First Bite: Rolling Bap Korean Rolls House

It was my sister’s big day (by big day, I mean graduation and not wedding) last Saturday and we all had a late start. We were supposed to leave our place at 10 a.m. but we left an hour later. Traffic in Makati was bad too and we got to PICC area past 12 noon. Since we wanted to have lunch first, we decided to explore Macapagal Boulevard and found Hobbies of Asia. There are several restaurants there but most guarantee a fresh scent of lunch to stick to our clothes. After looking for other options, we discovered…

Rolling Bap Korean Rolls House

The place is pretty small and the menu is straightforward. They have the basic dishes covered and we decided to get Regular Kimbap (PHP130), Bibim Mandu (PHP280), Tteokbokki (PHP270) and Bulgogi Rice (PHP250).

First served were the complimentary pickled radish and kimchi. I didn’t try the kimchi but I loved the slightly tangy and crunchy radish.

The kimbap was served next and it was delightful! The strips of kani, egg, ham, cucumber, carrots and radish wrapped in sticky rice and chewy nori was quite filling. 

For PHP130, it was a steal! I also love the mix of different textures and flavors.

Restaurant Discovery: I am Kim

I miss Korea and its colorful meals. I wasn’t able to feast in Seoul when I stayed there for a few months because I was living within a student’s budget. With PHP10,000 as monthly allowance, I survived with Lotteria, egg crackers (at times free at Myeongdong) and study hard noodles (free too at my university during exam week). I only buy from McDonald’s and Burger King when I get As or when I have extra money for an unhealthy meal. I do know how to treat myself too as I also tried authentic bulgogi, bibimbap and so on. Anyway, last Sunday, my sister and I decided to try…

I am Kim.

When we visited, I am Kim was packed with hungry diners. (Fangirl note: We also spotted Patty Laurel and her husband that day.) We were lucky though as one group left after a few minutes.

I know that you could make your own bibimbap here but the server did not offer that option to us so I thought that it was just a promo. We then ended up with Classic Bap (PHP260, medium bowl | PHP370, large bowl), Chap Chae Salad (PHP175) and BBQ Squid (PHP99). I also ordered a glass of their honey with mint drink which was new.  

First to arrive were my chap chae salad and drink. The beef bulgogi was a bit dry but had the loveable sweet taste. I enjoyed munching it with the glass noodles and the crisp lettuce.

Hand-pulled noodles anyone?

As part of our Rizal Rediscovery tour, we walked around Binondo for some authentic Chinese food. (Now that I typed it in, it doesn’t make sense.)

Anyway, we went to this small noodle shop called Lan Zhou La Mien (no, I wasn’t able to read the signage… I relied on what our “tour guide” told me).

We ordered Beef Lamien (PHP120), Beef Kan Pan Lamien (PHP130), Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien (PHP140) and pork dumplings (PHP100). Our other friend ordered Seafood Lamien as she’s vegetarian.

While waiting for our food... we watched how the noodles were made.

First dishes to arrive were the Beef Lamien and the Beef Kan Pan Lamien. Well, the two are pretty much the same only the latter does not have soup. I prefer the Beef Lamien because I can’t help associate noodles with soup. Also, I find the Kan Pan Lamien a bit hard to swallow. A bit thick for me.

Beef Lamien

Beef Kan Pan Lamien

The beef however was very tender and flavorful. It was not salty at all and I’d say that it was seasoned well. Also, the noodles played a major part in the dish. You’d know that the noodles were cooked well. Chewy but not hard or of the texture of overly cooked rice.

Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien

I wasn’t able to try the Ba Bao Sha Guo Lamien but I was told that some ingredients added were quite bland. I just took one quail egg so I can’t really comment about it.

Pork dumplings... not really photogenic. :(

The pork dumplings on the other hand were just right. Not really outstanding. I had better pork dumplings. I also prefer dipping it in soy sauce but the only one available there was black vinegar. I’m not very sure if that’s the proper way to eat dumplings as I am not really fond of Chinese food (though I’m Chinese).

We “stared” at the restaurant that served vegetarian dumplings. I’ll try that one next time.