Incidental “Threesomes” & The Korean BBQ Saga
January 23, 2011 | 15,514 views
The spread of delicious Korean dishes at Daorae; they should have ushered us to a bigger table earlier. They probably did not foresee the impending madness that ensued; food enough for 4-5 pax maybe?
Coincidentally, my first Daorae Korean BBQ experience was another ‘threesome’ at work. No, we did not participate in hot, sweaty and explicit physical exchanges (or union of bodies?). But one not-so-fat monkey and that cheeky gym rat carted this Motormouth off on an excursion to everywhere but the intended destination. Haha …. to imagine we were supposed to go for tea at FRIM in Kepong, only to change to Sumi-Ka for yakitori (ahem, and since they open from 6pm onwards, it does not make sense to camp and wait for half a day more?), and finally a brilliant contingency plan to shift to Mr Mak’s Fish Head Noodles at USJ.
But lo and behold, Kopitiam Que Up chose to be closed on a Saturday afternoon. How (in)convenient. And that after witnessing some reckless driver flying off the divider and crashing into the middle of the roundabout at Subang Jaya; causing the traffic to come to a standstill on most roads leading to and away from that spot.
And if you’ve been driving in Malaysia for long (Klang Valley especially), you can’t help but realize that our generic pastime/custom/tradition is to slow down whenever a mishap on the road happen, and either jot down the plate number, look and see whether you know the poor creatures, OR plain kay-poh-chee and look-look-see-see for the fun of it. Furthermore, punctuality has never been one of our forte to begin with.
Chew on some tongues and grilled raw garlic for that extra punch.
And so, after suffering the almost an hour’s ordeal of warping all around Subang Jaya without successfully feeding these 3 hollowed stomachs, we settled for Korean food at Daorae in Taipan USJ. Already in half-famine states, we rushed up the elevator (which was smelling like some sweat socks …. I did not coin this, the Monkey did!) and thanks-be-to-the-gastronomic-lord-from-above for Daorae’s operating in full swing that afternoon!
If you wanna test your patience, or run an anger management short course, try maneuvering your car around Taipan USJ. Alternatives include Damansara Uptown, Bangsar or SS2 during lunch hours.
But first, why the incidental ‘threesomeS’? Surprisingly, the first two posts on Korean BBQ were attended by a party of three; at Korean Yea Won in Ipoh – first visit with Jason and Citygal, then quite recently a farewell of sorts with KCA and TallGal.
Good selection of ban chan (side dishes) at Daorae; with nary a miss aside from the sweetened lotus roots and a very psychedelic pink dressing to go with some julienned cabbage!.
Wobbly, smooth and hearty egg custard arriving in a bowl. A counterpart to the Japanese’s chawan mushi, perhaps?
Woo-sel-goo-ee (RM48/USD16) – Delicious ox tongues grilled to a firm yet chewy and tender texture. Ciki instantly ordered a portion of the tongue before anything else! Damn she’s obsessed with tongues!
As usual, you take a piece of fresh lettuce then slathered with the sauces; one with salt and oil, the other being a slightly spicy bean paste. Then place a slice of the meat of your choice, and some of your favourite side dishes (like the fermented cabbage – kim chi, for instance). Finally, add one slice of raw or grilled garlic and pop everything into your mouth!
The accompanying dishes (from top left) – Kimchi Mari Gooksoo (Korean cold noodles in kim chi soup) (RM18/USD6), Very, very good Beef Bulgogi (RM25/USD8), Kimchi-jjigae (Kim chi Stew with pork and beancurd) (RM18/USD6), and the Pork Special (RM35/USD11.30)
The Beef Bulgogi was very very good. At RM18 per serving, the slices of grilled marinated beef with lots of glass vermicelli noodles (beanthread noodles) in a hearty and savoury broth was very comforting. Grab a bowl of rice and this is a complete meal on its own.
The Kim Chi Stew and Kim Chi Cold Noodles were equally as impressive, and should not be missed out if you’re a lover of everything with kim chi. By the way, kimchi‘s supposed to be GOOD for your health too; the Korean classic fermented cabbage was even named as one of the World’s Top Five Healthiest Food for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion and possibly reduction in cancer growth! If you still remember the tragic SARS outbreak few years ago, kimchi was purpotedly believed to be of benefits against the virus.
Got you wondering where to grab some kimchi now huh? 🙂
Sizzling cuts of pork with caramelized onions and grilled garlic.
Pa Jeon – Korean pancake on the house. When you have ordered an amount of food exceeding their expectations … or plain impressed them enough to warrant attention, you get a serving of pancake on the house. How cool huh?
The Korean feast was brilliant, I daresay this was on par with some of the more ‘authentic’ ones in Ampang; the Korean village of Klang Valley. But it’s been some years since I have returned to Ampang for my Korean fix. Which restaurant would YOU recommend me?
And finally, the company was good. Fine time to catch up on bits and pieces of news/gossips/happenings/rants/ramblings after sooooo long. Let’s do this again someday, and Sumi-Ka should be on the horizon … just don’t let me get disappointed a FOURTH time in succession!!!!
Daorae Korean BBQ
7B & 8B, Top Speed Business Centre,
Jalan USJ 10/1J,
47610 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Telephone : 603-8024 2616.
