Friday 24 February 2017

My Korean Food Fix


One Saturday I went to work. I had an ulterior motive hee..hee...

Well, there was work to do. And for that, I should reward myself with a good meal. Don't you think?


I love Korean food. Yeah, I love all sorts of food - Thai, Korean, Indian, Malay, Vietnamese etc. So I was quite keen on trying Sopoong.

Authentic Korean Food For Everyone - that's their tagline. I tend to take the word "authentic" with a pinch of salt. I have been disappointed many times by so called authentic cuisine. 

I have visited many Nonya restaurants only to conclude that I can cook better. Please yah, I am not being condescending. Just being truthful.

So. Late morning, I marched into Sopoong. Actually, I made my way to Annie-1 first but had to pusing balik because it was full house.


I was early and only one table was occupied. A K-pop variety was showing on TV. See the little lady at the counter? She is the Korean lady boss.

From the menu I chose the hot stone pot Bibimbap (beef version) and a green tea.


The tea didn't look green and tasted unlike the green tea I am used to. Maybe Korean green tea is different.


The bibimbap is served piping hot and you can hear the rice sizzling. Actually, I would prefer it served in a regular bowl because a crust forms at the bottom of the hot stone. I do not enjoy rice crust. But never mind.


It was served with these sides dishes. Two types of kimchi and some sort of pasta/cabbage with mayo.

There was also a bowl of clear soup which unfortunately was very diluted. It was like drinking hot water with very scant seasoning.


I mixed the bibimbap ingredients together.


I noted they have condiments and one of the was gojuchang. So I squeezed some onto my bibimbap.

And then I mixed some more. I have had bibimpab twice before at another place and I have an idea how it should taste.

I'm afraid it fell short of expectations. The people who run this eatery may be Korean but the kitchen might not be. As we know, most kitchen staff these days are foreigners who may not be familiar with the food they have been trained to prepare.


I was disappointed. Perhaps this is not the best place to eat bibimbap. But there's lot more items on the menu that I can try.

Maybe I will do that on another working Saturday. This meal, in case you are curious, cost me RM17.70 after a promotional discount of 10%


After makan, I decided to do a walkabout (to burn some calories). To the aunties and not-so aunties, Daiso is opening soon. Yippeee!!!

40 comments:

  1. My missus and my girl will crawl there for this if they have to - they are so into Korean, but not me. Will eat, no choice...especially when it is what my girl wants and I will have to take her to one of those Korean places here.

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    1. This one not worth the crawl hah..hah...

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  2. ooo, i have to admit, of all the asian cuisines, korean is probably my least favourite - in terms of flavours, food preparation, etc, i gravitate a lot more to other asian cuisines. at the same time, if i did have one favourite korean dish, it'd be bibimbap ... and i crave the crusty base of bibimbap ... just i like my chinese claypot rice to be crusty too! :D

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    1. That's something I find hard to understand - the allure of the crust!

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  3. Aaawww! What a disappointment. Not living to its tagline. Hope tge Korean lady trained the kitchen staff well to cook authentic Korean food.

    I am not a big fan of Korean cuisine. I love all Asian food but Korean is my least favourite.

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    1. Oh, not a fan, that's OK. I prefer their BBQ more than their other dishes.

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  4. I love Korean food too! I wanted to try Sopoong in Quill but my friends say no good, so I didn't.

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    Replies
    1. You can give it a miss. There are other much better Korean food outlets.

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  5. My kids like.. but not this auntie here... Japanese still ok, Vietnamese can also... Thai, best.. Maybe it is the "sweet" sauce in the rice which I cannot accept yet.. hahaha... but I notice those who love watching Korean shows will love Korean food.. I, for one, do not watch.. :)

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    Replies
    1. Another non-fan hah..hah... That's ok, we all have different tastebuds.

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  6. I went there too and found their Kimchi Jigae to be very nice & spicy enough to flame my throat. I even complimented that lady boss that it was good. She bowed 10 times to me. Hihihi
    I think you need to visit the Korean restaurant chain DAORAE to eat the better Dolsot Bibimbap (Dolsot means the claypot would be baked over fire) If you want a fantastic Teokbokki, try that small outlet across the Cold Storage at One Utama. Very bagus!
    Again, I am very familiar with good Korean food, not because I grew up in Korea but I had a Korean room mate in US. He was so filthy rich and bloody fussy which taught me many things about Korean culture & food. Just my 2 cents.

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    Replies
    1. Then I must try the Kimchi Jigae :) OK, will try the one at 1-U. I happen to love Teokbokki!

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  7. I eat Korean food, but not into Korean food...

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  8. Lol! I do not watch Korean shows and I am not a fan of Korean food especially kimchi. But I like to visit and shop at Daiso.

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  9. their bibimbap is not flavourful enough? i only eat korean food when my eating companions want to eat korean food.

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  10. I'm afraid I'm with the majority when it comes to Korean food. I actually don't like bimbibap or kimchi. I'm ok with the grilled meats & seafood though. What, they gave you 3 types of cabbage for your banchan? So kedekut! If it's me, there won't be a second visit! >.<

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    Replies
    1. I guess their K-pop is more popular than the food hee...hee... Yes, the banchan was rather pathetic.

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  11. I had tried bibimbap before but I don't really fancy it. However, I like Kimchi.

    If ask me choose between Japanese and Korean food, of course, I prefer Japanese

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  12. Aiseh, pity it didn't meet expectation.

    But I like the dolsot bibimbap because of the crust. Hihihi

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    Replies
    1. Alamak, another crust lover hah..hah..

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  13. Hi Phong Hong,
    Well I like Korean food but not too crazy about them though. My favourite Kimchi ramee and the spicy bbq chicken hotplate ...hee.. hee !

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    1. Hi Karen! I prefer their BBQ compared to their other dishes.

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  14. Replies
    1. It's OK, ticer. Lain orang lain selera :)

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  15. Sedapnya bibimbap. Hari tu pergi KK tak sempat nak mencuba...nanti ada masa nak cuba juga! Nak rasa kerak nasi panas yang harum dengan minyak bijan!

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  16. Of course you should reward yourself with a good meal!

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  17. I miss Korean food! Their kimchi, ginseng chicken soup and grill chicken!

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  18. So, a not so good dining experience huh....
    Yeah, Daiso always can make this aunty (me!) excited! But unfortunately they are increasing the price starting from March >_<

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    Replies
    1. Yes, ah? Last time RM5, then with GST RM5.30, now naik lagi aiyo...

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    2. latest price is 5.90/item ~>_<~

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    3. Yah, I just checked today. So those small2 items, not worth to buy there.

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  19. Bibimbap? I mmg tak pernah makan Korean dish PH.... Mcm tak de haiwan haiwan je dalam nasi tu PH.... I kalau boleh kena ada haiwan barulah boleh enjoy makan hihi...

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    1. Ada haiwan dalam tu, Hainom. Beef. Eh, beef lagi hee..hee... Pilihan yang satu lagi ialah chicken, so PH pilih beef :)

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