Apple Samgyupsal @ Taman Desa

I've been reading how notoriously busy Apple Samgyupsal @ Taman Desa can be (sometimes more than an hour's wait), so we made sure we were early and arrived around 5.30pm for dinner only to see that the restaurant was already in full swing with customers waiting.

They place a white board at the entrance for you to write down your name and number of pax as a queue system for tables.  There were still a few empty tables outside but we wanted one inside because it was air-conditioned.  Luckily, we didn't have to wait long for a table.  Business is so good that they've converted an empty space (across the road) to house even more tables.  By the time we left (at prime dinner time), there were many people waiting in queue for tables.

This place offers Korean BBQ with a slight twist...with apple marinated pork that you can wrap in juicy, fruity, thinly sliced pieces of apples.  Was there any doubt...with a signboard like that? ;)

As soon as we've placed our order, the sauces, banchan and apple slices arrived.  There were two types of chilli dips, a salt+sesame oil dip, a honey apple sauce and fresh garlic.

The four types of banchan include kimchi, fish cake strips (cooked with Chinese cabbage and carrot), seaweed and pickled cabbage...and are all refillable.

The apple slices are not refillable though...and there's also a helping of fresh lettuce leaves.  These are for you to wrap your meats in.

There was also a salad of fresh lettuce leaves with slithers of red, green and yellow bell peppers dressed in black sesame sauce.  This one took me by surprise as it was really good with the lettuce particularly fresh and crisp and I loved the black sesame sauce that went with it.

Of course we had to order their signature platter, the Apple Platter @ RM88 that came with 120g Apple Samgyupsal, 120g Apple Moksal, 120g Apple Hanjungsal, Homemade Sausage, Tteok, Apple Wraps and Apple Salad.  This platter is meant for two (but probably sufficient for three smaller eaters) with all the refillable sides.

When the meat was served, you'll notice that it has been partially cooked.  There are instructions on how best to cook the meat (plastered on the wall) and that's to wait for the grill to heat up before putting them in the centre of the grill for about 30 seconds.

Then, flip the meat over and grill the other side for a further 30 seconds (actually, the timing is quite irrelevant and you don't have to bother yourselves with it).

After that, cut the meat up into smaller pieces.  Good luck with that as you need a bit of force to cut through the thickness of the meat.  Some may feel the scissors aren't sharp enough but I think that's due to the thick meat (as opposed to other Korean BBQ joints where the meat served is thinner).  

Keep turning the bite-sized meat pieces until they're fully cooked or until you're happy with the char achieved on the meat.

Apple Samgyupsal (layered pork belly) - those who enjoy their meat fatty will vouch that this is the best cut.  The fatty bits helped with the lovely caramelisation and tenderness of the meat.

Apple Moksal (pork neck/shoulder) and Apple Hanjungsal (pork jowl/neck) - these were leaner, so expect them to be a tad more chewier.  Again, it's a personal preference if you like lean or fatty meat.

Homemade Sausage - this was surprisingly tasty and I found myself enjoying the flavour and texture.

Tteok (rice cakes) - this was my least favourite as the rice cakes were extremely bland and chewy, almost hard by the time I got a good char on them.  We left these unfinished...but great for exercising your jaw though! :P

They also have this signature dressing of julienned pickled onions and apple in an apple infused dip with savoury, sweet and tangy nuances.

The apple slices are meant for wrapping the meat and this happens to be the unique feature about this particular Korean BBQ.  I actually enjoyed very much the inclusion of apple slices that brought a fresh, juicy mouthfeel to the otherwise meaty affair.

Add whatever pork cuts and anything else you like onto the apple slice (it's your wrap) and top it with the special dressing.  You can add a touch of that honey apple sauce if you like but I didn't as I found it to be too sweet for my liking.  The refreshing dressing worked very well with the sweet and crunchy apple and the deliciously charred meat.

I found the apple slices to be very pliable (coz they're cut so thinly) which made them very easy to fold with a pair of chopsticks.

We added the Korean Pancake @ RM15 served with a slightly spicy dip....admittedly a crispy and respectable rendition.

Steamed rice is also available at RM5 a bowl for those who can't do without rice.  With rice, the meats work best with the salt+oil dip to give it that extra salty flavour against the plain rice.

The refillable tea @ RM3 per person has a slight sweetness to it that tasted like a cross between Chinese tea and apple syrup. ^_~

Just so that you know, all the refillable banchan are self-service here.  So, just bring your empty dish to the banchan refill zone and the staff will scoop refills for you.  Likewise, bring your refillable tea flask and they'll give you a new one.

The good thing about the BBQ here is that they use hot coals and the thick iron plate is well suited to grill the meat on high heat resulting in well charred goodness.  The not-so-good thing is that you can feel the intense heat generating from under your table on your legs! :(  Thankfully, they remove it once you're done grilling.

