Friday, December 13, 2013

Korean Restaurant at Pavilion KL : Bulgogi Brothers - Halal?

Note to Readers : Bulgogi Brothers has closed down all its outlets in Malaysia.

Hmm.. after our chanced dining at Dubu-dubu Seoul Food at Berjaya Times Square recently, hubby seems fuelled to find more halal korean restaurants in KL. So, while sneaking a movie date with hubby, he insisted I asked the waitress at Bulgogi Brothers whether they are halal.. Being the good wife that I am (yeah right) I duly complied. The waitress was a friendly muslim lady wearing a headscraf and the manager (I'm assuming he is a manager) is a Malay muslim male. They confirmed that their meat come from halal suppliers and they don't use alcohol in their cooking, however they are not halal certified by Jakim as they serve alcohol. For your info, Bulgogi Brothers is owned by the same company that owns TGIF and Italiannies, so whether you accept their explanation or otherwise is really a personal choice to me. 

For ourselves, the explanation was good enough and erm.. yes.. we ate at Bulgogi Brothers that day. However, we were kind of in a rush as our movie was starting in 45 minutes and so we were quite hesistant to order the bulgogi since you have to cook it on the induction stove at your table, but the waitress said that she gurantees that the dish will be ready in less than 45 minutes, so we ordered:

halal dinner kuala lumpur
Korean Seafood Dumplings @ Bulgogi Brothers

Seafood dumplings (haemul gungjung mandu): a fried dumplings with seafood fillings and served with some mussels, squids and prawns side and spicy korean dip. This dish is very nice and very filling. By the time we finished the appetizer, I was already quite full.

halal korean restaurant kuala lumpur
Bulgogi Brothers Bulgogi Special

Bulgogi Brothers' Special: This dish is a combination of Unyang Style Bulgogi (seasoned beef and hand pressed into heart shape) and Gwangyang Style Bulgogi (seasoned beef with mushrooms, sweet potatoes, leeks and garlic). It came with 7 banchaans (korean side dishes) and a basket of salad should you want to eat bulgogi the true korean style.

halal korean side dish kl
Banchaan at Bulgogi Brothers, KL

The first banchaan that arrived was this, corn, sweet potato and edamame.. I think they were all boiled.. healthy but ermm.. a bit bland for me.. especially the edamame..

halal kl food
Spinach, pumpkin and lotus root banchan @ Bulgogi Brothers

The second, third and fourth banchan came in a platter, spinach, pumpkin and lotus root. I really like the pumpkin banchan, sweet and creamy yummy! and it was my first time trying the lotus root, I was quite taken aback by it's look but once I tried it, I was pleasantly surprised. The texture of the lotus root was quite starchy, slightly nutty, tastes similar to sweet potato or normal potato but denser and chewy too. Oh my, I think lotus root might just be my new found love :) I do find the banchan slightly on the sweet side maybe too much sugar or syrup :)

halal korean food kl
Halal Kimchi, Water Spinach and Radish @ Bulgogi Brothers; KL


The last three banchans were kimchi, water spinach and radish. I didn't quite favor the kimchi but it does taste better than Dubu-dubu's kimchi, the water spinach is ok but err,, truthfully speaking didn't really leave an impression but I do love the radish kimchi hehe.. that's because I love radish :)

So, the banchans were so many that I was ready to burst before even eating the main. Too much lah for me!

Overall, it was a nice visit, a different change to my nasi lemak, mee bandung and tomyam seafood diet haha.. but I find the bulgogi to be tasteless even though it is stated in the menu that the beef are seasoned.. I also tried eating the meat rolled up in the salad leaves provided and seasoned with accompanied dippings but I think I failed miserably.

The basket of salad provided at Bulgogi Brothers ; KL


The Bbq dips @ Bulgogi Brothers , KL

We also ordered Seafood Stew with rice (Haemul Doenjang Jjigae) but I didn't take a picture of it. The seafood portion is quite generous with some crabs, shrimps, vegetables and small cubed tofu. It is not very spicy and I quite like it but hubby said he preferred Dubu-dubu's Soondubu Jigae. 

It's funny that the restaurant's name is Bulgogi Brothers but I am not impressed by the bulgogi instead I am infatuated with the banchaans and appetizers -heh- 

The decor of the restaurant is also nice, so I guess it's an option for entertaining guests when they come up to KL for halal korean food but the price is on the high side so I don't think this place will be a regular haunt for us.  

Currently Bulgogi Brothers have outlets at:

- Paradigm Mall, Kelana Jaya, Lot GB 13, Ground Floor Boulevard
- Pavilion KL, Level 6, Lot 6.01.03
- e-Curve, Mutiara Damansara, G-03-A, Ground Floor
- Mid Valley Megamall, Lot T-013B, 3rd Floor

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