Hanguk cuisine, Pinoy palate

by hallyuholicmom

(Disclaimer: These article is solely based from my experience. I mean no harm to the restaurants I've mentioned.)

It's an acquired taste. Korean food is.

gamjatang

I had my first Korean meal in 2004 when my coworkers and I were treated by a visiting Korean national women's organization. It was (I think) an authentic restaurant somewhere in Quezon City. I remember eating soup (uhm...was it Gamjatang or Galbitang?) plus more than ten types of side dishes or banchan. At that time, I didn't find the cuisine fascinating so I only ate the banchans- egg rolls, dried anchovies, ginseng, and radish. The meal was so-so. Or so I thought...

Me enjoying samgyupsal with shiso wrap...

A few years (and hundreds of Korean dramas) later, here I am, always craving for Korean food. Thanks (but no thanks?) to globalization, my country has opened up to almost all foreign business franchises (and investments) that restaurants and fastfoods have mushroomed every where. 

And...ahhh... don't forget about the foreign exchange students (mostly Koreans) invasion! :) I know a few tens of Korean restaurants and fast-food outlets- and that's within my district alone. 





I usually dine at Korean restaurants just near our place so these selections were very limited. Here are some of the Korean restaurants I've tried:

Bulgogi Garden

They serve a variety of banchan and their vegetables are fresh. Their Yangnyum Sogalbi is really nomnom but a bit pricey (compared to other restos) for that little serving (the minimum order is 2 servings). But don't worry, they refill their banchans. If you want to try their kimchi at home, they sell it at about P200 per kilogram. 

Yangnyum Sogalbi

And yeah, I love their doenjang jjigae. Last time we ate there, we requested a soup and they gave it to us for FREE!

Yummy doenjang jjigae

Cost for 2: about P1,000- P1,500

Don Day

Although Bulgogi Garden dishes are more delicious than Don Day... but Don Day is my favorite korean restaurant (so far). For one, it's cheap but delicious for a buffet restaurant (you're P500 can never go wrong with their offering). Secondly, the restaurant is just around the corner. Which means, I don't get worried getting home late.

What I love about Don Day is there fresh and good quality meat. Ahh...samgyupsal and chadolbaegi!

samgyupsal

chadolbaegi

BURP!

Cost: about P500 per person

Yoogane

I've heard that Yoogane is a famous restaurant franchise in Korea that's why we tried it. I love their bulgogi and bibimbap! But their samgyupsal is very dry- because (I think) we ordered only a serving of samgyupsal so it was served cooked already. We also tried their kimchi jjigae...uhm... it's delicious...but I think Bulgogi Garden's is better. :) The good thing is they give you free Yakult after the meal! (pampaalis umay)

Kimchi jjigae

Bulgogi

Cost: about P500 per person

Kogi Bulgogi

We, hallyuholicnoonas, once craved for jjajangmyun. And this one chingoo recommended Kogi. Unfortunately, there jjajangmyun is not what we've imagined. It was kinda dry. We also had galbitang or beef soup. It was okay. I don't know if we have to spice it up ourselves or something coz it tastes bland (for me) so we just spices it up to suit our taste.

this is what we imagined our jjajangmyun would be...

Kogi's galbitang

hallyuholicnoonas at Kogi

Cost for 2-3: about P1,000

Hanuri

While strolling along Tomas Morato, my nampyeon and I saw this newly opened Hanuri. And voila, the Korean-food-loving us tried it. We ordered their specialty called Hanuri bulgogi- it's a bulgogi stew ala shabu-shabu. It's delish and the serving is generous too. So my nampyeon got excited and ordered another serving of samgyupsal. But meh...we were served a few pieces of meat only. We were not also given a refill of banchan. 

Though the dishes are delicious, Hanuri's menu is very limited.

this is what a Hanuri bulgogi looks like

We also tried their bibimbap. Hmmm...the serving is not too generous but it's nomnom! 