Google Map to Daorae Korean BBQ @ USJ
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Aiya Motormouth, come back to Ipohlah. Don’t you know that Daorae BBQ is going to open in Ipoh at De Garden on the 24 Jan 2011. Hope the standard is the same as in the Klang Valley!Then you don’t have to sweat and crawl under the heavy traffic at Taipan. Mad place where people always double park.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 23rd, 2011 at 11:18 pm
Haha … yeah, that’s what i heard. Opening tomorrow, and those lucky chaps back home can enjoy good Korean BBQ now.
But still … De Garden also jammed everyday la wei …
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Yea Daorae is one of the better Korean BBQ around. there’s also one in Puchong, which I’ve been to twice! And I was given the complimentary pancake as well. Haha..
Anyway, I wanna go Sumika also lah!! Let me know when you go ok!
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 23rd, 2011 at 11:17 pm
Okay okay ….. lets do Sumika someday soon. Must reserve for dinner though.
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ai wei Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 10:40 pm
hah! dun leave us out 😛
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lol, i go to the hartamas one to avoid jam in my own housing area! But you just need to know what time to go to avoid the mess above! U didnt try the jap chae and the ginseng chicken? they are quite good.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 23rd, 2011 at 11:16 pm
Too many dishes to be ordered. We simply picked a few from the menu. There’s definitely a next round, since Daorae is opening in my hometown of Ipoh!
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Hahah… so unfortunately one .. but at least finally got to eat!
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 8:54 am
Yeahloh, at least we ate, after the breakfast-brunch became lunch ….
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YIKES. The jam looks scary!
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Good to have another Korean restaurant in Ipoh. I’m a huge fan of Daorae!
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I’m craving for Korean food since last 2 weeks ;(
PS: Tea at FRIM? Do you mean the Malay Tea House>?
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T’was an adventurous afternoon wasn’t it? Daorae is actually one of my favourite Korean BBQ place. And my all time fave there would have to be the bulgolgi. Can never go wrong with that. Glad you enjoyed yourself.
Bila planning to go to Sumi-ka? I also wanna go. It’s been awhile
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Whoa, so much of tonguing! 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 26th, 2011 at 11:04 pm
Haha… don’t you just LURVE all the tonguing? Hehe, ironically … I just had some pan-seared ox tongue yesterday.
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Great place they have there in Ipoh. Big restaurant (biggest in De Garden?) and most suprising of all, all the workers are not locals (Koreans!!) – all guys, no gals.
Good food, reasonable and will definitely return again. Hope they maintain their standard.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 31st, 2011 at 8:30 am
All Koreans?!! Seriously?! Even the one in Taipan, USJ was packed with foreign workers (from up north, I presumed) instead.
Maybe a gesture of publicity?
Anyway, can foresee this place going far, an alternative to Dae Jang Gum, Yea Won and Riche Montana.
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[…] on the same day that I posted on our lunch at Daorae @ Taipan, I was informed that Daorae would soon be opening a branch at De Garden of Ipoh!!! That was music […]
Maaf ya.. you were faster than me, LOL! Anyway, you captured some great shots there.. i love the tongue one being picked up by the chopsticks. Action shot so gaya! Ah.. when i searched Daorae on your blog, i realised what a BIG fan you are of the place. You eat at these branches soooooo often! Joker.. why u still so slim !!!!
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you used my foto for your thumbnail, good gawd. FAINT! hahaha . i look maniacal.. geez 😛
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J2Kfm Reply:
February 24th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
Haha ….. now only you realized eh? Eh that was iconic okay ….
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Daorae Ipoh is a disappointment. It was below expectation after a high recommendation by a friend. You would definitely say the same thing after trying a better one. For example, Bee Won of Penang. Very classy and the dishes were comparatively more flavourful and portions plentiful. An authentic Korean restaurant.
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J2Kfm Reply:
March 15th, 2011 at 11:05 am
Really? But I have had friends dining at Daorae in Penang and in KL, and almost all of them gave the thumbs up.
I’ll take note of Bee Won then. Thanks.
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Hey Guys Most go & try at HAN WOO RI d food is really awesome ,honestly d food is really cannot compare wit any other korean food at d Taipan .
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[…] no, we went off to Daorae which is about 100 metres away, but you get my drift. The sheer lacking in enthusiasm after […]
Yesterday me and wife check in this restaurant. It was around 9pm, only I hadn’t yet taken dinner, so I ordered 1 bowl of noodle. What The FUCK, the boss refused to sell me, he asked me to order another set, just because my wife was there.
I told the waitress, only I want to eat, my wife just accompanied me. He answered boss said cannot, I must order another set.
FUCK this korean restaurant. I wouldn’t recommend to anyone. No matter how nice is the food. ATTITUDE problem.
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J2Kfm Reply:
January 12th, 2012 at 9:35 am
That’s absurd. Actually, the way they practise the minimum 2 sets for the BBQ sets is understandable, given the fact that they have to
start up the charcoal grill, ban chan (Side dishes) and all. But when you’re ordering a bowl of noodles, and your wife is not eating,
they should and can NOT force you to.
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