If you have a bigger eating party, you can order the BBQ Sharing Set (for 3 - 4 pax) @ RM168 with 200g of Wang Galbi, 200g of Samgyupsal (original), 200g of Hanjungsal (original), Homemade Sausage, Tteok and a choice of Bulgogi or Baby Octopus with unlimited Ramyun.  I think this can easily feed five persons.  There's no way you won't be full with the all-you-can-eat instant noodles.

My Personal Opinion

For fans of Korean BBQs, this is certainly a place to consider for reasonably priced BBQ meats with a twist of wrapping your meat in juicy apple slices.  Overall taste was definitely respectable although I can't say if I tasted any difference in the meat being marinated overnight in apple sauce for 24 hours! >_<

If you want to eat here, get ready to be drenched in sweat as the place is freakin' warm...even inside the air-conditioned restaurant.  The place is open with far too few air-conditioner units to be able to cool the place down.  So, it makes little difference if you opt for seats inside or outside...it's still hot!  I can just imagine those eating bowls of hot ramyun and sweating bucket loads.

So, make sure you have your hair up (ladies and some gentlemen) and wear something minimal light and comfortable when you head here for your "free sauna"...kikiki! :D

Apple Samgyupsal
Ground Floor Desa Business Park
No 22 Jalan 1/109E Taman Desa
Jalan Kelang Lama
58100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-7972 8911

Eatomo Food Co @ Taman Desa

Since our first visit (a year ago) to Eatomo @ Taman Desa, this place has become one of our go-to places when we want good and affordable Japanese food.

Although they have recently opened another outlet in Solaris Dutamas (Publika), the Taman Desa branch is still the one that's more accessible and convenient for us.

Just follow the fishes to Eatomo! ;P

For this visit, we managed to try a whole lot of new (summer) items that we didn't have on our previous visit starting with the Enoki Fries @ RM8.90 served with a mayo dipping sauce.

The batter for the enoki mushrooms were incredibly crispy and light....and once you try one, they're pretty addictive and you won't be able to stop.  It's something the kids will definitely adore as well.

The Chipirones Crispy Squid @ RM19.90 featuring buttermilk seasoned fried baby calamari served with homemade tartare sauce was next.  The crisp baby squids were tender and delicious...and just as addictive as the enoki mushrooms.

The mini squids were topped with lots of freshly chopped coriander and raw garlic, perhaps not the best dish to order if you're on a date!  For me, I loved the coriander more than the garlic but both brought fragrance and freshness to the squids. ^.^

There was an incredible Buy 1 Free 1 offer for the Grilled Whole Sanma @ RM23.90 which we couldn't resist.

The pacific saury we got were pretty large...and there were two of them, so it was certainly a good deal.  The fish was nicely charred yielding a crisp skin and firm flesh within.

Since we're mentaiko junkies, the Mentaiko-Seared Ocean Trout & Hokkaido Ikura Don @ RM28.90 was difficult to resist.

The nicely torched, melt-in-the-mouth trout with juicy ikura was like a blanket of savoury goodness on top of a bed of rice. 

Since there's no such thing as too much mentaiko...and with the combination of savoury (mentaiko) and sweet (tamago) flavours in one dish, the Mentaiko-Seared Tamadon @ RM14.90 is a sure-order dish for me.

Four generous and thick slices of firm yet fluffy tamago, topped with mentaiko that has been blow torched for that smoky finish, it was a delicious match indeed. ^o^

Ever since our first taste of beef tongue at Momotalo Yakiniku, we've been hooked and would always keep an eye out for it.  So, we just had to have the Wok-fired Spicy Gyutandon @ RM18.90 featuring thinly sliced beef tongue stir-fried with chillies, garlic and shoyu.

Although these tender slices of beef tongue didn't quite compare to the awesome grilled ones we had at Momotalo, it was still a pretty respectable rendition.

Free miso soup with the donburi.

When I saw that they now offer Homemade Yuzu Sorbet @ RM10, I ordered that straight away since I love tangy flavours.  The icy treat had fresh, intensely yuzu-flavoured sourish nuances but also contained chunks of yuzu peel, the texture of which I didn't quite enjoy in a sorbet.

My Personal Opinion

Most of what we had here were thoroughly enjoyable (some outstanding, very few misses)....plus the hits far outweigh the misses, so this place continues to please us with their fresh, decent tasting and affordably-priced Japanese food.

More visits to come, for sure! ^_*

Eatomo Food Co
11-1-1 Jalan 3/109F
Taman Danau Desa
Jalan Kelang Lama
58100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2303 1608

Eatomo Food Co @ Taman Desa

We loved the freshness of the food (and what seems to be reasonable prices but smaller portions) on our first visit 3 months ago and vowed to return to try more.

So, here we were again at Eatomo Food Co @ Taman Desa for an early dinner (arriving a little after 6pm) as we didn't want to have to wait for a table in case there was a crowd during prime dinner time.

