Bibimbap craving satisfied at Korean J Grill

I suddenly craved for bibimbap last week and asked my friends in the office if we could go eat Korean food. After doing a little research on nice Korean restaurants, off we went for lunch to Korean J Grill along Tomas Morato in Quezon City. This place is a nice one, we found out, with a more modern and casual ambiance compared to other Korean restaurants we've been to. From the many pictures hanged on the wall, we learned, too,  that many celebrities visit this place like Vice Ganda and Billy Crawford. 
In a little while, it was the food's turn to delight us. 

Our orders:

Dolsot Bibimbab, P250.

This was love at first taste! Each spoonful gives a burst of delightful flavors. I loved too that there's a whole lot of bite-sized chicken and vegetables, they won't leave you wanting but oh-so-satisfied. And the serving is humungous, it could feed two persons. Craving more than satisfied!

Japchae, P300.

This Korean "pancit" was really good although it's a little too sweet for me. Lots of veggies here, too, and like the bibimbab, the serving is big enough to satisfy two to three people.

Sam Gyeop Sal, P350.

Samgyeopsal means "three-layered-flesh" and is one of Korea's most popular dishes consisting of grilled pork belly, lettuce, and a whole gamut of side dishes, which could vary in different restaurants. Kimchi, which is fermented cabbage is, always included in the set, though, as it is a staple in every Korean meal. To eat Sam gyeop sal, put a piece of meat on a bed of lettuce and top it off with sauces - ssamjang (made out of soybean paste, hot pepper paste, sesame oil, and other ingredients) and gireumjang (sesame oil, salt, and black pepper). 
This, I promise, is sooo good, I'm craving for it as I write this! 

Dweji Galbi, P350.
Dweji galbi means means grilled spareribs but I'm not sure if it's the one that's pictured here 
'coz they look pretty much the same and even the taste don't differ to me. 
The meat is really tender and savory, I couldn't help but eat a lot!

Side dishes served along with the sam gyeop sal and dwelji galbi

My favorite among the side dishes we were served were the lettuce with chili and vinegar and sliced radish. By the way, refill of side dishes is free here 

at Korean J Grill (as it is in most Korean restaurants). 

Love it! 

 Celebrity customers

Korean J Grill is at #186 Tomas Morato Avenue, Sacred Heart, Quezon City

It was one great meal that my friends and I shared at Korean J Grill. We immensely enjoyed our lunch! Everything was really good it was hard to tell which dish was the best. To top it all, we didn't pay much and only shelled out P300 each. Such a great deal for an unforgettable lunch! We are surely coming back to Korean J Grill, 
and I have the feeling it's gonna be soon!

SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant in Malate

Apparently, Korean food is my "flavor of the month". I've been craving for it the past three weeks! Yup, several bowls of bibimbap I've had already and I'm still wanting! Anyway, I went to the La Salle area along Taft Ave. last week as my kids and I attended the opening of the solo sculpture exhibit of my eldest daughter's beau. And to hit two birds with one stone, I took advantage of the occasion to embark on a little foodie adventure with my little boy before going to the venue, which was the 
Cultural Center of the Philippines. 
I made some research the day before, as a real foodie should (Haha!), to find a restaurant that would arouse my curiosity and excitement. This time, SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant did it, and it was just the perfect choice as I've been, as I mentioned, on a Korean food mode. The pictures of food and the place itself made my heart skip a beat! Those huge teddy bears and the country-style interiors plus the bowls of 
my favorite bibimbap got me so excited! 
Then, finally, we were there at SHP Bibimbab, my little boy and I, and after choosing a place to prop ourselves up and placing our order, we quickly proceeded to clicking away with the camera - the little boy of me, and I, of him. One could easily get tired of taking pictures here, I learned, as every nook and cranny is picture-pretty 
and Instagram-worthy! 
And then, the food came, thus, it was time to...eat? 

Nope! ..to take more pictures, but of course. :)

Beef Bibimbap, P190. 

Clubhouse, P210.

                                                 Cookies and Cream Frappe, P170.

Iced Cappuccino, P140.

Counter

Menu

In and around SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant

Cribs all around that make group gatherings and hanging out 
more intimate and fun 

The wall at the corridor where the wash area is

The door that opens to SHP Bibimbab at the Second Floor, 

Mervin Terraces Building, 980 Pablo Ocampo St., Malate, Manila

We came to eating, but of course, but still in between taking pictures. Tee-hee. My son was all praises for the clubhouse sandwich. It took him just one bite to declare his love for it and announced wanting to come back here to have this sandwich again. Just look at those thick fillings of ham, tuna, fried egg and veggies and you're sure 

they don't scrimp around here.  

