SEOUL KOREA - A G-RILLY GOOD PLACE

Soon after soap dramas such as Winter Sonata and Dae Jang Geum had hit our shores, Korean restaurants could be seen mushrooming in every nook and corner of the Klang Valley, a trend which later spread across the country.

Korean cuisine is synonymous with barbecue. A couple of months back, my parents introduced me to Seoul Korea Restaurant, which serves not only good barbecues but they also have in their menu some good traditional Korean dishes as well. I found Seoul Korea to be even better than Dae Jang Gum (my favourite Korean hangout before I was introduced to Seoul Korea).

Popular meat dishes for the barbecue include bulgogi (thin slices of beef, pork or chicken that is marinated in a concoction of soya sauce, sesame oil, garlic and sugar) and galbi (ribs of beef or pork that can be marinated or unmarinated).

The thing that really fascinates me about Korean Barbecue is the Banchan (side dishes) that is served (free) with any order of barbecue meat. Kimchi (fermented cabbage seasoned with chilli peppers and salt) which is an essential part of the Korean meal, is a definite Banchan that you will get as part of your meal. Other types of Banchan may include anything from vegetables to bean curd, meat, anchovies, eggs and pancake - basically whatever the cook can get his hands on in the market on that day. And Banchans can be replenished until your hearts content. My favourite Banchan served at Seoul Korea is their Namul or green vegetables that is seasoned with sesame oil, salt, vinegar, sugar and garlic- which gives it a wonderful sweet and sour taste.

Some of their traditional dishes available here which I have sampled and can recommend include Nak-Ji-Bokum (an octopus dish seasoned with hot sauce), O-Sam Bulgogi (barbecue mixture of pork and squid), Hae-Mul-Pa-Jeon or Hae-Mul Kimchi-Jeon (Seafood spring onion or kimchi pancake) and Bibim-Bab (rice cooked with various vegetables in a stone pot). For those game enough, they serve an excellent Yuk-Hae or beef sashimi too.

The only dish I would avoid is their Sam Gye Tang (A soup boiled from chicken stuffed in sweet rice, red dates and ginseng) which I found to be rather tasteless compared to the Chinese-styled double boiled soups.

To end the meal (similar to other Korean restaurants), Seoul Korea serves a complimentary dessert combo of water melon slices and their own brew of rice drink boiled with ginger and red dates.

Bul-Galbi (Spareribs marinated with traditional sauce)

Banchan (side dishes)

Namul (Green vegetables seasoned with sesame oil, salt, vinegar, sugar and minced garlic)

O-Sam Bulgogi (BBQ mixture of marinated squid and pork)

Yuk-Hae (Beef Sashimi)

Hae-Mul-Pa-Jeon (Korean Seafood Spring Onion Pancake)

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Seoul Korea Restaurant

Address: No. 1-1, Plaza Danau 2, Jalan 4/109F, Taman Danau Desa, Kuala Lumpur.
Contact number: 603-79824607.
Reservation: Recommended.
Opening hours: 1100-2230.
Cuisine: Korean (Non Halal).
Must order: Everything on the menu.
Must not order: Sam Gye Tang.
Budget for 4 pax: RM140.
My verdict: 5 stars.