October 6, 2021

Premium meats at Seoulnami

One of the things I really missed during the recent MCO (Movement Control Order)/Lockdown was a good Korean barbeque. If you’re a fan, then you would know that it’s not just about grilling the meat, but the fun in socialising in typical Korean communal dining fashion, and enjoying the many types of banchan (side dishes) and of course, a swig of soju while you’re at it.

How timely treat it was to be invited to try the Korean barbeque at Seoulnami in The Gardens Mall. Note that this outlet is halal so our Muslim friends can also enjoy this Korean meal that specialises in serving prime cut meats. But yeah, it means no soju swig!

There’s a choice of chicken, beef and lamb to choose from. The Famous Chunchoen Chicken comes in 4 flavours: Spicy Hot Pepper, Savoury Ganjang, Salty Saled and Sweet Honey Butter Chicken (RM59/each flavour). My personal favourite was the Spicy Hot Pepper Chicken while the Sweet Honey Butter was a close second. The other flavours were not so prominent.

Normally, when the uncooked meat arrives, it’s red and raw, swimming in marinate, and you have to toss it on the grill before it looks more palatable. I must say though, here at Seoulnami, the raw Beef Platter Board (RM119) consisting of the trio of Bugolgi, Beef Rib Fingers and Beef Belly was the prettiest raw selection I’ve seen. The red colour really pops and the meat looks so fresh and inviting that you’d imagine it can almost be eaten as it is (of course not, lah … but it really looks so beautiful!). The Bone-in Short Rib (RM139) and Yang Galbi (RM59) were also beautiful cuts of meat. If you’re feeling generous, there’s also Wagyu Beef available.

So, let’s get down to the grilling and eating. The trick to the perfect texture is not to overdo it but just to lightly grill each side of the meat for a quick 2 minutes or so. We had kimchi, pickled radish, steamed egg and grilled octopus to nibble on while waiting for the meat to cook. You can request for help from the servers with the grilling if you’re not good at this. The rest of the meal is about wrapping your lettuce around your choice of meat, enjoying the natural flavours, and if you can, stuffing the lot in one mouthful at one go!

Some diners cannot do without their carbo boost. Here, you can have the Fist Rice (RM29) which comes with the classic Korean rice mix with seaweed and minced chicken. Like a Korean fried rice of sorts, you can either mix all the ingredients together in the pan and eat it like that, or put on the gloves and mould the rice into small balls. Easier said than done, as there is a bit of skill involved in getting the rice balls nice and round, without falling apart. My fellow diner, Fay, did a fantastic job of fist-balling the rice for all of us! There’s also a Spicy Fist Rice, a Malaysianised version which comes with chilli oil and chilli padi! I liked this more as I found it so flavourful, but not everyone is onboard with chili like me, I know.