First Bite: Dokkebi Korean BBQ

The Korean food scene in Quezon City is insane. Maginhawa alone has Korean food joints left and right. Same is true in Banawe where the famous Samgyupsalamat has a branch and other players like Seoulgyupsal and Mokja can be found. Even Romantic Baboy is opening soon in the area. And one new player in town is Dokkebi Korean BBQ.

Hello, Dokkebi Korean BBQ. 

Located along N.S. Amoranto, you'd easily spot Dokkebi with its big signage and corner location. It is also on Waze so it won't be hard to find this new samgyupsal place. 

Latest Korean Restaurant in BGC: Namoo House

I’m hooked to Korean food these past months. It all started with my addiction to kimchi rice. The mildly spiced bowl of carbs with some crunchy greens is just too irresistible. And so when I heard that Namoo House, a franchise of Maple Tree House in Seoul, Korea, is opening in Manila, I twirled with joy and giddily waited till it opened. And after a few reschedules, I finally found myself in front of the newest Korean restaurant in Manila.

Hello, Namoo House!

Located at the quieter side of Fort Bonifacio, you could easily miss this restaurant by car with its dim facade lights. But you’d easily spot this place if you’re strolling around the area as its friendly hostess will warmly greet you with a big smile on her face. And the glimmering green bottles will surely catch your attention.

I couldn’t help stare at the walls filled with Korea’s famous green soju bottles. 

It created a striking contrast against the golden exhaust tubes and levelled up the Korean grill restaurant's ambiance. 

During our visit, we were able to try Marinated Boneless Short Ribs (PHP750), Woo Samgyup (PHP495) and Stone Bowl Bibimbap (PHP395).

First served were the sides and true to Korean style of dining, they served a lot of side dishes. There were the staple kimchi, spiced dilis and some greens. 

No egg rolls were served but they gave us a small plate of sliced pickled mushrooms and it was better! 

Love at First Bite: Soban K-Town Grill

I have been hearing a lot of good words about this Korean grill place in Eastwood. Aside from its delectable wide range of options, I read that this place offers value for money meals (PHP135 for bibimbap!!!) making it an ideal place for lunch break or treat after work. And after weeks of drooling over its photos on Instagram and food review apps, I finally managed to visit... Soban K-Town Grill! 

Hello, Soban K-Town Grill! 

We were greeted by hues of grey, a bunch of exhaust tubes and friendly staff who assisted us to our table. 

We browsed through the menu and decided to order Green Iced Tea (PHP65, single | PHP110, bottomless) and Lychee Shake (PHP105). For the food, we tried Kimchi Fries (PHP199), K-Taco (PHP75, 1 pc| PHP145, 2 pcs | PHP220, 3 pcs) and Premium BBQ Combo Set (PHP2,120). 

First served were our drinks and both were sweet but still refreshing. 

We figured that it would be the perfect drinks too for the savory (and slightly salty) dishes we were about to enjoy. 

The kimchi fries was served a few minutes after our drinks and it was L-O-V-E! To be honest, I wasn't excited to try this as I'm not a fan of kimchi but it was love at first bite! The kimchi taste was evident but not overwhelming. 

You would still get that characteristic tangy and spicy taste but for some reason, it was magical with those crispy fries. Serving size was generous too and definitely great for sharing. 

The K-Taco was served right after and it was awesome too! The taco filling was very generous that we had to lessen it first before we get to roll the soft tortilla over it. 

Restaurant Discovery: Matgalne

Korea has stolen the hearts of many Filipinos—from dramas to music to food. I’d say, I have this long-term serious relationship with samgyeopsal. Throw in the word “unlimited” and I am yours!

Eat-all-you-can samgyeopsal for only PHP299 for lunch (11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) and PHP399 for dinner (5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.), then throw in more than 20 side dishes, not a bad deal right? I was lucky to receive an email from A about this place called Matgalne that serves Korean dishes at friendly prices. Since curiosity got the best of me, I decided to pay Matgalne a visit during elections.  

It was rather hard to find the place if you’re not familiar with going around Makati but one landmark to remember is St. Giles Hotel and you’re almost there. I was lucky that I could read Korean as we totally didn’t notice the hotel’s signage. But for easier reference, here’s a photo of the façade. :)

When we arrived, I was surprised that the place was quite packed. Yes, the restaurant was slightly small, similar to how most hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Seoul are but this one could easily seat around 30 people and almost every seat is occupied by a hungry customer. Again, I was lucky as I instantly got a seat as I was in touch with A.

My only shot of the spread as I got too excited to eat right away!

Soon, I started to fill my plate with side dishes. First one I took was the Chapchae (or jabchae), one of my favorite dishes! I love that the sweet potato noodles (Korean 101: Sweet potato noodles is called dangmyeon in Korean) are not as oily and the vegetables included were fresh and quite crunchy. I just love it.

I also got some Jumeok Bap (Korean 101: Bap means rice). It was really yummy! I love the sticky texture and the saltiness of the seaweed.

See that little ball covered in nori? Yes, that’s Jumeok Bap!

There were also a lot of “jeon” available such as ham jeon, mushroom (Korean 101: Mushroom is called beoseot in Korean) jeon, and zucchini jeon. The key ingredients namely ham, mushroom and zucchini were [separately] batted in eggs and flour. If you adore fried oreos, pancakes or anything batted in eggs and flour, you’d like these.

I have mentioned several times that I do not like spicy dishes but some manage to be my “exemptions” and one of which is Matgalne’s Dak Kang Jung (Korean 101: Dak means chicken), sweet and spicy chicken. It was flavorful and it wasn’t very spicy at all. It was just right, and an instant love!

Pork Heaven: Don Day

My friend told me about this eat-all-you-can samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) place a year ago but I never tried to visit the place because it was a bit too far from where I live. But for the past three weeks, I’ve been craving for this Korean dish and I know that I just have to give in.

It took me three rides before finally reaching this pork heaven but it was worth it. Don Day, a Korean restaurant in Malingap St., Quezon City is right across another noteworthy restaurant… Pino RestoBar but that’s another story.

Anyway… back to Don Day…

My friends and I were greeted by a whiteboard menu—stating its very limited options but you’ll surely leave with full tummies.

We decided to go with the samgyeopsal buffet for obvious reasons—we could eat anything on the buffet table plus unlimited supply of samgyeopsal.