To start, we ordered something we were eyeing the last time but didn't get to eat, the Fried Oyster Basket @ RM19.90 that yielded 5 pcs of freshly fried, panko-crusted, large oysters served with their housemade tartar sauce. Be careful when you bite into the piping hot fleshy oysters as you'd be confronted with a squirt of steaming hot juices from within the oyster.  If it tastes so good, you can burn my tongue anytime! ^_~

I was attracted to the word uni, so one of the mains we had was the Creamy Uni Udon @ RM32.90 for a quarter tray of uni (half tray for RM54.90 and whole tray for RM74.90) which came garnished with ikura and shisho.

The udon was sauteed with uni in a light and creamy uni seafood sauce which tasted slightly buttery with a kick of garlic that wasn't particularly enticing.  This was my least favourite dish here (this one you can safely skip) as it didn't taste all that good + the portion was really small.

As for the uni, it was practically non-existent...and I had to dig out what I could find to take this snapshot for you to see.  Then again, I wasn't expecting much as I know uni is very expensive.  If you think the above prices were expensive, let me burst your bubble as this was frozen uni.  No wonder it tasted a little on the fishy side! >_<  The server did show me a tray of fresh uni that retails for about RM120 a portion.  When I asked how much is one portion, his finger kinda hovered around a quarter of the tray.  Like that I might as well pay a little bit more for fresh uni served in its shell! ;)

Our other main was the Unagi Don @ RM23.90 which I thought was a reasonable price for the portion served. Any portion more generous than that would easily cost double the price.

I've not had (or seen) unagi so well grilled before that gave rise to that absolutely tasty smoky flavour.  It certainly garners a spot among the top of some of the best unagi I've eaten thus far (for its excellent flavour and texture).  Absolutely divine! ^o^  Highly recommended.

Of course consuming two mains will never be quite enough, so we had to supplement those with some other dishes and I noticed they have a new (or extended) BBQ Grill Menu this time round.  We wasted no time and ordered the Grilled Salmon Head @ RM15.90 that came perfectly grilled and seasoned.

Salmon head is not loved by many coz there's very little 'meat' and more bones to contend with but I'm not one of them.  I love to chew on the bones to get those little bits of crisp skin off the head and suck the bones for its grilled flavour...and this one was super fresh and nicely done.  It had so many crispy parts that I could almost devour the whole head.  Whatever meaty flesh you could get out of the head (and there was a fair bit of it) was tender and very good.

Just in case there wasn't enough meat from the salmon head, I went ahead to get another piece of Grilled Salmon Steak (small) @ RM24.90 (RM44.90 for large).  Take note that the grilled salmon here is of sashimi grade (as listed on the menu), so expect portion to be small for the price.

Because of the good quality sashimi grade salmon, the meat was totally juicy and luscious (nothing like some of the dried salmon I had encountered in the past).  The grilled salmon was executed to perfection...just look at the puffed up charring on the skin! ^o^  Order it.

There are loads more on offer on the grilled menu...from grilled live oysters to grilled salmon belly, monster squid, hamachi kama (collar), whole sanma, even grilled Italian provolone cheese ;)

Of course, we had to re-order the Salmon Sashimi Box @ RM19.90 (RM34.90 for an XL box) for its undeniably freshness and great value.  The last time I had it though, I wasn't overly happy with the slices we got but, this time, they were of a thicker cut with a bit more marbling that I preferred, so I'm happy :)

I was full by then but I just couldn't leave without trying at least one of their fresh oysters and went with the most expensive one they had on offer, the Tsarskaya (France) @ RM14.90/pc.  Other choices of oysters include Fine de Claire (France) @ RM9.90/pc and Pacific Oyster (USA) @ RM7.90/pc (these two I must try on my next visit).  These live oysters are airflown 2- 3 times a week from France and USA for optimum freshness.

Whoa, look at the size of that oyster...it's almost as big as my hand (and my hand is pretty big)! ;)  Just a squeeze of lemon was all the super fresh oyster needed showcasing a juicy and firm flesh.  You can taste the natural brininess of the sea and, after sampling this oyster, others will now pale in comparison for me.  Hey, I can probably down ten of these....hehe...I've always wanted to say I can eat ten of something....and now I can! ^_^

And then there was this large "see hum" that I saw (which costs a whopping RM50! O_o) but I'm wondering what that tastes like and if it's worth to try.  Ok-lah, it's not a see hum but live akagai (surf clam or ark shell clam).

Check out a more recent review here.

My Personal Opinion

We loved it as much as we did the first time although prices (depending on what you order) may not seem that casual due to the smallish portions.  Great for small eaters who can probably get away with spending just under RM100 per person.  Expect to fork out more than RM100 per person in order to fully satisfy a bigger eater.

Since I'm fine with smaller portions, this place still delivers for us in terms of freshness and taste.  I'm absolutely certain I'll be returning for more! ^o^

Eatomo Food Co
11-1-1 Jalan 3/109F
Taman Danau Desa
Jalan Kelang Lama
58100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2303 1608