Photo Credit:
Carlos Palma of Foodie Manila
(Those watermarked are from FoodieManila obviously 🙂 while the rest are mine)
The advent of a little Korea has dawned ever since Korean population in the Philippines has grown enormously. Other than really good and sweet ice cream in their Korean stores, something to look forward to is dining at the authentic Korean restaurants.
April 21, Wednesday evening, the “Foodie Club” members meet once again for another gastronomic adventure. Pick of the week was from Richard Co’s suggestion –Minato. Among a dozen of Korean restaurants that populate the Ortigas area, Minato along Escriva Drive is supposed to be one of the best. This particular Korean restaurant we visited before also caught our eye but Minato caught our Korean taste bud that we had to return three days immediately after the first official introduction.
The group that huddled in the “no-shoes” area of the 2-part dining room comprised happy foodies like Richard and wife Irene, Rowena Wendy and husband Peter, Abet and wife Joan, Carlos a.k.a Zippy, and Bubba and I. As we enter the low table area, I suddenly remembered that I’ve eaten here once or twice before when Korean channel affiliates bring us over for a lunch meeting. It’s quite different though when you’re dining casually with foodie friends, definitely more relaxed and enjoyable –with audible moments of laughter and appreciation of good food.
On the Table
Free Side Dishes
The smorgasbord of side dishes includes Kimchi as the most recognized Korean preserved appetizer, spiced green vegetables, peanuts, bean sprouts, marbled potatoes among a variety of other side accompaniments.
Korean Miso
A sip or two soothe the spice and then you’re ready for more…
Kimchi Pancake
I didn’t know that they serve it for free. I should have asked when I treated my parents here Sunday evening.
The Kimchi Pancake is oil-fried pancake with bits of beansprouts and cabbage flavored Kimchi-style. Bubba and I finished one Kimchi pancake by ourselves, while the other one on Carlo’s side was left untouched –to which Irene so thoughtfully and sweetly had wrapped to go for Bubba along with the kimchi soy bean paste that she amusingly noticed Bubba was tremendously enjoying. Irene was sitting across Bubba that’s why they were partners in food crime that dinnertime. She was also so attentive to everyone’s needs on the table, asking the wait staff for this and that and some special requests. The wait staff was eager to attend to the requests particularly Richard’s and Irene’s as they seem to be the favorite patrons there having visited the restaurant for approx. 20 times already in less than a year.
Richard and Irene share the same philosophy as Bubba and I of visiting the restaurants they like for multiple repeats.
Jok Bal PHP 390
It’s a Korean dish consisting of boneless pig trotters cooked in soy sauce and spices, sliced in a round shape with layer of meat, fat and skin. Jok Bal is boiled with leeks, garlic and ginger and Korean rice wine until tender. It is served with fermented shrimp sauce called saeujeot –imagine Filipino “bagoong” (shrimp paste) without the dark brown liquid, it’s actually dry and on the salty side that Irene loves.
Dak Gal Bi PHP 350
Char-grilled spicy chicken –marinated on the sweet and spicy note
Tempura PHP 390
Peter ordered Tempura because he claims to be restrained in eating shrimps at home since Wendy is allergic to it. When Richard asked if he liked the tempura, Peter straightforwardly said, “No.” –which made us roar in laughter. I guess it’s still safe to order Korean cuisine in Korean restaurants and leave what’s originally Japanese to their own.
So Kal Bi PHP 350
Marinated beef short ribs –has a shadow of sweetness, garlic and soy. It’s hard to restrain oneself from gnawing the large bones with charred meat.
Sam Gyeop Sal PHP 240
The plate had thick, fatty slices of pork belly (almost looks like uncured bacon) alternating meat and fat and then skin. Meat is left unseasoned and usually cooked on a grill at the diner’s table. In this case, the wait staff helped in cooking the pork belly slices. On the side, green onion leeks and lettuce are served in case you prefer to wrap your meat inside. Customize it and add different side dishes or Kimchi and dip in sesame oil with fine black pepper and salt for a perfect finish.
We were served free fresh pineapple slices that are creamy sweet. Despite a busy restaurant, we were served adequately with few instances where the wait staff had to be reminded. Bubba and I enjoyed Minato tremendously that we were still thinking about the grilled meats the next day.
After dinner, we headed out to Richard’s place in Astoria to check out his TV Room and his media gadgets that got the group ooh-ing and incline to get their own HD system and a portable 1TB media drive.
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Wendy and Richard even had a PS3 showdown. Ya Kun Kaya was our last stop for the night as we refreshed with cold drinks while the conversations continued until midnight. It couldn’t stop even at the parking lot like there’s more and more to talk about.
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The Minato dinner was superb. We had so much food on the table that it felt like it was a feast for the King! 😉
I couldn’t wait for the next one. Foodie Club UNITE! 🙂
Minato Korean Restaurant
Escriva Road (Between Furu Restaurant and Agua Vida),
Ortigas Center, Pasig City
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