Namoo Korean Fusion

On the 3rd day in Sungei Petani, we crossed over to Penang for a day trip. The drive to the island was just 30 minutes. When we arrived at Penang, we did not head for the beach or any of the many attractions there. We went to a shopping mall. Like there are not enough shopping places in KL, PJ and the Klang valley.

We wandered aimlessly (well at least to me it was of no purpose) for a couple of hours in the Gurney Plaza. Then our stomachs started to remind us that it was time to look for some food. We went down to the street level and window shopped the many makan places there. The youngsters selected the Namoo Korean place. I wasn't too eager initially. But in the course of the meal, I was glad we were there.

The actual name of this place was Namoo Korean Dessert Cafe n Bistro. They apparently have outlets in KL too.

They had a simple yet attractive decor. They made clever use of wood for their shelves, walls and ceiling. And they had a wonderful array of old items on display.

On of the items was this good old type writer. In our school days, we actually had typing classes when we learnt how to use this machine. I used to type letters, notes and even school work. I asked my nephew and nieces in our group if they had ever used a type writer. Blank faces.

I also asked them if they knew what this black disk was. Only one answered - "CD". Close enough. But LOL. Has anyone seen a CD this big and this black. I had to explain to them what a gramophone record does.

Hungry stomachs waiting for food.

As normal, the beverages arrived first. A smiley cup of hot chocolate.

The lemonade was actually quite strong and awakening.

A kimchi soup. I have no love for this soup so I better not make comment on it.

The chicken bibimbap was very good. It had minced chicken, various vege strips and seaweeds over hot steamed rice. We stir mixed the whole thing with the sauce provided. They also provided a small bowl of kimchi. It was delicious.

This was the bibi rice burger. The patty was a grilled chicken with an egg, cucumber and lettuce in a bibi sauce. The bun was brown rice. It was served with french fries and a small bowl of salad. You couldn't eat it like a normal burger because the rice bun would break off. The flavour of the chicken and the sauce was ok, not a wow. But the rice bun was interesting. It was quite good, even by itself. Strange concoction. I guess this was innovation.

We also shared a normal kimchi chicken burger. It was much the same as the first burger, only the bun was normal. In spite of its name, I could not taste any kimchi in it. Maybe they forgot the kimchi. Just as well. Imagine how a burger would taste like with kimchi in it. I don't think I would like it.

The Korean seafood pancake was much like a pizza. The crust was thin and crunchy. It was delicious.

Finally, we each had a small bite of this banana hottuk pancake. It was a sweet pancake topped with slices of banana. I liked it. I though it was unique and innovative.

The restaurant was a true Korean fusion that cleverly assimilate Korean tastes into local and western flavours. I liked it. But it was rather pricey. A simple meal like this set me back more than 150 bucks. I have yet to decide if this chain is worth a second visit.

Dae Jang Gum Korean Restaurant

This restaurant is named after a Korean television drama series. Dae Jang Geum (大長今) is a popular Korean TV series based on a true story of a woman physician in the Korean royal court who managed to cure the King of his many ailments with her cooking and medicine. The TV drama was apparently so popular that they have a theme park in Korea dedicated to it. 

Dae Jang Gum Korean BBQ Restaurant (the name is spelled slightly differently but the Chinese characters 大長今 are the same) is located on Jalan USJ 10/1F in the Tai-pan area of Subang Jaya. It is not far from and along the same road as the Public Bank in USJ 10. I googled "Dae Jang Geum Korean Restaurant" and apparently Dae Jang Geum is a very popular name for Korean restaurants throughout the world. They include 2 similarly named restaurants in Section 14, PJ and in Malacca. I have no idea if all these DJGs are related.

We were greeted by a large portrait Lee Young Ae (the Korean actress who played the leading role in the television drama) as we entered the restaurant in USJ 10. She continued to haunt us on the menu before we even ordered our food.

The restaurant is rather small. The shop lots on USJ 10/1F are not that big and wide. Still they managed to squeeze into 2 dining areas - a tatami sit-on-the-floor platform and some normal tables and chairs at the side. The furnishings appeared old and well-used. But the place was pleasant and comfortable.

We settled down, ignored Ms Lee and perused the menu. We ordered 2 meats to barbeque and 2 soup dishes to supplement. Then things began to quickly arrive on our table. They started with our eating utensils and sauces..

 

And the small appetizer dishes typical of Korean restaurants. I found it delightful picking up the delicious morsels before the main meal. The variety offered here was many.

And of course kimchi. No Korean food is complete without this.

Our first meat was the Sam Gyoub Sal or pork belly slices. They had substantial fat on them. Rather sinful but (what the heck) nice. The grilled outcome was soft, succulent and delicious. Delightful when wrapped in fresh salad and the sambal-like Korean sauce.

