it'll be such a disappointing bite. The ssamjang, chimichurri, and pickled onions provided were in such small portions. Luckily, they walked around with a tray for some extras, but even adding one extra sauce of each still wasn't enough. I typically add a bunch of sauce and toppings in my wraps, but unfortunately I had to be careful with portions this time. One thing I wish they included was whole or sliced garlic that usually comes with bossam or other kbbq. It would make the meal 10x better, but maybe garlic is not for a Hangari-style meal. Overall the meal or meat was flavorful and good. Because of their small menu, it's a good spot to try but I don't feel the need to return. They also added a new kimchi fried rice on the menu for those wanting more. read more

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We saw an IG Reel about this pop-up experience and wanted to check it out. We came around 5:30PM on a Saturday and there was no wait. We ordered the Jarbecue ssam plate with half pork, half beef, and we tried the smoked salmon pizza. The ssam plate was pretty lackluster for how pricey it was. (It was $28!) The flavor of the meat was so strong and overpowering. We needed to order extra rice to balance out the strong flavors. We wish they offered more lettuce, pickled onions, and the sauces, as they provided such small amounts. I'm reading in the Yelp reviews that they can provide more sauces upon request, which my partner and I didn't know about, unfortunately. I wish they told us about that as we were worried it would cost extra. There were 3-4 workers standing behind the counter, and it wasn't a busy restaurant at all, so it would've been nice if just one of them had checked in on our table to see if we needed more sauces or anything else. I really enjoyed the salmon "pizza" though! It was very light and fun to eat. read more

Jarbecue - Smoked salmon pizza - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Got here when it wasn't too. Ish. Thank goodness because the food hall got crowded once noon arrived. seating is available throughout the food hall. Outdoor seating is available also. Very lovely place. The food here was delicious! I have no complaints. I really liked the brisket sandwich. First time having SSAM. Not disappointed at all. Plenty of seating in the food hall. Super friendly and helpful when ordering. I'm bummed that they are leaving the food hall. But I hope they come back soon so I can try the other items on the menu! read more

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Came here on a tuesday for lunch, I ask what do they recommend, and they said the smoked brisket sandwich, ok say less. As I was ordering at the kisok, the owner, chef james was already making my sandwich. The smoked brisket sandwich was so good!!! brisket was tender, juicy and full of rich taste in each bite. I love the kim chi slaw, the side of jalapeño gives it nice tang and spicy. I devour the sandwich so fast. I highly recommend coming to Jarbecue for the bomb smoked brisket sandwich, the brisket is smoked in house for 14 hours. read more

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Jarbecue is a pop up at Toast Kitchen and Bakery in Tustin that's running through until late March 2025. The concept seems to be Korean barbeque done in ceramic pots, and from what I understand they're only open on Friday and Saturday, from 5 to 8:30pm, so the window to come here every week is pretty small, and dinner only. When I tried going to this pop up, outside of the building you can immediately smell the barbeque in the air, it smells amazing. The menu is pretty minimal overall, and the dish of focus is of course the barbeque plate. We tried both the smoked salmon pizza and the barbeque plate (half pork, half beef). The smoked salmon dish was really nice and the truffle oil was pretty prominent, and the barbeque plate was tasty. If you're getting the barbeque plate I recommend paying a little extra for the all beef plate option; though the pork was good the beef was definitely the standout option between the two. Overall, the concept is really nice and there's definitely a nice flavor jarbecue offers with it's unique method of barbequing in ceramic jars. The only real downside is the prices are a bit too expensive for what you get. Don't get me wrong - barbeque is always notoriously expensive and I thought that would be the case coming here, but for the quantity and quality of food you get, nothing was compelling enough to make me want to come back. Overall definitely a place worth checking out if you're at all interested in the concept. Just know it's not cheap and you may leave a little hungry. read more

