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waqasblog2 · 5 years

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Seo Seo Galbi PIK, Jakarta

Having heard so many great remarks about Seo Seo Galbi Korean BBQ restaurant, we finally had an opportunity to visit their first outlet in Indonesia, exactly in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) area.

Located inside Ruko Crown Golf complex (the main street align with PIK Marketing Office), exactly beside Shirokuma (now closed down) and Martabak Pecenongan 43. From outside, it looks small and difficult to notice but you can always rely on the big signage with Korean word visible from the street.

Stepping inside, we were surprised to see a quite spacious dining area fulfilled with simple tables complete with typical Korean BBQ restaurants’ exhaust systems hung everywhere. Seo Seo Galbi restaurant occupy 2 floors of the building but apparently, the second floor is only open during weekends as it usually gets really crowded around those days. As I hate cramped places, I actually love the layout of this restaurant for sure!

Originated from Shinchon (a region in Seoul, Korea), Seo Seo Galbi is known for a famous Korean BBQ restaurant for at least, 60 years. The long history makes it a must try for Korean BBQ lovers, and the most interesting thing is that in their outlet in Korea, there is no chair inside the restaurant so guests eat while standing. The idea of having enjoyable BBQ while standing doesn’t really interest me, so luckily in Indonesia’s outlet, we have tables and chairs so we can enjoy the food while sitting comfortably! XD

We started with the banchan or popularly known as Korean appetizers, usually provided as complimentary in Korean restaurants. The banchan variety is not much but they are all so good, especially the kimchi and pickles. Better yet, we can always ask for refill if we need any, so for us, it’s definitely many orders of kimchi!

Banchan or appetizers, usually provided as complimentary in Korean restaurants.

As Seo Seo Galbi is infamous for its BBQ, let’s start with the grill first! For the meat, they only have beef and pork, with prices ranging from IDR 85,000 to 275,000 per portion. The prices are considered alright because their portions are quite big and very satisfying, and we think the pork prices are exceptionally affordable for a famous Korean BBQ restaurant with great history like Seo Seo Galbi. Keep reading to find out why!

Seo Seo Gal Bi IDR 195,000

First to try is Seo Seo Galbi’s signature meat, which is special seasoned short rib bone-in! I literally fell in love at the first sight to this beautiful meat roll, and couldn’t wait to taste it! The meat has this special marbling tone on it, and it looks like a sweet sinful treat that one won’t mind having, LOL!

What I like about dining at Korean BBQ restaurant is that a staff will be there and cook the meat for us. And as grilling meat has its own technique, it’s best to leave it to the trained staff and let’s just enjoy the process and prepare for the feast! Oh well, look at ‘em marble! @_@

We were quite speechless when we tried this meat for the first time, it was SOOOO GOOD I wish I didn’t have to share! XD The meat was perfectly tender, well-seasoned and I didn’t feel the need to use any other sauce to enhance the taste. The spring onion on top of the meat gave a familiar aromatic flavor as well! If you prefer fresh meat (not marinated ones), you can opt for Seo Seo Saeng Gal Bi (IDR 245,000) for the same short rib meat served fresh!

Woo Seol & Steak IDR 195,000

Next to try was the grilled imported beef tongue and the steak, which refers to the thicker cuts of tongue, I think. First, I must say that the (thinner) cuts of the tongue are perfect, it’s not too thick and it’s not too thin, just precisely good enough for a grill so it won’t stick on the net and become messy. They are incredibly crunchy and I just couldn’t stop munching it’s not even funny. For the best taste, you must dip the grilled tongue into the special dipping sauce provided only by Seo Seo Galbi!

The steak meat is also superb! Not only crunchy, because of its thickness, it takes more time on the grill and it absorbs more smokey flavor afterwards. The taste is beyond my expectation and I was glad I tried this one!

Saeng Sam Gyep Sal IDR 85,000

One thing we will never miss when dining at Korean BBQ restaurant: the sliced fresh pork belly! Just by looking at the meat, we couldn’t ask for better, fresher pork belly.

Again, we waited with excitement for the pork belly to be grilled perfectly and oh la la, the wait was worth every second! The pork belly was thick, juicy, and soft at the same time. Since it wasn’t seasoned or marinated yet, it’s best to eat them with the provided sauce (sesame oil, salt, and pepper), or if you want to try what I did, just dip it into the special Seo Seo sauce on the pan.

