Annyeong-haseyo everyone!
Deciding on a place to enjoy your meal can be a difficult task to do,
especially when you’re at around the Ampang area looking for good Korean
restaurants to dine. You see that there are
close to around 20 Korean restaurants and you would be wondering which one to
choose.
Fret no more as there’s this little Korean restaurant called Jal-Dae-Ji located
just around the corner at One Ampang Business Avenue
serving traditional and authentic Korean dishes. A popular dining place for the
mostly Koreans that staying around this area, you know this must be the right place to eat.
Mr.Lee, the owner of the restaurant which is a chef himself too, truly is a man passionate of his roots. With 10 years of experience of running a food business in his homeland, he migrated to Malaysia 4 years ago to open up a Korean restaurant here. He told us that all his secret recipes are so well guarded that even his wife has non knowledge of. He does not compromise on the quality nor change his cooking style to suit the locals taste.
Jal-Dae-Ji serves a menu of authentic Korean culinary ranging selection of dishes to please all tastes. You will be spoilt for choice with a menu comprising of BBQ dishes, hot stone pot, rice, noodles, pancakes, side dishes and even the famous ginseng chicken soup too.
You can never miss this restaurant as there’s a structure of a cute looking gigantic mushroom at the entrance.
Tatami-style seating compliments alongside the oriental design wall
paper. Comfortable seating of 10 pax per table, it provides a private and
intimate dining space for family and friends.
The spanking clean and shiny Hot Plate ready for grilling.
A must have for any type of
BBQ meal. Fresh greens: Crunchy lettuce is my favourite vegetable to eat with
BBQ meat.
Combination of condiments includes specially made dipping sauce for the Dwae Ji Galbi (BBQ Pork) to be enjoyed by wrapping it with lettuce and slice garlic with a touch of the Korean Soybean paste (Miso).
Mr Lee uses this special clay pot to grill the BBQ meats prior to
serving. This wonderful clay pot made of red clay is used to ‘burn off’ any
fatty part of the meat while preserving the tenderness of the meat.
Dak Galbi is the boneless chicken meat that was marinated for a day with Chef’s
very own 40 years secret recipe.
Yong Yang Galbi is the savoury marinated beef renowned for its marbling
characteristics.
Daew Ji Galbi is the fresh pork marinated to perfection with special in
house secret sauce.
The restaurant worker works his expert hand to grill the marinated meat
for us. I wonder whether this is a special service to all patrons or only for
us that night. Anyway, he done it effortless and in a jiffy, we were served
with a palate of juicy, smoky and succulent BBQ meat.
Once seated in a Korean restaurant, you will be served with at least 8 to 10 small bowls of side dishes around the hot plate. Banchan as it’s called in Korean usually consists of (must have) Kimchi & burdock with Korean dressing, radish and potatoes among others. That night we were served with some cauliflower, broccoli, french beans, radishes, potatoes, preserved vegetable (mui choy), fish cakes and steamed egg.
According to Mr.Lee, they change the banchan menu on a daily basis and
patrons can be assured that they will be different side dishes everyday.
Banchan is refillable at all Korean restaurants, by the way. Mr.Lee was not too
happy when sometimes large group of customers comes to his restaurant just to
eat the banchan only; finishing them at
super speed and only order a few of the main dishes.
Amazing Gochujang
Samgyeopsal (Pork Belly)
I have to say that this is the most heavenly barbeque dish I ever tasted. It
was bursting with flavours and tender texture was infused with a savoury, smoky
flavour. Well marinated, the sauce flavour penetrated fully into the meat,
making it one of the best around. In fact, it was so well grilled that I did
not taste the fat layer in the meat. And for that, it gets a double
thumbs up from me!
Tangy & Piquant Salad Mix
It is made up of julienne spring onions with parsley mixed with a sourish sauce. Refreshingly tasty, it really goes well and complements the BBQ meat. On top of that, Mr.Lee was proud to say that his restaurant is the 1st to serve this very special salad in any Korean restaurant.
One of the reason why I like reviewing food is the personal attention we
received from the owner all the time. This time is no exception, the gracious
Mr Lee took the time to educate us on his culture and tradition of dining in
the true Korean style. He taught us how to savour the meat.
Firstly, Koreans take the first
taste/bite of the meat on its own without the wrapping or sauces, so that you
can taste the flavour of the freshly grilled meat.
The second time, it should only be strictly wrapped in the lettuce only
without any condiments. With this, we can experience an entire different
texture and flavour in the mouth.
Finally, for the third time … we should savour the BBQ meat by wrapping
it with lettuce and top it up with the mix salad, a slice of garlic together
with a touch of the Korean soybean paste. You can dip the BBQ pork with the
light sauce too before wrapping it too. In this way, we get to experience
various colours, textures and flavours with just a single dish.
Oh, by the way Koreans usually do not eat their BBQ meat with rice!
One of the other dishes that were recommended by Mr Lee was the Bulgogi (Grilled Marinated Beef). During my last visit to Seoul, Korea, I have the opportunity to try out this dish for the 1st time at a popular outlet there called the ‘Bulgogi Brothers’. It was so good that I long to eat it again after coming back to Malaysia.
A Korean marinated beef dish is traditionally served with rice and
kimchi. Thin slice of sirloin or other prime cuts of beef is marinated to
enhance its flavour and tenderness with mixture of sauces and other ingredients
such as scallions, ginger, onions or mushrooms. Cooked with some soo hoon
noodles, this is a perfect dish to eat with some rice and kimchi by wrapping up
in lettuce.
Remember it’s polite in Korea
not to bite into your bulgogi parcel/wrap. Most Koreans will eat in in one
bite.
Next on the menu is the Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Scallion Pancake). This
is the Korean style pancake served with home made sauce is a widely loved snack
in Korea.
A harmony of seafood, onions, red and green capsicum and flavourful batter
creates a delicious pancake to die for. If you enjoy eating Chinese pancake,
I’m sure you will love tasty appetizer too!
Tteokbokki is a Korean spicy rice cake. A popular Korean snack food made from soft rice cake and sweet red chilli sauce. I’m not a fan of this dish as I find the texture of the rice cake too chewy to eat. Besides, the spicy sauce was not up to my liking too. As a true Malaysian, I still prefer to eat our own ‘chee cheong fun’ with the brown sweet sauce instead.
All time favourite & famous Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean
side dish made of vegetable with variety of seasoning.
Bibim Guksu (Stirred Noodles) is a one of the most popular traditional
Korean noodle dish. Served cold made out of very thin wheat flour noodles mixed
in a sweet and sour gochujang sauce (spicy bean paste) along with thinly sliced crisp fresh
vegetable.
Our dinner ended with a photo session with the hospitable Mr.Lee (in the centre)
Overall, what I like about this restaurant and the dishes they served
was its pure simplicity. The original flavour is Mr Lee’s secret to attracting customers
who crave for Korean culinary treats. He conveys a lifelong passion in serving
the freshest and finest Korean food, and something I believe he is truly proud of.
Bring your family and friends along for am amazing Korean experience that
should not be missed!
By the way, Mr. Lee, the chef cum owner helms the kitchen only on Monday. So
you looking forward his home cooked style of Korean cuisine, kindly make your
way there on that day of the week.
Diners on weekends can be rather packed, so remember to call for reservation
if you do not want to be left disappointed while waiting for your seat being
hungry plus angry!
Korean BBQ Korean Restaurant
Jal-Dae-Ji
B4-1 One Ampang Business Avenue
Jalan Ampang Utama 2/2
Kuala Lumpur.
Tel :03- 4251 1360 / 016- 605 4510
