Bibimbap Fest

Last night, the parents took Queen J and me to the main branch of Kaya Korean Restaurant at 62 Jupiter Street in Makati. This Kaya is the mother of all other Kaya branches around Manila, but unlike its franchises, the main branch has a more fine dining atmosphere in terms of quality of food and service. The main Kaya also offers Korean barbecue not available in the franchises.

The main Kaya serves free Korean appetizers, which last night included kimchi, lettuce kimchi, spicy squid tentacles, radish kimchi, boiled bean sprout, and boiled kangkong. We all loved the bean sprout and kangkong and asked for multiple refills.

Being vegetarians, Mom, Dad and I all ordered the Dolsot Bibimbap with the meat requested to be removed. I learned that a Dolsot Bibimbap is similar to a Bibimbap, which is simply rice topped with assorted vegetables and fried egg, except the Dolsot Bibimbap is served in a hot stone pot. Queen J ordered a beef dolsot bibimbap.

(My Dolsot Bibimbap as it was originally served.)

(My DB after mixing it up.)

We also ordered a kimchi pancake for sharing. The kimchi pancake here was made with very little flour so the pancake was thin, crunchy and tasty.

The complimentary barley tea also deserves to be mentioned because it was both fragrant and full of flavor. I was delighted to learn that they serve a cold version of the service tea, which was also free. This is great for those who, like me, love a cold glass of tea minus the heaps of sugar normally added to iced tea served in most restaurants.

For dessert, we were served a slice of complimentary pineapple and a cinnamon drink served in a tiny bowl. The drink is a staple in most fine dining Korean restaurants, and it is for drinking and NOT for washing greasy fingers as I first thought when I was at a Korean restaurant in HK. *embarrassed*

The service in the main Kaya was wonderful. Everyone was friendly, courteous and attentive, from the parking attendants to the servers and managers.

Finally, the prices of the food here is already inclusive of the 12% VAT, so while an order of the Dolsot Bibimbap costs Php 310 plus 10% service charge, this already includes free appetizers, drinks and dessert, making the whole meal totally worth it.

(A very satisfied me after the meal, which I did not finish but took home in a doggy bag.)