Kimbap Cheonguk

Note: Kimbap Cheonguk rebranded to Mandu Heaven

After more than a month, the PEx Gluttony Society met up again for a wonderful dinner at a Korean hole-in-the-wall resto called Kimbap Cheonguk ("Kimbap Heaven" in Korean).

It's quite difficult to look for the place since the sign is in Korean. You wouldn't even think that it's actually a Korean resto.

 

inside Kimbap Cheonguk

The place is a small eatery, no frills whatsoever. Just a few tables and chairs and a small TV. This is my exact definition of "hole-in-the-wall". Good thing I got there early since customers, both Filipinos and Koreans, start to fill the place.

Banchan

Korean meals usually come with Banchan or side dishes, which come for free. We had the following for Banchan:

clam soup

pickled radishes

fish cakes

I wasn't able to try everything, but I particularly liked the fish cakes.

Kimbap

Since it was named after this dish, we didn't miss ordering it. Kimbap means seaweed rice in Korean. It is quite similar to Japanese sushi. We had Cheese Kimbap (Php 150) and Modum Kimbap or mixed kimbap (Php 180).

Cheese Kimbap

Modum Kimbap

Modum Kimbap has meat slices, salmon, vegetables, eggs, and cheese. Both Kimbaps are really good! :)

Mandu

We also had two kinds of Mandu or Korean dumplings: Kun Mandu (Php 180) and Gogi Mandu (Php 180).

Kun Mandu

Gogi Mandu

Kun Mandu is fried dumplings with minced pork and vermicelli while Gogi Mandu is steamed pork dumplings. Both dumplings are meaty and flavorful!

We also had Chapchae (Php 250) and Cheese Dukboggi (Php 200).

Chap Chae

Cheese Dukboggi

Chap Chae or Japchae is a Korean noodle dish made of glass noodles, veggies, and meat. It was a bit sweet, which I liked. Dukboggi or Ddeokbokki is a dish made of sliced rice cake, beef, fish cakes, boiled egg, vegetables with spicy sauce, and melted cheese on top. A good friend was raving about this dish so I was curious about it for quite a while. It was really delicious! I just had to drink lots of water since it was too spicy for me.

We also had Samgyupsal (Php 400), which is an unseasoned pork belly. It was cooked at our table and served with fresh lettuce leaves and other veggies. It also goes with gochujang or Korean chili paste.

Grilling the samgyupsal

Samgyupsal

Vegetables to go with the samgyupsal

The gochujang lacked the saltiness I was looking for but the Samgyupsal was really good! It is a healthy choice for meat lovers (like myself).

Overall, Kimbap Cheonguk is a must-try Korean resto. The dishes were really affordable. I really appreciated the friendliness of the staff. They were very patient in explaining the items on the menu, which was useful since I'm reading the Korean dishes that still confuse me.

I really had a great time with these guys. See you again soon, guys! :)

Kimbap Cheonguk menu

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Kimbap Cheonguk
Ground Floor
Amber Square Building,
Escriva Drive,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City