Kogi Bulgogi : A Sumptuous Taste of Korean Dishes

Kogi Bulgogi is the first and only Korean restaurant located in Eastwood City. It is nestled at the heart of the posh new Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City. There's another Metro Manila branch at Lucky Chinatown Mall in Binondo, Manila plus one more at the Limketkai Center in Cagayan De Oro. The restaurant serves authentic Korean dishes that's priced reasonably. Dining at Kogi Bulgogi is an assured value for your hard-earned money.

The restaurant boasts that they use only premium US and New Zealand beef in all of their beef dishes. "Kogi coincidentally means “meat” in Korean. However in Kogi Bulgogi, it’s used to refer to a person’s name. For them, Kogi is someone who specializes in Bulgogi dishes.

My family and I had the opportunity to dine at the Eastwood branch a few days after Christmas (just to avoid the busy and crowded Christmas rush during earlier days) and we're actually so glad we chose their restaurant for our lunch.

Since it was our first time to dine in their restaurant, it took us quite a number of minutes before we could decide on the meals. Our kids were actually even faster in choosing their preferred dishes, while me and my wife took a few more minutes. The menu offered quite a lot of splendid choices from starters to noodles, rolls to rice toppings, etc.

Complimentary appetizers called Banchan were initially served to us. These are like various side dishes in small plates (6 in all) like glazed sweet potatoes, kimchi (fermented spicy radish), seasoned bean sprouts (kongnamul), stir-fried dried and sweetened anchovies (myulchi bokum), plus two more (one that's spicy and another one that's sweet but salty - I should have asked our server.) I thought I could find the names online but you can just help me determine what they are from the pictures below.

 stir-fried dried and sweetened anchovies (myulchi bokum)

 seasoned bean sprouts (kongnamul)

 glazed sweet potatoes

 

 kimchi (fermented spicy radish)

 This is a bit sweet and salty - what is it?

 This is spicy and looks like a vegetable - what is it?

We ordered five dishes - Ramyeon, Fried Dumplings, California Roll, Doenjang-Jjigae and House Salad. 

The Ramyeon is ramen noodles with chicken egg. I served this to everyone via the small black bowls that were provided. Though a few were left in the big bowl, my kids went back to get the last serving until the bowl was empty. We ordered the non-spicy variety so that the kids can also enjoy this dish. 

The Fried Dumplings were a bit small but the quality of taste made up for the miniature size. 

The California Roll were great additions to our meal which we started with the ramen soup. We didn't touched the wasabe though because we are staying away from spice.

The Doenjang-Jjigae had tofu, clams, and a whole lot more in it that offered a distinctive taste from the ramen noodles. This was a great-tasting soup that's extra special for our taste.

The House Salad was dreamy! My kids enjoyed every bit of the vegetables because of the delicious dressing and meat bits.

 Ramyeon - Korean ramen with egg

 Fried Dumplings (Gun Mandu)-  Deep fried pork and vegetable dumplings

 California Roll - Fresh crabsticks, mango, cucumber strips and rice rolled in fish roe

Doenjang-Jjigae - Soy bean paste stew with clams, potatoes, squash and Korean tofu

House Salad - Classic Caesar salad with a Korean twist

Everyone enjoyed the food - to think that my kids are very picky or choosy with their meals - we heard no complaints from them. In fact, we actually finished every meal up to the last drop with the exception of the two spicy appetizers and the wasabi. We shared everything among ourselves so that everyone could taste each dish.

The restaurant was a bit small but cozy enough for a relaxed dining experience. They could really get crowded if a few more people decided to visit the place all at the same time during lunch or dinner time. That's probably why there are a few more tables outside to act as an extension of the restaurant.

The tables were simple yet sturdy and the chairs are so comfortable because of the leather-like upholstery.

 

We'll definitely come back again to Kogi Bulgogi for more of their authentic Korean dishes, There's a great demand from our kids to have a repeat so we could taste the other dishes especially their specialty Bulgogi which we didn't get to try on this first visit.

Kogi Bulgogi

2/F Eastwood Mall Veranda, E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave., Bagumbayan, Libis

Quezon City, Metro Manila

Philippines

Tel No: (02) 470-6884 to 85

Check out more about them from their website: http://www.kogibulgogi.com/

or Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kogibulgogi

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