I loved the bibimbap (bibimbab is what it's called here), too, though I would have wanted it with more sesame oil flavor like the one I'm used to eating some place else. I wondered if the Bulgogi Bibimbap would be more to my liking. I liked, though, that at SHP, bibimbap doesn't come with a sunny side up egg at the center but with scrambled and shredded fried egg on the side. Weird as it may, but I leave the 

sunny side up fried egg whenever I eat bibimbap. 

Anyway, I was all praises for my Iced Cappuccino, which had a robust espresso taste that dominated over the milk. That's how I like having my coffee - strong but not too much as to give me a heartburn. My son also loved his Cookies and Cream frappe though I shuddered over its price tag. Haha! After eating, we had time to linger for some 30 more minutes before going to the CCP so we just hanged out to chatter and play games in our cellphone. Wi-fi is available here, by the way, but I didn't bother to ask for the password because my favorite game has been downloaded on my cellphone.

Well, it was a lovely stay in this lovely cafe. The place is obviously quite old and the water pipes sticking out of the ceiling, that I cropped out of my pictures, could be an eyesore (In my humble opinion, they suit industrial-themed interiors but not a girly place with a country design). But the cribs, decors, trimmings and wall art plus the teddy bears all successfully made the interiors pretty and inviting for hours of lounging. 

Visit SHP Bibimbab Cafe & Restaurant one of these days, folks, and find out for yourselves why this cafe is a crowd-drawer, especially among students.

Happy eating!

Bibimbap and some more at Rock & Seoul

Though I eat Korean food once in a while, I'm not particularly fond of this cuisine and I don't go the extra mile to get it, as I would do for my favorites. And so it came as a surprise to myself that I suddenly had a bad craving for the Korean mixed rice dish called Bibimbap. So bad, yes, that I ate Bibimbap three times last week! Two of those times were in one and the same restaurant at the SM San Lazaro in Manila, and the other at Rock & Seoul, which I decided to blog about first.

Rock & Seoul at The Block of the SM North Edsa is so much different from all the other Korean restaurants I've been to, which all have a somewhat formal setting and ambiance. In contrast, Rock & Seoul has a unique, fun and modern concept, as shown in its unconventional menu and bright, colorful store design. The main entrée is Bibimbap, but with some innovative variations. They have World Baps - international food served Bibimbap-style. Imagine having American breakfast or salpicao, or tacos.. even shawarma, assembled on a bowl the way they do bibimbap. 
Meanwhile, the store itself makes one feel young and vibrant with the dominance of red and blue colors on a white background and the use of bright lights. There's a feeling of nostalgia, however, evoked by some music-themed antiquated items that are placed on a shelf on one side of the store such as vinyl records and a turntable 
and cassette tape player plus some album jackets.

Anyway, I had three friends in tow and these were our orders:

Bibimbap original, P190.

Pork salpicao bibimbap, P245. 

Beef bulgogi bibimbap, P245.

                                                              Spicy silken tofu, P160.

Dalandan juice, iced tea

                                                                           Menu

                                                                Inside Rock & Seoul

                                         Rock music-themed wall display

Cute t-shirts on display, possibly for sale 

Rock & Seoul at the ground floor of The Block, SM North Edsa

I could only share about how my Bibimbap was as I didn't get to taste my friends' orders. I liked that there's a generous inclusion of a mixture of pork and beef to go well with the mounds of veggies - cucumber, carrots, bean sprouts and green leafies. There's an exciting cacophony of flavors that blended seamlessly from all these plus the bibimbap sauce but for me, it was the zing from the chili that was very dominant and I regretted asking for 'medium' level of hotness. I wished the rice wasn't drowned in the spicy sauce. In fact, I would been happier without any sauce. Also, I thought that I would have liked my Bibimbap better if the veggies were sliced smaller than they were. Anyway, I asked my dining mates how their order was and 
they gave me the thumbs up. All orders of Bibimbap came with a side dish of Kimchi but unfortunately, it was made too salty on that day, and the server apologized for our small misfortune. Apology accepted 'cause there was 
nothing we could do about it. Hehe.. 

But all in all, we had a good first time at Rock & Seoul and found this place worth coming back for. For my next time, I want to try their World Baps, 
especially the Mexican Taco and Shawarma.

Rock & Seoul is worth a trip, folks! Hope to see you there!

Happy eating!

NOTE: This place has been permanently closed