6.136 TEKREM 32 + 33 : Twin Brothers

6.136

21 (Thu) May 2015

Haemul Pa Jeon

2.25

at Brothers

-Ermita, Manila-

with KD, MG

TEKREM (Try Every Korean Restaurant in Ermita/Malate). So long as I’m currently living in Ermita/Malate, a pair of neighborhoods that together constitute central Manila’s closest thing to a Koreatown, and while GMTD was never intended to be a Korean food blog but kinda is, I may as well attempt to eat at all the Korean eateries in the area, including those serving Korean-Chinese fare, and review them here.  Currently 44 known establishments.  Though doubting the discovery of any gems–in fact, I anticipate that most of the places will be similarly mediocre–the project should be interesting, if only in giving me a reason to get out and explore more of my environment.

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Brothers is a Korean pub cum karaoke bar (private rooms off to the side).
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Located on the 2nd floor of Bayview Malate, same building as Jinsiang, across the street from Go! Kizip and Hwangso Makchang.

The following tiers (“Would I go back for more?”) relate to the overall dining experience, including all the dishes sampled, cost, ambiance, cleanliness, and any other factors that may apply, cumulative through multiple visits (if any).

Tier 1 (looking forward to return visit):

Tier 2 (okay, but not enthusiastically):

Tier 3 (only under dire circumstances):

Tier 4 (to be avoided no matter what):

^ no longer in business

! an emerging theme, not-so-surprising, is that the restaurants with on-site Korean management tend to demonstrate closer authenticity, though not necessarily higher quality

33 down, 11 to go.

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The occasion was an informal farewell party for KD.

Along with MG, the three of us constituted the Regional Office’s first “legal team.”  I definitely need permanent staff.

The first venue was Brothers (get it?).

The haemul pa jeon was mediocre.

After the one dish — nothing to inspire confidence that other dishes would be any better — we went elsewhere for Round 2.

* * * *

2 (Sat) May 2015

Sundudujjigye

2.25

at Ssangdungi Restaurant

-Ermita, Manila-

solo

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Ssangdungi is a Korean restaurant, located on the 2nd floor of the Gedisco Centre building; while the name was changed to “Neulpureun (evergreen)” upon change of ownership years back, the original name of the place means “twins,” which remains on the outer signage.
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Loans available next door, conveniently.
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Each table, different from the rest,

This is the 6th post to cover two restaurants from different dates, one for lunch, the other for anju.  I will do this whenever possible to accelerate the completion of TEKREM.

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Most soup+rice combos, a bit cheaper than the standard 300 PHP price point.
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Yes, please inform the customer when rice must be ordered separately (see for comparison post on KP2 above).

The masochistically gluttonous “Try Every” series: (i) TERRP (…Restaurant in Robinsons Place) (see completed 5.247 TERRP 85 KFC : Original Recipe Fried Chicken…);  (ii) TEITY (..Item at Tao Yuan) (see completed 6.095 DONE); (iii) TERNWPPD (…Restaurant in New World, Pan-Pacific, Diamond) (see completed 6.081 Lobster, Baby.); (iv) TERSK (…Restaurant in St Kilda) (see completed 5.339 Roasted Squid); (v) TEKREM (…Korean Restaurant in Ermita/Malate) (see most recently 6.117 The King Is With Sincerity…); (vi) TEIBR (…Item at Bistro Remedios) (see most recently 6.070 Chicken and Pork Adobo).

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Meh.

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