Yea Won and Daorae Korean Cuisine

 One of the best part about Korean food is... There are a myriad of side dishes. Not only they are free, they are also refillable. Clueless on where to dine over the extended CNY period, a meal in a Chinese restaurant will most likely cost you an arm. Japanese and Korean cuisine which normally are on the higher end range seems like normal price during this festive season. Hence, we decided to have our dinner in Yea Won Korean Cuisine.

 Yea Won has been around for many years. I remember in those days, there was only 2 places for Korean food, one is Yea Won and the other Onix Jun. And Yew Won is surviving until now proves that they do have more than something to offer in their arsenal. The Bil-Bim-Bap looks colourful and appetizing. Served in a hot bowl, you can add in the beanpaste sauce for that extra savoury and pungent flavour. Available in beef or pork. RM18 per bowl.

Mom was too hungry and mixed the noodles before I could get a proper shot of her Hand Sliced Noodles with Chicken. From the menu, I noticed that authentic Korean cuisine do not have much chicken and fish in their menu. Most of the items are red meat, mainly beef and pork. Besides this soupy noodles, you can also give their Ginseng Chicken Soup a try if you insist on taking white meat only.

 Otherwise, join the majority and indulge in a beefy experience. This is the Short Rib Soup (RM25). Served with a bowl of rice, this soup is similar to the Ngau Lam. Just that you get generous amount of beef in a hearty broth. The beef is tender and could easily fall from the bone without much effort. Very nice dish indeed!

 The star of the night is none other than the hot plate BBQ meat. There are 3 different cuts of pork. One serving of 200g ranges from RM23-RM28 depending on standard belly or prime cuts. A minimum of 2 servings of meat is required for them to start off the hotplate. If pork isn't your cup of tea, you can always try the beef at around RM45-60 for 200g. If I recalled correctly, there is no chicken meat for the grill....

 

The meat are grilled without any marinade. The meat are unadulterated and you can taste the natural taste of the meat. Else, you can always dip it into light soya sauce with onions or a oil mixture with salt.

Grab some geens, drizzle abit with oil, put some bean paste, a pip of garlic, some pickled onions and a piece of pork. Don't bother to wrap it up nicely but do try to make sure your mouthful if filled of evey single ingredients' contribution. If you wish to take a break from Japanese cuisine, try Korean. It is a fresh dining experience and an appetizing one.

Yup, I had Korean BBQ in Daorae on the second day of CNY, thats around few days before I dined in Yea Won with my family. Daorae is more of a commercialized setting but they do invest in proper gadgets to ensure you get a pleasant dining experience possible. Daorae on the other hand has a slightly more variety of banchans which can be used to fill up your stomach if plain meat did not do the trick

The meat in Daorae is grilled over semi-direct contact with the charcoal flame, resulting in some slightly charred ends, which is indeed very tasty. The slight drawback about Daorae is.... after cooking, the waiter will dish out the meat into a small plate. The charcoal based furnace is then removed. I prefer Yea Won's practice whereby they just shut off the flame and let the heat from the hot plate preserve the temperature of the meat. You can take your time and wrap your meat in vege and chit chat along your meal, without needing to worry the meat will turn cold.

Final verdict.... I have the slight preference for Yea Won. Though Daorae serves lamb, chicken and sotong for the grill compared to the dual option of either beef of pork only in Yea Won. Well, after all, these are the 2 options available so far. Oh, I missed out Riche Montana in Ipoh Garden South. I wonder if they still have the BBQ menu.........