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. 

The two-storey restaurant can easily accommodate 50-60 guests. The second floor seems to be a bit cramped with its relatively lower ceiling. But sitting by the open kitchen made me not mind it. 

The head chef suggested that I put my bag inside the barrel seat before the grilling starts. I actually love how they stayed true with how most Korean BBQ restaurants in Korea maximize space and save our clothes from smelling like grilled meat. 

We were literally showered with several sets of Dokkebi Samgyeopsal (PHP1,450, 8 flavors | PHP800 for 4 flavors). It turns out that they had a buy one get one promo during our visit which made four orders of 8 Flavor Samgyeopsal into eight sets! (Note: The BOGO deal was only until October 15.)

I first thought that the set was quite expensive given that that we're talking about Banawe area filled with unlimited Korean BBQ joints. But after having our grilled meats served, we could barely finish 2 sets! And there were 10 of us sharing. 

I was looking forward to try the different flavors namely Ginseng, Herbs, Cream, Spicy, Garlic & Salt, Teriyaki, Curry and Fresh but I was underwhelmed. 

The flavors were not very pronounced. The only flavors I could tell were Teriyaki which was slightly sweet and Fresh which had the cleanest taste. 

I could tell one was spicy given its color but it was just mildly spiced. It was perfectly fine with me but diners who are looking forward to some serious heat would be disappointed. 

Needless to say, I didn't get to savor the promised flavors. I guess it would be best to stick with the a la carte meats instead. And don't forget to request for garlic bits for that delightful contrast of flavors! 

Dokkebi is located at N.S. Amoranto Corner Sicaba Street, Banawe, Quezon City.