Seo Seo Gal Mae Gi Sal IDR 85,000

Another must try meat is the special seasoned skirt meat, which is also served marinated and well-seasoned. The skirt meat was surprisingly tender, although it has a slight tough, almost chewy parts. I actually really like the smell of spring onions sprinkle when the meat was grilled, it suits the aroma of the meat and makes the meat more appetizing.

Oh, did I tell you that here in Seo Seo Galbi, we can also have unlimited refills of the egg? Mixed with carrot cuts, the egg was nothing but soft, smooth, tasty and healthy. Make sure to ask for refills anytime you want, the staff will gladly pour in some more into your pan!

And… this is our ultimate reason (and yours too!) to always go back to Seo Seo Galbi: the special dipping sauce that is available in the one and only Seo Seo Galbi outlet! Honestly, I was skeptical when the staff told us that the sauce is so special many guests asking for take away after dining there. I mean, seriously? It can’t be THAT good, right? XD But hell, I was so wrong! The special sauce is indeed very special because it’s so darn delicious and I practically dipped everything into it (beef, pork, kimchi, egg, even noodle!) and I asked for refills, at least 4 times during my less than 2 hours visit.

Apparently, this special sauce is made by Mr. Jung, one of the owners of Seo Seo Galbi Indonesia and we were told that only him can make the best version of the sauce no matter how many people have tried to follow the recipe and make it. So I guess, he has magical hands that can produce such a great, addictive sauce, eh?

Beside the BBQ, Seo Seo Galbi also has many other authentic Korean menu from rice, noodle, and soup dishes. The selection is quite good so even if you are not in mood for Korean BBQ, you can still visit Seo Seo Galbi for authentic Korean comfort food such as Ra Myeon, Bu Dae Jji Gae (the big stew), or even just lighter snacks like Tteokbokki!

Jap Chae IDR 89,000

When eating Korean BBQ, ordering a plate of Jap Chae has somehow become a mandatory thing, LOL! And here you can choose your Jap Chae to be cooked with beef or pork. I was surprised to see the generous serving portion, not to mention that the noodle was very flavorful and tasty! We actually were really full after eating so much meat so we only tried a little of this and decided to bring it back home for take away. Surprisingly, even until the next day, the noodle was still very good so we definitely recommend it for you Jap Chae lovers!

RTG IDR 139,000

RTG stands for Ra Myeon, Tteokbokki, and Gim Bap. Yes, they have separated menu for each, but we tried this special combo menu so we could try 3 of them without feeling too full. The Ra Myeon & Tteokbokki are served together in Yin Yang bowl, but believe me, that doesn’t reduce the portion! I think this is really a good menu, and even for such a special price, the serving portion is big enough to be shared for 2-3 people.

The Ra Myeon was good just like Korean instant noodle and fulfilling for sure. I love the additional toppings such as egg and seaweed, but mind you, eat it quickly because the noodle gets soggy real fast.

The tteokbokki is the winner! Even Mr. K who normally doesn’t like it, claimed that this is THE BEST tteokbokki he has ever had so far. The sauce was great, not too sweet with good spices, and the cheese was so tasty we suspected they put any other cheese than only mozzarella in it to enhance the taste (cheddar, perhaps?). We definitely won’t mind driving to PIK just for another plate of this!

My heart also goes to the Gim Bap, which is so colorful and “crowded” with ingredients. Honestly, I had never really liked Gim Bap, and always considered it as cheaper version of sushi, but well, with so many ingredients over the little rice, this Gim Bap definitely is different! I think because they use meat and also spam, the gim bap has more flavors! The crunchiness of the fresh vegetables like cucumber, carrots and pickles is really memorable and I can’t wait to go back and have it again! *cry*

Overall, our first dining experience at Seo Seo Galbi PIK was nothing but a pleasant, unforgettable one. From this first thing that entered my mouth (the Seo Seo Galbi meat), I knew this is gonna be my #1 Korean BBQ restaurant in town, at least until I can find better one. With so many variety of dishes (BBQ and non BBQ), Seo Seo Galbi is like the best stop when we crave for authentic Korean dishes, and we urge you to give it a try as well if you haven’t! We hope that we can visit Seo Seo Galbi again soon in near future, and wish Seo Seo Galbi the best luck in always-growing Indonesia’s F&B industry!

Thanks for reading!

