a bite of brownie

Festival Mall has long since started its own makeover by adding more wings around their new activity center. There’s a long way to go to fill those new stalls but restaurants are slowly opening its doors to customers. The Cook by Hongleepark, a fusion restaurant (Italian-Korean), is one of those. I was with my parents then and we decided to eat here for lunch.

The restaurant was divided into 2 sections. On the right was The Cook and on the left was Ho Bing (hey, isn’t this the 1st review I ever did here?!). Since my parents already dined here recently (and they liked it), I chose the dishes they didn’t order so they could compare. I ordered the Seafood Tomato Spaghetti and their Bulgogi Pizza, so we could really scream Italian-Korean fusion! LOL just 2 dishes because the servings are good for 2-3 persons.

The spaghetti was served on a steel serving pan, pretty much giving off the Korean feel right away. I like the presentation, the pasta was swirled and on a heap at the middle and the garlicky squid, shrimp, and clams scattered around it. The seafood wasn’t overcooked, which is great. The pasta wasn’t al dente and the sauce was ok, nothing that will make you jump off your seat. The pizza I liked better. The dough was just the right thickness. Toppings were marinated bulgogi, bell peppers, and cheese.

Verdict: 2/5
Getting a 2 for the 2 dishes they served us. Excellent customer service, the crew was very courteous and helpful and always asked if we wanted refills of their pickled veggies sides. A downside to this place was their soaring high prices and even higher service charge. The disclaimer said the a la carte dishes serve 2-3 persons. We’re not really huge eaters, but I thought they were a little small for their price.

I’ve (not) recently reviewed a similar restaurant before that served bingsu, page here. And just that we’re clear, I am rating this restaurant against that one. So here goes. Welcome to Ice Flower!

Apart from a family of 4 near the snow machine (yes, they have this makeshift playground that has a snow machine where children can play, just children, boo!), I was the only customer inside the restaurant. There was a very serious looking Korean guy sitting on one of the tables where his laptop and phone were on display. Later on, I would determine he’s the owner because he inspected my bingsu before I was called (they have that buzzer thing) and reprimanded the employees when I had gone back to my table.

The chairs and tables were of mismatched colors and forms while the walls were just smoothened cement perhaps to accentuate the seats and tables to full effect? But honestly, the vibe was quite sad, unlike other bingsu shops you might have visited. Maybe it just looked a little unfinished. Or I didn’t get the concept haha!

Going back to my dessert, I realized I ordered the wrong size because when I looked up at their menu, right after the Mango Cheesecake, the prices for S M L sizes were written neatly, and at the very end, came the cheapest price and it read Cup. I ordered the small bingsu but found it really huge for someone who recently had a heavy lunch. Anyway, that’s a note for future visits. The bingsu came with the standard shaved milk ice, a little on the sour side mango bits, melt in your mouth cheesecake cubes, sliced almonds, and the mango sauce drizzle of course. It tasted just right and they gave me an extra small cup of milk for my perusal in case I needed it to be more milky or sweeter.

Verdict: 2/5
Presentation was so-so, I had better! My favorite part was the cheesecake, it was so yummy, I had to stop myself from asking more of that instead of the milk LOL the ambience of the shop could be improved, that goes without saying, and maybe have the owner smile a little, to attract more customers, no?

As soon as I finished the last class of the day, my sister picked me up from school in and had us both visit this fairly new restaurant located within walking distance from Cebu Doctors’ Hospital. It was an open-air restaurant with several tables and chairs for their patrons.

after a hike at rancho san antonio, i joined the hiking group for some korean lunch at this place. it was recommended by one of the hikers. she said it's the only good korean restaurant around that area. a sample of seven different korean side dishes were served. i only liked the fish strips and kimchi. tofu soup with beef and clams was also served. it was fine, not remarkable. i got the bbq beef and vegetables with fried egg over rice bowl. the beef wasn't tasty. the korean air bibimbop even beats this restaurant's bibimbop. two of my companions ordered bbq pork. they both hated it since it had a lot of fatty cuts. the rest of the group ordered bibimbob in stoneware. i didn't hear them say good things about their orders.

Verdict: 1/5 (it's possible their soft tofu dishes are their specialty. it's a tofu house after all!)

SGD Tofu House
3450 El Camino Real #105
Santa Clara, CA 95051

I remember the time when Korean restaurants were scarce here in Cebu and there were only a handful of places where you'd see Koreans out and about. But now, almost everywhere you go you'd see them parading themselves like ants on a line.

