Cycle 5 – Item 232

25 (Mon) August 2014

Woo Samgyup

3.5

at Bornga

-Bel-Air, Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with BJH, LKH

Bonga (본가) is a Korean chain restaurant.  Currently 41 locations throughout Korea, 20 branches overseas, including China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and now the Philippines.  Apparently, the official English spelling is “Bornga.”

The restaurant was once our family’s go-to neighborhood restaurant back home in Oksu.  Indeed, it’s the site of the blog’s very first post.  Over the years, we frequented the place less and less, for no particular reason, until eventually we stopped altogether.  Sadly, the Oksu branch has since shut down.

On the surface, everything about the place is quite slick. Best-looking menu that I’ve seen at a Korean restaurant in the Philippines.  The restaurant that we used to go to was much more down-to-earth.

The banchan were somewhat mediocre, but decent enough not to detract from the rest.

The “special vegetables” were the freshest, most vibrant spread of greens that I’ve encountered anywhere in the Philippines, maybe even better than the spread at the Oksu branch (see for example 3.273 Ssambap Jeongsik).

The woo samgyup was excellent, tender and flavorful, probably the best Korean-style beef that I’ve experienced anywhere in the Philippines.  For Korean BBQ, this is the place to beat.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)