===

* All prices are subject to 5% service charge & 10% government tax

** This review is written based on our visit on 19 August 2017.

Check our IG story for LIVE UPDATES: @foodescape_id

SEO SEO GALBI Ruko Crown Golf Blok A no 31 Pantai Indah Kapuk, Kamal Muara Penjaringan, North Jakarta 14460 Indonesia Ph. +62 21 2942 4861 INSTAGRAM

Opening Hours: Mon-Sun 11AM – 11.30PM

The post Seo Seo Galbi PIK, Jakarta appeared first on FOOD ESCAPE: INDONESIAN FOOD BLOG.

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allofbeercom · 6 years

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A foodie tour of South Korea

With the Winter Olympics shining a spotlight on this hi-tech country, a new culinary trip introduces visitors to zingy rice dishes and the worlds best bibimbap all with a pleasingly messy disregard for formality

A foodie tour of South Korea

South Korea holidays

A foodie tour of South Korea

With the Winter Olympics shining a spotlight on this hi-tech country, a new culinary trip introduces visitors to zingy rice dishes and the world’s best bibimbap – all with a pleasingly messy disregard for formality

Liz Boulter

Fri 9 Feb 2018 01.30 EST

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Korean comfort … bibimbap is the national dish of rice with a multitude of toppings.

I’m not particularly hungover, having stuck to local Hite beer the evening before, but the restorative effects of Korean haejang-guk, or “hangover soup” would probably cure even the pain of a truly big night out.

At 8am there’s already a queue outside the tiny cafe at the back of Nambu market in provincial capital Jeonju (has the whole city been on the lash?). I slip into a seat at the counter next to a local couple and watch an overalled woman bashing energetically at huge mounds of pungent garlic, chilli and spring onion – a cruel racket for a pounding head.

South Korea map

But soon my panacea appears: a heady beef bone and anchovy broth thick with rice and beansprouts, side dishes of kimchi and three other fermented vegetables, and squares of dried seaweed to dip in. Another dish holds a barely set poached egg. Copying my neighbours, I finish up by adding some broth to the egg, stir, and drink the lot down, following up with the (probably redundant) little plastic bottle of Yakult-type drink that comes with every serving.

The words “set you up for the day” don’t even begin to cover it.

Hangover soup counter, Jeonju. Photograph: Liz Boulter for the Guardian

Quick guide

South Korea: at a glance

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– Capital: Seoul

– Currency: Won, £1=1,500

– Flight time from UK: 11 hours

– Flight time from US (Los Angeles): 13 hours 30 minutes

– Population: 51 million

– Area:100,210 km2

– Official language: Korean

– Official tourism website: visitkorea.or.kr

– High speed rail network: KTX

– Looking for more travel ideas? Guardian Travel on South Korea

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I’m two days into Intrepid Travel’s new Real Food Adventure in South Korea and starting to appreciate how this hi-tech country combines the best of east Asia, particularly in its cuisine: healthier and less oily than in much of China; spicier, sharper and chewier than in Japan.

Starting in the capital, Seoul, we’ve done the basics – Korean barbecue and moreish KFC (the K’s not for Kentucky) – then taken the train south (almost all the trip is on public transport) to foodie capital Jeonju, declared a Unesco city of gastronomy in 2012. Jeonju is known for its “slow food” skills: drying, pickling and fermenting kimchis, sauces and pastes to offer a world of exquisite textures and flavours. It’s only culinary rival was, before the Korean war, Pyongyang.

An irresistible dish of KFC (Korean fried chicken).

Jeonju is also home to the country’s best bibimbap, the national dish of rice with an array of toppings, often including a raw egg. As we’re lunching at the city’s Gajok Hoegwan restaurant, and its owner, Kim Nyeon-him, has been declared an intangible cultural asset by the government for her bibimbap, we’re probably going to eat the best bibimbap in the world.

“This is not your meal; these are just the accompaniments,” warns Daniel, our Korean-American tour leader. The tables are covered with at least a dozen cold side dishes: pungent fish innards, mild turmeric jelly and delicious fermented spring greens among them. Our bibimbaps arrive topped with a dozen more tasty things, plus a hot cloud of steamed egg soufflé. It looks very pretty, but we have to destroy it: the way to eat bibimbap is to add your side dishes, mix the whole lot up – with chopsticks so as not to mash the rice – then shovel it in with a spoon.