The good thing about it is that, if there are more Koreans in the area, then that would mean that there are Korean restaurants nearby. And if what I think is right, that would mean that there would be All-you-can-eat Samgyupsal!

I'm fond of it because for an average price of 300, you could eat all the meat you want, that already comes with several refillable side dishes. That totally rocks, a value for our money deal.

Anyway, my family decided to visit the place after our favorite Korean dining place closed permanently. We were greeted by the all too familiar smoke from the grilling meat. It was strange to walk inside a slightly slippery floor, maybe the owner forgot to mop the place or maybe I just have oiled  shoes?

We were seated by a rather cheerful waitress who was quite patient with us even though we had her going back and forth the kitchen. The side dish for the day was pickled bean sprouts, kimchi, pickled cabbage, lettuce leaves to wrap the meat with, the mandatory bowls of soup. and one serving of rice per person.
The meal ended with us having had at least six plates of sliced meat, happy faces, and bloated bellies. It was a pleasant enough place, and the Korean lady owner was polite enough.


Hong's Family Korean Restaurant
IT park Lahug


Verdict:
A: 3/5

I'm quite confused why they have air conditioning when the whole place has smoke from all the grilling. The place seems okay.

they say that if you ever visit los angeles, you shouldn't miss stopping by at any korean bbq all you can eat resto. not only is it cheap but the quality and variety of meat is impressive. the resto we picked didn't have a very decent sign from outside. a very loud music was also booming from outside that will make anyone deaf. i guess it's the restaurant's way to advertise itself through loud and distracting music. we waited around fifteen minutes before we got a table considering it was lunch time on a work day. we chose set c which had 16 options of meat, the most options of meat they had for $15.99. the bad thing i didn't like about this place is customers are limited to 4 meats per order. we probably ordered almost all in their menu except for three items. 

1. Beef Brisket
2. Sliced Pork
3. Chicken with marinate
4. Pork Chop with marinate
5. Sliced Beef with marinate
6. Squid with marinate
7. Beef Intestine
8. Sliced Beef
9. Pork Steak
10. Spicy Sliced Pork
11. Beef Tongue
12. Skewer Fresh Steak
13. Boneless Ribs
14. LA Short Ribs
15. Shrimp with marinate
16. Boneless Ribs with marinate

the beef brisket was like bacon. i like it the most maybe because it was so easy to eat. i enjoyed the squid and shrimp too. the sliced pork, boneless ribs and steak were good too. after our last order, i felt i had too much already that it was difficult for me to finish the food even though i barely touched my rice.

Castle II Korean BBQ
3600 Wilshire Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90010

Verdict: 4/5 (-1 for limiting customers to order 4 meats per batch) 

i had a long 12 hour layover from Cebu to US. it is not my first time to have this itinerary but the difference from my first time was it was summer season in Seoul. at that time, i did an impromptu city tour. i'll write a separate post for that interesting experience. this second time around, it's winter in Seoul and it's too cold to do sight-seeing outside. right after landing, i was greeted with beautiful photos of Korea along the walkway to transfer to connecting flight. the images showcase Korea and make me want to come back and visit Korea. after killing the time by sleeping, i got bored and started looking for something to do in the airport. i discovered its food court and had the traditional korean dish bibimbap.  it came with kimchi, quail's egg and squid, egg omelet and seaweed soup on the side. after the satisfying lunch, i walked some more and discovered the prayer room and airport's Korea Traditional Cultural Experience Center. i came across 2 of these centers in my long walk around the airport. this center offers a lot of free activities. i tried their phoenix magnet painting. you can choose painting a male or female phoenix and color it any colors you like. i painted both since i had a lot of time to kill. one can also paint a pencil holder or fan. while painting, live traditional korean performances are also showcased. i saw 3 different shows: 1) lady playing a guitar-like instrument while another lady sings, 2) lady playing a flute-like instrument, 3) walk of the royal family. Incheon has really set the bar for an international airport. it is not only clean and elegantly designed, it has these free Korean activities and shows that are educational and fun which make 12 hour layover feel like a breeze.


Verdict: 5/5

After the closure of our favorite all-you-can-eat restaurant at IT Park, my siblings and I decided to visit this quaint restaurant just beside AA's BBQ to see whether the place can live up to our expectations.