Hanuri's bibimbap

Cost for 2: about P1,000- P1,300

Simple Home-cooked Korean meals

I love to eat. I also love to cook. 

Since my mother could not cook anything, except steamed rice, my siblings and I didn't have much choice but to cook for ourselves. So we grew up experimenting on our dishes. A habit we're still practicing until now. :) 

Here are some of my home-cooked korean dishes for my family:

Ramyeon...you just have to add hot water.

Or boiling water...and some vegetables maybe?

Nah...just kidding....

This is it pansit! 
Jap Chae or Korea's vermicelli noodles made from sweet potato starch.

Jap Chae

My own recipe of bulgogi...
(these are not made from  Hanu or Korean beef but of local beef)

for this recipe, I used sweet bean paste (or the substitute hoisin sauce) and dark soy sauce

in here I used light soy sauce with kelp extract and no sweet bean paste

and chicken bulgogi...for this recipe, I used rice flour and bean paste (mixed with McCormick bulgogi chicken marinade, teehee!) as batter

For breakfast, anyone can cook these veggie medley + fried fish.

I also once tried doenjjang jjigae. My chingoos said it tastes good but my Father said otherwise :(

frozen doenjang or bean paste I bought from a Korean supermarket

My nampyeon loves my bokumbap (kimchi fried rice) and kimchi jjigae...

unfortunately I don't have photos (taken from linglieats.com)
hmmm...nomnom bokumbap 

My kimchijeon (or kimchi pancake) is also a winner (or so I say haha!)
Kimchijeon is so simple to cook, you just need: the pancake mixture of cornstarch and rice flour, 1 egg, seasonings and chili-bean paste + leeks or spring onions + kimchi + sesame oil

kimchijeon from www.koreanbapsang.com

Of course you can't call a meal Korean-like if there's no banchan. These are the simplest banchan I usually made for my family. 

I love egg rolls!

plain egg rolls

veggie-stuffed egg rolls

Pickled radish- for this recipe I used tumeric, red sugar, garlic, salt and rice vinegar. Chilies is a must but I didn't put any coz my little girl can't eat spicy food. 

rice vinegar and "a must" in Korean dishes- sesame oil

Bean sprout salad (you just have to mix it with chili paste)

and of course, the national food of Korea- say KIMCHI :)

home-made kimchis always tastes better than manufactured ones (photo from zenkimchi.com)

but if you're the only one who eats kimchi in your family, it's practical to buy small servings of kimchi like this

These are some of the Korean food and restaurants I've tried and there are still many that I want to taste and dine to! What's your favorite Korean food?

Ahhh... I suddenly got hungry while writing this. So annyeong for now and LET'S EAT!

(this is a reference tvn's  식샤를 합시다 or Shiksyareul Habshida kekeke)

credits:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/foodspotting-ec2/reviews/2427917/thumb_600.jpg?1348047374
http://media.maangchi.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/gamjatang1.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1.0-9/1609912_520222114766013_1035428784_n.jpg
http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/CEkqddpWl2r253KLkCIcDg/l.jpg
https://z-n.ak.fbcdn.net/sphotos-d.ak/hphotos-ak-prn2/t1.0-9/1452341_633063566714353_1823454018_n.jpg
https://z-n.ak.fbcdn.net/sphotos-a.ak/hphotos-ak-frc1/t1.0-9/1426607_633063556714354_112217326 3_n.jpg
http://www.clickthecity.com/img2/articles/CTC-3872-image7.jpg
http:// /wp-content/uploads/2006/11/kimchi2.jpg
http://linglieats.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG_1224.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO1sDJp06UaWmxsK2g9uuMyKAZibjuHU0ALbxcOPq-GBulwUzSksM8_AOKWkM8vIi3qn6v3dnoB_CkFqF1tP1HaGMrAs8CmyQgzVZMBhjoYVN9WW_JfTCxqrHxCh-g1v9pWayaOo92wjo/s1600/kimchijeon.jpg