6.056

2 (Mon) March 2015

Ojingeo Bokkeum

2.5

at Jang Chung Dong

-Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with TL

Try Every Korean Restaurant in Ermita and Malate (20) (see all posts on TEKREM)

Surveying the Korean eateries, including those serving Korean-Chinese fare, located in the neighborhoods of Ermita and Malate, nearby work and home.  Minimum of 1 dish per place.  Currently 45 establishments.  Though anticipating that most of the places will be mediocre, I look forward to exploring more of my environment.

Jang Chung Dong is a Korean restaurant.  According to the signage, it would claim to specialize in jokbal (pig’s feet).  The name refers to a neighborhood in Seoul, nearby Dongdaemun, which has a string of popular jokbal restaurants.  In addition, the menu includes the typical range of standards.

Beyond the standards, the menu offers several dishes that aren’t that common to this neighborhood, such as the Won Dak Hanmari (whole chicken hotpot).

Given the opportunity to expand my culinary horizons, I should’ve tried something different – like pig’s feet, which I’ve only tasted once in my life, by accident – but TL wasn’t in the mood to experiment, so we stuck to the standards.

The Ojingeo Bokkeum was okay.  Reasonably fresh squid, well-balanced flavors, though nothing particularly outstanding.  The only complaint would be that the portion was too big and too pricy – 700 pesos (about $18) would be expensive even in Korea.

* * * *

7 (Sat) Mar 2015

Cabbage Hangover Soup

at Chung Ki Wa

-Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

solo

Try Every Korean Restaurant in Ermita and Malate (21) (see all posts on TEKREM)

This post covers two restaurants, same dish, different dates.  I will do this more often to accelerate the completion of TEKREM.

Chung Ki Wa is a Korean restaurant.  Mainstream fare across the board.

Not expecting much, I went there on my own for lunch.

The Cabbage Hangover Soup was excellent.  Whereas soups like this tend to be best at specialty establishments that do nothing but, because of the time/effort/expertise required, the one here was made upon order and yet suspiciously good – maybe prepared in large batches and frozen in individual portions? loads of MSG?  Rich bean paste broth with deep beef flavor, appropriately spicy.  A tad salty, but okay with rice.  Even the slices of beef were tender and delicious.  Good stuff.  Makes me want to go back to try other items.

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN PHILIPPINES)