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Husband wanted to try this place because of the novelty of BBQ made in the Korean hangari clay pots. But unfortunately, the execution and experience fell extremely short. The lack of chopsticks at a Korean concept restaurant should've been our first red flag! Service - 1/5 stars Nonexistent and unfriendly. You line up to order and there is one cashier. It took awhile to get our food, and there was no interaction whatsoever. Price - 1/5 stars It's extremely overpriced for what you get and they are really stingy with the "sides" (chimichurri, pickled onions, and gochujang) that comes with the ssam plate. Food - 2/5 stars Disappointing. Meat was tough and chewy, and there was nothing innovative or particularly flavorful about any of it. We ordered Ssam plate, beef belly bowl, and pork belly bowl. Felt like we could've easily recreated these ourselves at home. The bowls were super bland and most disappointing. It's just rice, with overcooked egg, topped with a few slivers of beef/pork belly. Ambiance - 2/5 stars Feels like you're eating in a cafeteria. Granted Toast feels the same way. The whole vibe is industrial without character. You order at the counter (which might take awhile because they only have one cashier), you fetch your own water, and nobody is friendly or welcoming. This place is all hype no substance. It felt like a giant waste of money and we won't be back. Overpriced, mediocre food with zero service. And the no chopsticks thing is just criminal. read more

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Brisket sandwich was fantastic! Pillowy bun that held up to the delicious saucy brisket with tasty kimchi slaw. We enjoyed the Korean potato salad- creamy but not heavy. The beef belly ssam was outstanding! The beef belly was moist and flavorful! Loved wrapping it in the crunchy lettuce with some of the chimichurri sauce and ssam jang for the perfect bite! Garlic rice was tasty as well! Overall, we really enjoyed this new spot in 4th street market! Friendly, helpful staff! read more

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Saw this pop up on Yelp's "Hot & New Restaurants" and decided to give it a shot. It's a pop up restaurant which is sharing the space with Toast at The Village at Tustin Legacy plaza. We started with the Smoked Salmon Pizza House (smoked bakka salmon, ponzu aioli, red onion, yuzu cream cheese, truffle oil, micro green). It comes on a flaky cracker thing sort of like a Matzo cracker. Super tasty. We also got the Salmon Rice Bowl (Gochujang miso salmon, salmon egg, cilantro garlic rice) which was good but a very small portion. Finally we got the Jarbecue Ssam Plate. We opted for all beef belly instead of pork belly thinking it would be less fatty. However, several of the pieces were still mostly fat and not appetizing. Also was a tad disappointed with the portion size. Overall, interesting concept that's worth a try but kind of of pricey for what it is. read more

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Small menu but tasty options. The ssam, salmon pizza and miso salmon bowl were delicious but I do think that all the menu items are overpriced. More of a fast casual experience. Order at the register and find a table. read more

Great for lunch - love the unique take on asian style bbq. I love the variety of sides and sauces it came with! The kimchi slaw was FIRE. Meat was super tender and seasoned well. Kind of pricey, but understandably so considering how much care is put into this food! If you know bbq, you know it takes HOURS to cook and it can be so temperamental. They killed it! Would love if it came with more lettuce though! read more

Jarbecue - Half & Half Ssam Plate - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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I wasn't sure what to expect but damn the food here was good. Great balance of Smokey and savory meats with fresh ssam. And the salmon bowl and salmon pizza were both excellent also. Definitely recommend if you like Texas style bbq and/or Korean bbq. I'll be coming back for sure! read more

