Bulgogi Brothers

These food groups have a knack for finding good niche markets.  Take the Bistro group, which has Italianni's and TGIF under its belt--they've launched an restaurant called Bulgogi Brothers, which I understand is a Korean franchise.  Located at what used to be a seafood restaurant in Greenbelt 5, the modern interiors carry some touches of the traditional Korean in the paintings that adorn the entrance wall.  I immediately felt at home as I walked in, and gave a chuckle to myself seeing lots of stainless steel tableware--chopsticks, plates, rice bowls, pitchers.  I love good stainless steel tableware, which i think make for better day-to-day use than silverware (naturally this always tastes funny with calamansi or vinegar).

Seeing that Andi was with us, the staff gave her a special plate of her favorite TV character, Strawberry Shortcake!  Just a coincidence or what?  I guess they serve a lot of kids, and this probably makes the eating more fun.  The meal starts off with lots of appetizers--

Traditional Kim Chi

Vicky love the camote, soft and sweet, while Andi and Monique had the quail eggs!

We had both beef bulgogi and pork bulgogi, just to taste the difference.  The beef broth was quite satisfying, the pork dish was slightly spicy and carried a lot of oomph!  These are cooked by the staff right in front of you, so be prepared to savor the aroma of the dishes!  I was bit cautious about the spice level of the food though, and I had to take the spicy sauces in tiny portions, lest I get tongue-burn.  The kids didn't seem to mind, though.

Beef, thinly sliced, very tender...

Pork, as delivered, right before cooking...

The mando (fried dumplings similar to the Japanese gyoza) was quite crunchy on the outside, and had tasty morsels of pork as filling.  I especially enjoyed the sauteed seafood that was served at the center of the mando display.  Chap-chae (glass noodles) was similarly tasty but I thought the serving portion was a bit small (I didn't get to have a second serving).   The beef stew was definitely the big hit of the lunch--Andi and Monique enjoyed this immensely.  I probably over ordered, as I was already bloated trying to finish the noodles, and we couldn't finish the bibimbop at all.

Mando dumplings

Chap Chae noodles, yummy but was gone in 60 seconds

A1 Beef Stew which Andi wolfed down!

Bibimbop, not the traditional dish of leftovers...

Noodles were firm and tasty, and the seaweed roll gave a lot of flavor

Our meal came to around P800 per head, but we were quite stuffed.  It seemed to me that the place was 70% full, and for a Saturday lunch, that wasn't bad at all. I wonder if lines would form for Saturday nights and Sunday lunches... Probably!