6.168 Battle Octopus

6.168

22 (Mon) June 2015

Chu Sam

1.25

at Sin ChuKuMi

-Malate, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

with RK

Try Every Korean Restaurant in Ermita and Malate (36) (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.

Sin ChuKuMi is a Korean restaurant. Specializes in spicy stir-fried octopus.

Whereas the vast majority of Korean restaurants outside of Korea try to cover everything, this place actually specializes in a single dish.

NalChiAl JuMukBap (3.5): these “fish eggs Onigiri” were very good, delicately seasoned, surprisingly sophisticated for this part of town.

We ordered YachaeSari (extra vegetables), but the basic order came with quite a bit.

The food was okayish. Both the mini octopus (jjuggumi = “chukumi” = “chu”) and pork belly (samgyeopsal = “sam”), as well as the bean sprouts and cabbage, were reasonably fresh and tasty per se. However, the sauce was so spicy that the fumes made me wince. I had to rinse every bite thoroughly in water before putting it in my mouth, leaving it largely flavorless, but still too spicy, which accounts for the low rating. I should note that “sin” = “spicy.” If they offered a less spicy version, I might consider a repeat visit, especially for those rice balls. Oh well.

* * * *

4 (Mon) May 2015

Jo-Bang Nakgi

1.5

from Jo-Bang Nakgi

in my apartment

-Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines-

solo

Try Every Korean Restaurant in Ermita and Malate (37) (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.

More than 2 teams of customers, a rarity in this neighborhood.

Jo-Bang Nakgi is a Korean restaurant. Specializes in spicy stir-fried octopus.

Nak-Gop (4th from the top), a curious combination of baby octopus (nakji = “nak”) and pig intestine (gopchang = “gop”).

The food, meh. Though rated marginally higher than above, only because the heat level was relatively tolerable, I found the dish to be entirely forgettable. Whatever.