Mrs Kim is an “intangible cultural asset” thanks to her bibimbap. Photograph: Liz Boulter for the Guardian

The taste sensation is partly down to the array of tall earthenware jars where Mrs Kim, sprightly in her seventies, is fermenting sauces of gooseberry, green plum and other fruits. Daniel tells us bibimbap is comfort food: in Korean films the equivalent of the breakup scene where a girl eats a whole tub of ice-cream is a girl crying into a big bowl of bibimbap.

Korean food is all about side dishes, or banchan

By now our group of 12 Europeans and Australians are starting to “get” Korean food. It’s all about the side dishes, or banchan: no meal comes without at least two. For this we can thank the Buddhist vegetarian influence, which saw people brightening up meals with fresh, sour, crunchy, sweet, salty or spicy accompaniments. This continues even though many Koreans have since embraced meat and fish with gusto.

We’ve also rethought our western ideas about courses. Everything comes together: there’s nearly always a soup with a Korean dinner, but it’s sipped throughout the meal, and any sweet things are on the table from the start. Koreans say this makes an evening more fun: you get on with talking, laughing, enjoying the company, without interruptions for another course arriving. There’s also none of Japan’s dining formality. “The protocol is there is no protocol,” says Daniel. It’s fine to all dip spoons into one pot, or reach across your companions to grab a tasty morsel with your long metal chopsticks. A table barely visible under a mess of dirty dishes and empty bottles is the sign of a good night out.

Gochujang ferments in a jar for months. Photograph: Liz Boulter for the Guardian

The savoury spiciness of bibimbap comes from gochujang, the fermented chilli paste found in every Korean kitchen. The home of that is nearby Sunchang, where, with the help of another intangible cultural asset, Kang Soon-ok, we learn how “red gold” is made – by mixing powdered rice, barley syrup, soya and dried chillies before leaving it to ferment for half a year.

We also have great fun making a speciality none of us can quite get our heads round: chapssaltteok, or soft rice cakes (like Japanese mochi). Their sticky, gooey texture is achieved, traditionally, by pounding the rice flour dough with huge mallets, before rolling, chopping and sprinkling it with ground nuts. We’ve loved almost everything we’ve eaten so far, but decide you probably have to be born to it to rave about this texture, between Blu Tack and wallpaper paste, but less appealing than either.

Much more enticing is the quintessential Korean dish kimchi, which we also have a go at in Jeonju. There are kimchi factories these days of course, but many people still make it by hand in autumn, to ferment in jars buried in the cold ground for winter eating.

Hanok village, on the edge of Jeonju. Photograph: Seungchan Lee/Getty Images

In a sunny courtyard in the traditional Hanok village district, on the edge of Jeonju, the napa cabbages (what we call Chinese leaves) have been soaking in brine. Pulling on gloves and pinnies (against red stains) we copy our hosts and gently peel back the pale leaves – without detaching them from the stems – and massage each side with a paste made by pounding garlic, shallot and ginger with copious gochujang. Once every surface of every leaf is covered – inexpert tourist fingers are fumbling and slow – the leaves are folded back till the finished cabbages lie like so many swaddled babies. I taste a bit of broken leaf and it’s delicious, but without that deep fermented flavour of aged kimchi.

There are many more delights packed into the week. The waters of Bomun lake make an especially pillowy soft tofu, served at Matdol Soondooboo restaurant in a punchy broth. You drop in a raw egg, add soy, sesame oil and spring onions, then enjoy the way creamy egg and tofu contrast with the soup’s chilli kick. Spicy beef short ribs on Daegu’s foodie Dongindong Street have been steamed for hours and come with fishy side dishes for an umami hit.

The fish market in Busan. Photograph: Alamy

And in the port of Busan, we barbecue seafood at the table. The US influence means South Koreans have a very un-Asian liking for dairy products: so you can add grated cheese to a giant clam grilling in its shell with onion, chilli and kimchi and, as the cheese starts to melt, gorge on a fusion feast.

But it isn’t all eating; there’s drinking too. The craft beer movement is starting to take off in South Korea: at microbrewery Galmegi in Busan we taste IPAs and a ginger golden ale. They’re a hit with young South Koreans used to rice wine, fizzy lager and soju spirit. For us, though, Hite beer and soju make perfect partners for games of “sink the ship” – the person who makes the shot glass of soju sink into the lager having to drink the lot. And if too many rounds of that make for a sore head next morning, there’s always hangover soup.

• The trip was provided by Intrepid Travel, whose eight-day South Korean Real Food Adventure costs £1,715, excluding flights to Seoul

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/a-foodie-tour-of-south-korea/

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