Korea Foodarama

I was invited to a sumptious lunch with 4 of my friends awhile ago. And it was a real treat because it was my first time to dine in a Korean restaurant!

Incidentally, the same is true with my 3 other companions, with one familiar with fastfood-type Korean food. Which was different from here, as we later found out.

We ordered beef barbeque, pork barbeque, and fish (lapu-lapu) barbeque, beef stew, and beef casserole, and rice for each. We were ordering randomly and chose whatever suited us (or wahtever looked nice in the photos!) So imagine our surprise when a couple of waiters arrived with thirteen shallow bowls with different small food items in them!

"Did we order these?" We asked ourselves in bewilderment.
"Sir, appetizers po", said the waiter.

Oooh. Kimchi, half crab shells, baby potatoes, dried nori, mussels (tahong), some green stuff here and there ... thirteen appetizers was a lot. And when a dish was emptied, the waiter would ask if we want some more and proceed to serve us when affirmed. This is great! And it's compliments of the place! Eating with metal chopsticks is a bit tricky, though, so some of us requested for wooden chopsticks, or spoon and fork.

Fresh cabbage promptly arrived with the barbecue, along with different sauces. The waiters then informed us that the barbecue pieces will be wrapped, along with the sauce of your choice and some spiced chives, with the cabbage leaf and eat using your hands (duh).

Then they promptly came back with the casserole ingredients. They heated up the small stove by our table and proceeded to add the ingredients into the soup base. We will still having our fill of the feast when they served us the soupy dish.

How does Korean food taste like? Well, to me, some of the dishes were spicy (but just right), while the beef stew was sweet, and the appetizers varied from nice to nah. But there were lots to choose from anyways (all thirteen of them! and these remained on our tables even when the main course was served).

After lunch, we were served melon slices and a sweet, cool, ginger tea concoction. Also courtesy of the restaurant.

Unfortunately I forgot the name of the place, but it's located at Jupiter Street near Makati Avenue. They also have rooms arranged Korean style (with the low tables and small floor pillows) by the way. Some Koreans who came in went to these rooms.

For five people served with overflowing food that's a totally unique experience, 2,700 pesos was money well spent. And now we know what to expect in a Korean Restaurant the next time! Or does the same thing happen in other, similar establishments? I mean the cornucopian serving of appetizers [with us wondering if our bill will be equally amazing :-)]. It was a pleasant lunch overall, and I definitely will go back there for a fresh dining experience with friends. Now, who wants to treat me out?