Eats: Bulgogi BBQ House

By Elie - 5:00 AM

If you don't already know, I eat a lot. Maybe not in portions but in frequencies. I tend to nibble on little things, get full then get hungry a lot quicker than expected so I'm always on a look out for food and more often than not- new places. There's lots of eats available at The Strand really and I've reviewed 3 of them to date and today's review will top it up to 4.

Winter Lover Bakery House

Dreamz Bakery

Crossed-Legged Cafe

As the title suggests, I'm going to talk about Bulgogi BBQ House at The Strand. It is a little corner shop just opposite of Mynews.com and along the same row as Jojo Pan Mee so it's pretty hard to miss even in the dark. Plus the place is quite well lit albeit the fact that the road is not. My apologies however that I didn't get a good picture of the shop front; the road was really dark and all I wanted was to know I'm safe in a bright shop amongst a good crowd of people.

The outlook.

Picture credits to: Bulgogi BBQ House

And a side profile.

Picture credits to: Bulgogi BBQ House

Mum and I have actually been meaning to visit a few times back when I brought her to The Strand but we somehow swerved away to other ideas most of the time. Last night however, we made it out of curiosity and a clear mind to what we want to chow down. The insides of Bulgogi BBQ House is simple, a few tables, some chairs and the good old smoke hoods that hangs off the ceiling for those who prefer a smoky affair.

Can you see them dangling smoke hoods?

Oddly sad masks adorns the walls.

And some really pretty art is used to decorate the lower side of the wall.

My first thought of the place was that it had a homey feel to it; one that makes you quite comfortable to be in. I trust the owner is a true Korean because she was speaking to her foreign workers in Korean. Did they understand the language though? Or did they all get to learn it while working there? Whatever it is, the staff were extremely smiley and always seemed to be pacing up and down to serve, to jot down orders and to give everyone a pleasant experience in the restaurant. A plus point, I must say. But of course, it's the food that matters right? So read on.

Corn tea @ RM 2.50 a glass.

I've heard of green tea, roasted rice tea and other sorts of flavoured tea but never have I chanced upon a glass of "corn tea" before and I thought, "Why not give it a try? It's the cheapest drink on the menu chinese dou sei." Mum and I shared a glass of course because we already figured we'll be bloated from dinner and we thought it was a good call. The tea is fairly aromatic, not sweetened and quite a good top off to our meal by the end of the day. Plus that's a lot of tea for RM 2.50!

Goonmandu (Pan Fried Pork Dumplings) @ RM 9.90 for 5 pieces

Star of the night, hands down. I've always been a good fan of pan fried dumplings be it cooked the Japanese way, Chinese way or Korean way. Seriously, I will chow it down ANYWAY. Geddit? Okay never mind. These dumplings are all filled to the brim with pork, scallions and numerous other "healthy" vege-ish stuff that I cannot make out in flavours but it is just the bomb. Every bite was juicy, just of the right crispy consistency and most importantly, it didn't have the extremely flour-y taste. Don't skimp on this if you're at Bulgogi BBQ House. It's a definite must-order. MUST.

Sundubu Jjigae (Soft tofu stew) @ RM 14.90

We broke off from the norm of ordering Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi stew) and opted for the sundubu jjigae this time around. I thought it really wasn't tasty enough, possibly because I expected a more flavourful broth. But I can't quite complain, we did pick out the one with veggie tofu so it probably got toned down a lot. You could also pick out chicken or pork as an ingredient for the same price or hike it up a little with pork belly for RM 15.90 or even pick beef or seafood for RM 16.90. Each order comes with a serving of rice.

Side dishes consisted of fried egg, kimchi and cold vege. The regulars right?

I took this shot because I thought the pot idea was cute.

Mum says she's seen it in Daiso hahaha!

Topokki (Chilli Rice Cakes) @ RM 9.90

I've always wanted to try topokki but on a regular day, we would always order too much rice or noodles that this just doesn't flash through our minds. So I made a mental note before we got there that I must get topokki regardless and so topokki we got. The topokki at Bulogi BBQ House was unfortunately a little too stiff with a not-chewy-enough texture and the sauce was simply far too sweet to eat without mixing it with rice. Mum and I had a hard time finishing this and gave up in the end anyway. If only it weren't so sweet and they made it a little softer. I was vastly disappointed.

Watermelon slices and Korean mint candies.

The usual flair for after-meal offerings from the restaurant. I have to say the Korean mint candy was really good though. I was initially really wary of what it was because it came in such an odd shape plus it was just...white. Like what is this weird thing? So you see, looks can be deceiving. Don't trust looks.

My overall say about Bulgogi BBQ House is that it's really just another ordinary Korean restaurant although the pan fried dumplings were quite good. Maybe I'll just drop by for the dumplings alone. The meal was reasonably billed at RM 40.90 for whatever we've ordered but a re-visit wouldn't be promised. Meats for grilling are priced at RM 25 per plate on selected variants of meat while set meals are also available for those looking into the value-for-money factor. This place could be good for big groups but for two, there's only so much you can eat.

Bulgogi BBQ House

12A, GF, PJU 5/20B,

The Strand, Kota Damansara

Open daily from 11.30 AM - 10.30 PM. Last call for food and beverages is at 9.45 PM.

Tel: 603 - 6142 7088

NON-HALAL

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Random rant from this dinner: Parents with children below the age of 7 ought to bring muzzles if their children are prone to screaming in an extremely high pitch. I'm not even kidding, it was such a nightmare to be seated next to this family in which the child did nothing but scream, scream and scream. Okay maybe he (Or she? I don't know, the kid had really long hair and didn't have very gender distinctive traits) did in the process of screaming, run around the WHOLE restaurant for a while, leaving the mother to abandon everything she had on the chairs including her handbag, Instax and phone while the father walked out to some place- I don't know where.

He (Let's just say he okay?) also dropped the father's phone numerous times, resulting in the father (Who finally came back from his sudden disappearance) taking it away and then...BAM THE SCREAMING STARTS. Good God, if that was my child I would sit him down, slap him a few times and attach a freaking muzzle to him. I mean, seriously. Can you please discipline your child before bringing him out of the house? I cannot imagine the ruckus of being your neighbour if that's how he acts outside of home. I cringed; obviously not hiding it from the couple and shot them angry stares. I am just not afraid to show you that I am disgusted about your child's attitude and your incapability to educate him. I can be patient with one scream but on a continuous and ridiculous feat? Just...no.

I'm so glad the family left after I ordered my food (Either from embarrassment or they were done with their meal anyway) otherwise I really would have just walked out the door OR offered to sit their child down, slap and muzzle their child. And yes, I am referring to the same thing people use to stop dogs from barking. Kids who have no discipline and scream in mad high pitched voices out of nothing deserve to have that over their heads and covering their mouths. And I am not even kidding. I will muzzle your child. *Glares angrily* Super mood kill before dinner.