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Overall Experience: A casual and family-friendly pop-up with limited service but friendly staff, serving flavorful pork and beef belly dishes, though prices are on the higher side--worth it for the Ssam Plate, which is the standout must-try item. Location/Parking: It is currently in the Toast Tustin location, but according to the owner they will be moving at the end of March and TBD on where, but follow their IG for location updates. Parking lot is big but during busy meal times you might have to park further out. Reservation: No reservation needed. Just a walk in establishment. Ambiance: It is a very casual vibe. Family and group friendly. The owner even came around to check in on us and how we liked the food. Customer Service: Order happens on a walk up basis and after that it's just a matter of them bringing out the food to your table. Even water is self-served, so overall it's relatively minimal interaction with the staff but from the limited interaction they seemed very nice. Food: Smoked Salmon Pizza ($22 | 4/5) - While I can see why they named it pizza, it's definitely not on a typical pizza crust or baked. It's on an almost chip-like thin cracker? It tasted good, but definitely on the fishy side. Pork Rice Bowl ($20 | 4/5) - The bowl was very small. The egg scramble was very buttery and went well with the rice and pork. The pork is the same cut from the Ssam plate so I would say that you can probably skip this if you get the Ssam plate unless you're looking for some rice and eggs to go with it. Jarbecue Ssam Plate - Half/Half ($28 | 5/5) - Both the beef and the pork were very flavorful on their own and the lettuce leaves were great to use as wraps. The chimichurri sauce gave it just the extra touch that it needed along with the ssamjang. It is a greasy eat as they're both bellies. Value: This was definitely not a cheap dinner but if you're looking to try some really good pork and beef belly then I definitely recommend coming here for the Ssam Plate. That's probably the only must try item on their menu that I see worth the value being charged. At the same time, I do understand that they're a pop-up so they probably have to upcharge to make it worth it. read more

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Discovered this pop-up on Yelp and decided to give it a try. Open Fri & Sat nights 5-8:30pm (check their Instagram for any changes). The service was great and there was no wait. Ordered the half pork/half beef Jarbecue ssam plate and the salmon rice bowl at the register then found a table. I liked the pork belly better than the beef but I usually lean that way for kbbq. Wish they gave more ssamjang and pickled onions though. I was sharing with my husband so I felt like I was rationing everything on my ssam. Good amount for the chimichurri which was delicious as well. I was impressed by the taste and cook on the salmon. Not dry at all and went well with the rice. Hopefully will get a chance to go back for the salmon pizza which looked and smelled good! A little pricey but when I think about how much I'd pay for a bbq platter it's comparable. I enjoyed the food and experience! read more

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It's a pleasantly surprising new taste. Pork was better to me. Rice bowls are tasty, too. read more

Jarbecue - Half and half - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

This place is so awesome. It's different style of cousin that you should style. Staff was so nice, food was so good I was so satisfied. read more

Jarbecue - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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Stopped by this evening for dinner. I was hooked from my first time I came last weekend and now I can honestly say this place is super official. I ordered the Jarbecue Ssam plate with all beef. You can also order 1/2 beef 1/2 pork which I tried last week. I like the option to choose all beef as I prefer beef over pork. For those of you can't decide, no worries...they have you covered! read more

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4 out of 5 only because my Beef could have cooked either longer or slower or been marinated with something that tenderized it more. Everything else was great Garlic rice - good Kimchi rice - great (I need to ask about the sauce in the bowl so good) sauces - good to fantastic (I think it was the chimichurri that I loved) When I return I will be going all pork and trying the salmon. read more

Jarbecue - Pork & Beef belly 2 sauces and pickled onion. more detail to come - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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It was the grand opening today and I tried the Smoked Salmon Pizza, the Salmon with Cilantro Rice, and the Jarbecue ssam. The Smoked Salmon Pizza was a pleasant surprise. The crust was thin and crispy, and the smoked salmon paired nicely with the cream cheese. The Salmon with Cilantro Rice was well done. The salmon was tender, and the cilantro rice was light and refreshing and really helped balance the dish. The Jarbecue was the real highlight! The pork was flavorful, juicy, and had just the right amount of char. The meat was cooked in a Korean traditional jar called Jangari. It was a very unique experience! The portions were fair for the price, and the service was friendly! I left super happy and satisfied. Definitely worth checking out if you're in the mood for something new! read more

Jarbecue - Smoked salmon don, jarbecue sam - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

Staff is friendly and attentive, they happily explained the menu to us as it was our first time here. We ended up ordering the ssam plate with half beef half pork. The combination of bbq/lettuce/sauces/pickled onion made for such a great bite. In my opinion the Pork had a better flavor, beef was a little tough but definitely still good. Overall, I really enjoyed this meal! Thank you! read more

