Anything Korean has hit Cebu, hard — from k-pop, k-drama to food! I guess, of all the Korean wave that’s in town, it’s the Korean food I’m more lured to. Because, it’s food! š Who doesn’t like food?
Whether you’re in the mood for a famous Korean’s samgyupsal or egg toasts or chicken and beer or their street foods, we now have it here in Cebu. There’s no need for us to fly to Korea and get these, though eating all these in Korea would also be great and a different experience altogether. There are a lot of cafes and restaurants that offer Korean cuisines; here are some of my go to places, for my Korean food fix:
Korean fried chicken
I was first introduced to this kind of fried chicken via Bonchon Chicken. When it first opened its doors here in the Cebu, a lot of people were lining up. I thought it was hyped up that much given how picky the Cebu market is. So, when I finally had the chance to taste it, I wasn’t so impressed by it. I found it a little bit bland, the breading soggy, and definitely something I wouldn’t go back for.
However, when a friend of mine brought me to Chosun Chicken, it was there that I came to appreciate the Korean fried chicken. Their fried chicken is really crispy in the outside, tender and juicy in the inside. What I like with their fried chicken, the breading is not that thick and even when aired out for a couple of hours, it was able to maintain its crispiness. It’s super tasty too. Their fried chicken comes in different sauces from just plain fried chicken to super spicy flavored one, and you can get the chicken either all wings, all legs, or mixed or boneless. It comes in 2 serving sizes as well, whole and half. I usually go for boneless chosun sauce chicken, since I don’t like the hassle of eating off the bones and there’s only a certain level of spiciness that I can tolerate. In my experience, sometimes with too much spice or adding spice would alter the taste of your food; and I want to enjoy the taste of my food. Thus, I go for the non-spicy ones most of the time.
Chosun Fried Chicken Wings
Ramyun
As mentioned I’m not that into too much spiciness. But it’s not Korean if it’s not spicy, right?! And all of their noodles, at least the tasty ones, are a bit spicy. So, Ramyuns are a welcome exceptions to me. š There’s something with Korea’s instant noodles that I like, it’s firm and aldente unlike our local noodles here in the Philippines. When cooking our instant noodles, we always have to be conscious not to overcook it since it’ll be soggy in no time. With Korean instant noodles, it’s so not the case.
If I cook ramyun at home, I usually go for this brand and these flavors (refer to the picture on the left). Recently, they have a new flavor (Shrimp), I’ve tried it and I’ve loved it — so another addition to my stash. It’s not too spicy and it’s still tasty even if spicy. I usually add an egg and a slice of cheese. This, taken on a rainy day, is heaven!
If I’m at Chosun Chicken, I also get their cheesy ramyun to pair with my chicken. To me, it’s a combination that can never go wrong.
Samgyupsal
We, Filipinos, are no strangers to grilled foods. So when samgyupsal was introduced, it was a no brainer for us, it was an instantaneous hit. Add to that the unlimited servings of pork belly and premium beef, plus all kinds of Korean side dishes — it screams winner, alright.
My top 3 samgyupsal places are Kaya, Samgyupsalamat, and Daega. Each of these restaurants has something unique of its own to offer that sets them apart from other samgyupsal places. Kaya has the yummiest steam egg as one of their side dishes offerings. Though their samgyupsal is not unlimited, but it’s of good quality pork and beef. Between the 3, Kaya is also the priciest and the fanciest. You’d be expecting a much upscale crowd when you get in, compared to the other 2.
Samgyupsalamat and Daega offers unlimited samgyupsal. With Samgyupsalamat, there’s no need for you to go get your side dishes from the buffet table like Daega is, since the servers will just give them to you when you request for refills. Another thing I like with Samgyupsalamat, they offer unlimited cheese and their drinks (iced tea) is also unlimited; and the fact that they close around 3am, is really perfect! Daega is the cheapest between the 3; they only have pork belly samgyupsal and offers 20 side dishes compared to the others with only 4 or 5 side dishes (these are also the common ones — kimchi, rice, etc.). This is one of the reasons I go to Daega, because of the side dishes. I love their tteokbokki! Other samgyupsal places don’t have this or if they have it’ll be an additional and separate order.
There’s a recently opened samgyupsal in IT Park, it’s Romantic Baboy. It has the same price range as Samgyupsalamat, however, they have a camote-cue (sweet potato fried in caramelized brown sugar) side dish that I love. They also have ramyun, tteokbokki, and kimchi fried rice, among others, that you can order separately from the unlimited samgyupsal. I might have to go back and try their ramyun! š
Egg toast
It was around 3-4am and I was browsing my YouTube’s news feeds when I came across “Eat with Boki” mukbang series. Imagine my hunger pangs after watching her videos! In one of her mukbang series, I saw she ate egg toasts (eggcellent brand). Looking at that video, I was curious and interested to taste Korean egg toast sandwiches. I then searched if I can find similar egg toasts here in Cebu. Lo and behold, I found in instagram that Cafe Elim has their own version of these sandwiches.
Looking at their IG pictures, I then decided to visit their cafe and have a taste of this sandwich. It really didn’t disappoint. It tasted as good as it looks. There are several fillings that you can choose from for these sandwiches. I usually go for the spam and cheese or ham and cheese variety. These sandwiches comes in a box, that makes it easier for you to hold and take a bite. The box keeps the excess oils and dressing inside as well, such these messiness will not go to your hands or table or anywhere.
At first, I found the dressing a bit sweet to my liking but later on, the sweetness complemented well with the spam or ham and cheese’s saltiness. The bread or toast was buttery soft and the scrambled egg was fluffy and not overly cooked in which it was able to maintain it’s juiciness and softness. You guys should definitely try this!
Pongpong Cereal Shake
This is a Korean milkshake topped with Pong Pong (Korean cereal brand). The pongpong has a peculiar taste, it’s crunchy but has that little bit of sweet and spicy taste which surprisingly complements with the vanilla milkshake. I thought this will be a super sweet treat, but how I was wrong!
I usually get this drink at Cafe Elim. I don’t know if other Korean coffee shops have this, or if they do have, it didn’t picked my interest then in the same manner Cafe Elim did.
This drink could be a good alternative to milk teas or coffee based drinks. I believe it’s kid friendly too — cereal and not too sweet, eh. I would recommend taking this treat alone so as not have an unlimited sugar rush high. But that’s just me, I have a not-so-sweet tooth. š
All these food talk is making me hungry! And the cold, gloomy day is not helping either. Bye folks! I’m onto my next food adventure.
SingleBakedMiss by KiaraC 