The place was packed, noisy, and teeming with Koreans and their dates. Smoke permeated the air as we were being seated at the final vacant booth of the restaurant the moment we arrived. Several waitresses were scurrying to and fro to attend to the needs of their customers, bringing food and drink to the respective tables. We had a few minutes to settle in and get ourselves comfortable after which we had a lovely attendant get us three orders of Chadolbaegi.

The neighboring booth housed several noisy patrons acting like they own the place with their voices at the top of their lungs. Surprisingly, those voices didn't belong to the Koreans in there, but from at least two Filipina women. Anyhow, no surprise there. I'm quite used to dealing with people like that so I shrug it off and avoid it from bothering me and my meal.


Verdict: 2/5

Dinner was okay, sub par for my tastes and the place is bit disorganized. They should install ventilation fans to dispel the smoke from the portable stoves they have or at least have fans all over.

The menu had a complete upgrade, increasing the number of items you could order in addition to their staple of chicken wings and drumsticks and kimchi coleslaw. Years from our first visit, they now had jap chae, fish taco, galbi jjim and a number of other chicken cuts available for sale. We had galbi jjim, combo meal with 6 wing parts and 3 drumsticks and drinks.

The taste was still the same from when I remember it, although this time, the soy garlic flavor wins thanks to its more complex taste as opposed to the mild spice the other flavor offered. The galbi's meat was a little too sweet for my taste too. The kimchi coleslaw was too watery and had a more dominant mayo over the kimchi feel.

Advertised as one of the earliest smokeless grills in town, Yugo is a fairly new restaurant that boast its assortment of dishes from three neighboring cuisines, namely Korean, Japanese and Chinese cuisines. The assortment is astounding, and the choice combinations are almost near infinite..The place is spacious and there seemed to be enough legroom for everybody!
The secret to their process of eliminating smoke from the grill is to have a ready made suction device that absorbs all unpleasant fumes. t'was a very fun evening with my siblings and my sister's workforce..

Yugo
IT Park Lahug


Verdict:: 3/5
With so many grill restaurants soon, you really do have to innovate to survive thje market and the competition. Good work on thinking all three cuisines in one.

We came upon this korean-themed restaurant in IT park one fine evening after gym and decided to try why many people opt for this restaurant. The interiors looked cozy enough and even the atmosphere was pleasant enough.

Oh boy, how wrong we were...

As I've said, the place from the outside looked pleasing to the eyes. As we were seated, we were attended to by this young lady in her late 20s. From the name of the restaurant itself, we were ready to acknowledge that the house specializes in, drum roll please, no other than chicken.

And of course, local and imported beer. The food wasn't much, definitely not a place you should go to if you're looking for a quiet place to unwind and enjoy the evening's meal with fellow friends and workers. The food here is over priced, not to mention the poor service where the servers stood there idly in a corner, talking to each other. The Crispy Pork Leg took forever to arrive, and the kimchi was too sour. The sisig was ok, but that's that.


Chicken And Beer 
Asiatown IT Park, Lahug (Padriga St.)

Verdict:
2.5/5

Not very satisfactory. Perhaps if I were out to get a drink, sure. But otherwise, no.

From the outside, Harubang is a peaceful place that offers a number of korean dishes anyone can sample. It doesn't disappoint though, not to mention the affordability and the satisfaction you can get from your dining experience. We arrived around 6:30 in the evening and was seated in one of the few available tables since several other spaces were occupied by groups of merrymaking Koreans.

Other than the noise that they made, we were satisfied by the all you can eat beef short plate that all three of us (my sister, my brother and myself) enjoyed. Surprisingly, it is much cheaper than the cost of the food in Chosun Galbi, the korean resto house we frequent. Perhaps we just visited at a wrong time.

They didn't have that cold noodle that I enjoy quite a lot however. :(


Harubang
IT Park Lahug

Verdict:
A: 3/5

The food is great, but I can't dine in peace with that much noise. It brings down the ambiance that you're paying for, especially if you're used to little noise when you're eating.

Chicken bonchon

Chicken Bonchon
Ayala Triangle Makati



Verdict:
A: 2.5/5

Price is definitely outrageous. If it werent for the sidings I wouldn't be thrilled at all. There are other local and cheaper priced chicken stores out there (in Cebu and makati) and this store isnt one of them. The clerks promised steak cut fries but was given thin ones. Kudos for the kimchi coleslaws and fermented radish though!