Jarbecue - Ssam plate - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

The food is a perfect balance of Korean flavor and bbq. I could eat their food everyday of the week. It is a pop-up currently serving at Toast in Tustin on the weekends during dinner only. Looking forward to having their food again! read more

Jarbecue - Crispy crust, perfectly seasoned smoked salmon with truffle oil - Korean Near Me - Santa Ana, California

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I ordered their pork BBQ rice bowl and braised brisket sandwich, and both were excellent--the meat was so tender it just melted in my mouth, and the sauce had the perfect balance of flavor. Their garlic rice was also delicious, and my 3-year-old son couldn't get enough of it, which says a lot! The service was friendly and attentive, making the whole experience even better. Definitely a spot I'd recommend for both families and anyone craving really good comfort food. read more

All the food was exquisite and delicious. The dishes were very unique that I had never tried before. The barbecue pork and beef cooked in a jar (hangari) was tender and paired perfectly with assorted mix vegetables. The most impressive dish for me was the salmon rice bowl. The salmon was amazing, the sauce was fantastic, and the green rice was especially memorable! read more

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The taste is amazing!! I can see how skilled the chef is here. I tried the brisket sandwich and split plate and they were really delicious

Today was my first time eating here. All my meats were excellent and the garlic potato was delicious. My only complaint were the fries, they were dehydrated. Maybe change to steak fries and make them more crispy. Other than that I would highly recommend this place. read more

We got the ssam plate and salmon pizza. The food was tasty. The price for the quantity is where this is not worth it. We went to another restaurant afterwards for additional food. read more

A pop-up restaurant that had a small menu. The food was simple. My dad and I got the Ssam half and half. The pork was delicious it had a bbq kind of sweetness but it was lean, I tend to like fatter cuts. The beef though was full of spices and it was more my favorite of the two. We also had the smoked salmon pizza which was a pleasant surprise as the base which was like a pita/wonton chip held up and added that crisp to the pizza experience. Service got busy and almost thought they forgot our last item which was the Salmon rice bowl. I really like the cilantro rice which was a nice counter balance to the sweetness of the salmon. read more

Visited 2025.02.01 - Rating is based on overall experience and is not intended to indicate that the food was anything less than delicious. I loved the concept, the technique, and the experience. But I left wanting more and honestly, still a little hungry. Order: Ssam Plate (Half & Half), Pork Rice Bowl, and Salmon Pizza Overall Taste: Delicious! The food was incredibly good. My personal Opinions: 1. "Pizza" - I had expected more of a "dough" for the pizza. It was instead on something like a wafer. The wafer was okay but lacked flavor and crumbled. The smokiness of the salmon was overpowered by the truffle oil, and I think would have been nice to have some sort of texture and/or citrus/tang component. A little lemon or capers perhaps? Portion size is good for an appetizer and fun to share with others. 2. Pork Rice Bowl - The bowl was delicious. All great flavors. Great garlic taste on the rice, which was well cooked and buttery. The smokiness of the BBQ did not shine through, so it missed on that component so I would rather pay less since the BBQ component was the whole point of being here. The portion size is good for an individual or to share as part of a tasting menu, but the price was not worth it. Yes, delicious, but for the price and missing smokiness, it would be better and cheaper made at home. 3. Ssam - This was the highlight of the BBQ. We had the Beef and Pork. Overall, this ssam experience is what frustrated me the most and explains the four stars. ---a) Meat: We were served about five slices each, we estimated that it totaled about six ounces of meat all together. The beef and pork have excellent flavor. They were tender, well-seasoned, slight smokiness, but to me just a little dry or overcooked from being kept "warm" in the BBQ or oven. Although the taste was good, for the price point, it was a little overpriced. I appreciate that BBQ takes time and patience, but I did not derive $30 worth of pleasure on this serving. --b) Lettuce / Sesame Leaves - Our ssam comes with five lettuce leaves and four sesame leaves. You may purchase more lettuce, and sesame leaves for an additional cost. I can purchase an entire package of sesame leaves, about 15 - 20 for $1.50 (today's prices, Irvine HMART), do not get me started on leaf lettuce. I understand the goal is to cut costs, but charging for the cheapest part of the plate was very disappointing. I get that you don't want to waste resources and not all people who visit will like the lettuce or sesame leaves, but "additional upon request" would be a much better approach in my opinion. ---c) Sauces / Pickling - Ssam comes with two "sauces/dips" and pickled onions. The chimichurri was absolutely delicious. It tasted fresh, a little tart, herby, but not spicy. It tasted great on the pork and on the beef. The ssamjang (Korean Dipping Sauce) was particularly good also. Not spicy, good flavor, and I think enhanced the pork. The pickled Onions were good. I think they could have been pickled a little longer. I personally am not a huge onion fan, so I would have preferred a radish or sweet pickled jalapeno instead. **Please note** - Spicy is subjective. I eat spicy food on a regular basis. What I consider "not spicy" may in fact be spicy to others. This is a pop-up experience and still in their grand opening. They are currently utilize the toast kitchen so ambience is fine but may not be the perfect esthetic for their desired experience. Service was chaotic but expected considering their newness. I do not hold anything against them for that. Overall, the experience was pleasant but not worth the value. read more