The Yang Nyum Gal Bi or marinated beef rib was not so tender. But equally delicious. The flavor was more pronounced because of the marinade. I tackled the rib bone, attempting to get the meat off it. But it was just too tough.

I found the Sam Gye Tang (chicken broth with ginseng) rather bland. It was a milky soup that did not taste very flavorful. I think we have to stop ordering this dish the next time we go to a Korean place. It is getting to be very boring.

In contrast, the Yuk Gye Jang (spicy soup with glass noodles, vegetable and rice) was too strong and spicy. Looked like we had the ying and yang of the soups. I did not particularly like the spiciness. But my wife seemed to enjoy it. 

Dessert was pieces of water melon and a bowl of sikhye. Sikhye is a sweet Korean drink brewed from barley malt powder (yeotkiereum) and rice. It was served cold. I found it very refreshing. Perhaps it is not so suitable as a dessert. On a hot thirsty day, it would be fantastic.

DJG is a typical Korean BBQ restaurant. It did not stand out from its counterparts that we have visited. Neither is it any less. Very honestly, I find most Korean restaurants to be about the same. It is like visit one and you have visited all. Perhaps my Korean taste buds are not yet that discerning.

Daorae Korean BBQ

The year passed really swiftly and it was another celebration of sort. My wife opted for a Korean meal. And we were off to Daorae in Subang Jaya Taipan. Daorae is a chain of 10 restaurants with six outlets in the Klang Valley, two in Penang and one each in Ipoh and Melaka. The Subang Jaya outlet is located on Jalan USJ 10/1J, at the Top Speed Business Center, above Affin Bank.

We drove around the Taipan area in Subang Jaya in the midst of the pre-CNY traffic madness and found a lot in a dodgy car park. We walked across towards Affin Bank, into a side entrance and took the elevator to the 2nd floor.

 

As the elevator door opened, we were in a really nice foyer of the restaurant and were immediately greeted with "Annyeonghaseyo". A couple of the staff even bowed at us. A wonderful first impression.

The restaurant was impressive. It was big and had several dining areas. We were led to a very nice contemporary dining room, with comfortable seating and a nice mural on the wall. We settled ourselves near a window and were each given a menu.

As my family made sense of what they had to offer, I moved around to explore the big place and to take snapshots. Beside the dining room that we were ushered into, there was another with a modern oriental setting...

 

.. and a large tatami floor.

 

The one thing I hate in Korean restaurants is their silly chopsticks. The flat and tapered metal sticks are so difficult to use. Just like my cocker spaniel - nice to look at but totally useless.

The menu was the typical Korean BBQ and the usual Korean dishes and soups. They were pricey. We made our selections and settled down to sipping our burnt-rice tea. Burnt-rice tea or genmaicha (玄米茶) is actually of Japanese origin. It is green tea flavored with roasted brown rice. The flavor of the roasted rice is distinct and unmistakable. Our daughter found it weird and ordered a coke. I was OK with it but I would had preferred my usual tei guan yin (铁观音).

 

After a short while, our table began to be filled with various small dishes. First were the sauces for our meat.

 

Then the usual complimentary side dishes that all Korean restaurants serve. Different kinds of kimchi...

Soups...

Veges...

And eggs...

While we were picking on the side dishes, the waiters brought in the red hot coal stove.

 

We ordered 3 meats. The sam-kyub-sal (pork belly meat) was great. It was the best of the 3 meats we had. It was succulent and tender. 

The mok-sal (pork shoulder meat) had less fat on it. Thus it was less succulent and a wee coarser. But it was very fresh and was equally enjoyable.

Finally, the sut-bulogi (beef rib eye marinated in sweet soya sauce) was a bit of a disappointment. It was somewhat a mess. It did not taste as good as the pork and we did not like the sweet soya marinade. 

The meats were eaten with raw garlic and the sauces wrapped in fresh salads. Tasted yummy.

We had 2 additional dishes. The sam gye tang (ginseng chicken soup) was a little bland. There was ginseng, red dates, rice, perhaps barley, and other stuffs in it. Maybe there was to much meat that evening. I really did not appreciate the soup very much.

The other dish was the nakjee bokkum (octopus stirred fried in spicy vegetables). I was looking forward to having some nice fresh octopus. But there was hardly any. We tasted some thin slices and we couldn't really tell that they were octopus. The rest of the dish was some mushy spicy vege. It was a major disappointment for the price (RM35) we paid.

The Korean pancake was compliment of the house. Perhaps to compensate for the lousy octopus.

It seemed like a lot of food for 3 persons. And indeed it was. We definitely over-ordered. We could had done without the ginseng chicken and/or the octopus. But we are a little wiser now on Korean dining.