The Feeling Blogger

Yet another planned foodtrip with my "diamond-peel-partners" and BF of course. What's the theme for our foodie adventure? Yep, Korean food. Again, this is my first time to try this kind of cuisine though I have already eaten the Kimchi, Korea's national dish, and currently employed in a Korean establishment here in Cebu. I have always been hesitant to try Korean dishes as I've heard that they mostly serve weird"(for me) tasting food. But I'm always up to any challenges(really?), so we then met up and headed straight to a YumYum Baboy a new Korean resto near JY Square Mall.

all tables with stove

menu

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by YumYum Baboy staffs and with the owner I think because she's Korean and is somewhat managing the restaurant. Service is good, staffs are very accommodating and cheerful. We occupied a 4-seater table(with a stove in the center) for the four of us and a we were given the menu. Before going to this restaurant we already had a pick on what to order - that's what you call planning :) .

cup, spoon, metal chopsticks, small towel --- complimentary water

We had Samgyeopsal(P150/order) with unlimited side dish , Ramyeon(P120), 4 rice(P28/cup) and 3 softdrinks(P25). Actually, one of the main reasons we dined here is to try the "grill-on-your-own" thus we ordered Samgyeopsal . We were first given complimentary pitcher of water then piece by piece, side dishes for Samgyeopsal . Here is what I've searched regarding Samgyeopsal via Wikipedia:

Accompaniments
The most common accompaniments for samgyeopsal are lettuce (sangchu; 상추) and sliced raw garlic, but very often the meat is served with other accompaniments, such as perilla leaves (kkaennip; 깻잎), sliced green chili peppers, shredded green onions, sliced raw onions, and aged kimchi (mugeunji; 묵은지). Garlic, onions, and kimchi can be either grilled with the meat or consumed raw with the cooked meat. Mushrooms, such as button mushrooms or oyster mushrooms are also grilled with the meat.

Dipping sauce
Samgyeopsal is almost always served with at least two kinds of dipping sauces. One is ssamjang (쌈장), a paste consisting of chili paste (gochujang; 고추장), soybean paste (doenjang; 된장), sesame oil (참기름), and other ingredients; the other is gireumjang (기름장), made with salt and sesame oil, sometimes also with a small amount of black pepper. Usually ssamjang is used when a diner eats samgyeopsal with vegetable accompaniments, and gireumjang when a diner wants to taste the cooked meat itself.

Consumption
Prior to consumption, the large slice of the pork belly is cut into smaller pieces with scissors. A common way to consume samgyeopsal is to place a slice of the cooked meat on a leaf of lettuce or a perilla leaf or both, with some cooked rice and ssamjang, and to roll it up in the leaf and eat it. It is usually called sangchu-ssam (상추쌈). Cooked rice and other foods wrapped in Korean lettuce can also be called sangchu-ssam. Any combination of the vegetable accompaniments mentioned above can be added to the roll according to preference, the most popular is sliced garlic. Many people also add in kimchi, mushrooms, bean sprouts, and grilled onions. Usually, different types of banchan are added. Part of the reason so many people enjoy this food is they can customize it to their liking.

Samgyeopsal unlimited accompaniments

miso soup -free with every order of Samgyeopsal

Samgyeopsal - 5 slices of thin pork per order

Samgyeopsal cut into smaller pieces

lettuce and green chili

The dipping sauce is the secret to delicious Samgyeopsal it would be tasteless if not dipped to its accompanied sauces. This is my favorite dish out of all those we ate. The Ramyeon is like a Korean ramen, taste a bit ordinary but too spicy and I love it - i love spicy foods (oops, sorry I forgot to take a picture of the Ramyeon). Most if not all the dishes we ate were hot and spicy, felt like my ears are about to emit smoke, hahaha. Another thing I want to add is their rice which is not the ordinary white rice. It's brown, sticky rice so you won't find a hard time eating it with chopsticks. 

brown rice and cabbage salad I think

We were not able to consume all our food as we disliked some of those specifically the kimchi and miso soup. Its not that it tastes bad, just that it doesn't fit our palate. We're really not fond of Korean food, period. But the overall experience was a blast. We were VERY happy customers. Service is great and food is of good quality. Though I can't yet compare this to other Korean restos, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who'd want to try Korean food. 

Before we went home, we were given point cards valid until December 2012. 4 points gives you 1 free drink, 8 points 10%off and 14 points 20%off. If anyone want this, I can give this card for free just email me, hehehe.