Meats were very tender and flavorful. The leaves for wrapping were okay - some were a little too wilted. But overall would still come back and recommend when we are in the area. read more

Since they are claiming Texas BBQ, this is reviewed as that. First they get 1 star bonus for being "new school" and trying something different. First, food service was really slow mostly due to kitchen being slow. I got the Ssam plate (mix pork belly and beef belly) and the Salmon bowl. Generically there was almost no smoke flavor (more like a pellet grill) and the meat lacked tenderness. This was more tolerable on the pork, but I would guess that in smoking, the meat was only brought to about 180 degrees instead of the 195-205 range to achieve tenderness. The rest also wasn't executed well - either the meat got too cold, there wasn't tallow added, or some other variety of issues. There was also zero bark. The beef belly was still pink the middle and you could still see the ligaments not broken down. The fat wasn't rendered properly. This is basic texas barbeque 101 and unforgiveable. If that wasn't bad enough, the Ssam plate had 20 pieces of meat on it but only 16 pieces of lettuce wrap (and it costs $3 more for more wraps). This isn't rocket science but there should be adequate wraps to meat. There also wasn't nearly enough chimmichuri. If you go to a barbeque restaurant you just get sauce bottles. No reason not to have a salsa bar type setup. Salmon tasted good but it's not barbeque. The rice was super clumpy and disgusting - don't use korean short grain rice to make a cilatro rice If the "pittmaster" reads this, here's some advice: - if you're using a pellet grill at least use a smoke tube and use some wood chips for the first 90 mins or so to impart some flavor - before you start smoking make sure the meat is immaculately dry or else there will be no smoke flavor at all - smoke flavor on a pellet grill develops at lower temps so you gotta use the "super smoke" type for the first bit - when you get meat shrinking from the water rendering around 165-180 internal, that's when you should wrap or foil boat (with tallow) - when you get to tenderness in that 195-205 range, wrap in butcher paper with more tallow (or lard for pork) - hot hold at 160 or 165 in a commercial food warmer. If you're running a restaurant you can't just use a cooler especially if you're continuously opening it. read more

Great food and service i tried everything and I have to say I highly recommend it date night take out it will hit the spot

Food is great, while the price might be a little higher than average, the taste makes the price worth it, I got the Kinichi fried rice and it's a warm comforting meal that's well balanced! Service was attentive and caring making sure to give recommendations and advice on how to eat some of the dishes! Definitely worth giving a try if you are looking for something new! read more

Well done !! Chef JJ has done it again, tried the brisket sandwich, kimchi fried rice and the split plate, very good flavors

I had went to this place and it was a 10/10 experience food was good service was excellent and the setting was amazing I honestly recommend it here you guys will not regret it 10/10 read more