All
these while I am only exposed to dakgalbi and Korean meat BBQ and this
is my first time dining a Korean fusion restaurant. The setting in this
place is simple and looks more like a contemporary cafe. So what makes
it go viral and drawing a long queue, resulting in at least an average
wait at least of one hour? Lets start off with the Tobokki Stew,
which is quite a common dish in Korean restaurants. Korean rice cakes
alongside sausages,
fish cake, ramen, dumpling and cabbage are simmered in spicy Kimchi
broth unlike cooked in a sweetish and spicy gravy in most other places.
The
small portion costs RM35 and perhaps it is meant for 2 person’s
consumption since there
are 2 pieces of dumpling only.
For
our group of 5, we only get
few strands of ramen and a few pieces of rice cakes. I personally do not
like
processed food like sausages to be added as it does not feel authentic. I
think
if they were to give thin slices of belly pork, it would be much better.
Nevertheless, I must give high praise for their rice cakes texture,
which is
simmered to near perfection. Unlike most places whereby they usually
served you
undercooked rice cakes, the service crew here, despite being busy
attending to
a full-house crowd, were attentive in follow-up with the simmering time
and
will advise you accordingly when it is done. A small serving of this
soupy dish tantalizes your tastesbuds, paving the way to more meaty
goodness to follow...
Guess
what? Their famous dish, Cheese
Pork Ribs also has Tobokki underneath the ribs! Haha! I definitely have a
fond spot for rice cakes! Anyway The
star of their signature dish would be the cheese! Half of the hot plate
is
generously filled with mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The pork ribs were
cooked from the kitchen. The steel wok is then heated slowly in front
of us....
Few
minutes have passed.... we are still patiently waiting for the cheese
to fully melt. Or the personnel to come attend to this dish... Took around 5 minutes to reach this
stage under low fire as not to result into burnt cheese. Once melted,
it’s a cauldron
of goodness, but it is still not ready yet....
There
is one final step before indulging. The owner, Jeff, will play the role
of handling the "flamethrower". He is full of energy, stamina and
exuberance. Something Malaysian food and beverage owners should
emulate...
The
result? The ribs have tender
meat flavoured from a marinade which tends slightly to a Western
profile. The meat, just like how good ribs should taste like, fell off
the bones without much biting effort. The photo here is a representation
of the minimum order of 2 portions whereby one portion
is RM35. If I remember correctly, there are 10 pieces of ribs. For RM70
it is quite worth it as the cheese itself would've cost alot. Don't
believe me? Try check out the price of mozzarella cheese at the cold
section of supermarkets.
Pairing
with
the soft and gooey cheese will give the pork ribs a different
gastronomic experience altogether.
The melted cheese is also so good to go along with the rice cakes.
Ahhh... I should've went all out for some Korean soju or plum wine that
night!
Coming
up next the is Donkatsu with Cheese, or fried pork cutlet on a bed of
cheese (RM30) This is a fusion dish derived from a similar Japanese
cuisine. Anyway, seems like most
of their best sellers are associated with cheese! We should've skipped
this and ordered something else as this bears resemblance to the Cheese
Pork Ribs. We wanted to order some grilled salted pork belly dish but we
were told that they did not prepare that on that day :(
Feeling the urge to try one more item, Kimchi Quesadilla (RM14) is another fusion hot pick from the
Appetizer category. Although this is ordered later when we found out we
were not full yet, the winning combination of kimchi and cheese and the
crispy tortilla skin make it so appetizing and addictive!
Look
at the generous amount of cheese in almost every single dish! The one
taking credit for this creation would be Jeff's fiancee, orchestrating
the behind the scenes actions in the kitchen.
The
advantage of coming in large
groups is that you can try all their recommended items at one go,
without
having to hurt your pocket a lot. The huge draw back of a large group is
that
it is hard to get an empty table as most tables here cater to groups of 2
and
4. If you come in a group of 6 or more, you will have to wait for 2
groups from
tables next to each other to leave consecutively and the chances of that
happening is kinda low. But thanks to the efficient and quick thinking
boss, the queue for tables is manageable albeit a long wait. It took us
almost 2 hours to secure our tables! Throughout the duration, Jeff never
fails to come out and apologize, bow and thank us for being patient and
keep on assuring that they are doing the very best to set up the tables
for those in queue. He has a pleasant personality and the courtesy level is top-notch! :)
This
is another proof of the long queue. It was already almost 9:30pm but
look at the crowd outside still waiting for tables! Jeff mentioned that
it would be better to come on weekdays or before 5:30pm on weekends.
There is no guarantee of the waiting time as another friend of mine who
came in a small group need not wait at all during a weekday.
Ticket
to Korea is situated at one of the first floor unit at Block C,
Setiawalk. Puchong. They open from 5pm onwards, so make sure you are
there early! You write down your name and contact number on the waiting
list then take a stroll around Setiawalk or proceed to some happy hour
while waiting for Jeff to ring you up when your table is ready. Anyeong~
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