Hanayo (Scout Lozano near Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had dinner at Hanayo. It's actually the second time we've been here, but we didn't manage to take photos the first time, which happened early last year. Found just a skip away from Tomas Morato, this Korean grill is similar to the likes of Don-Day, one of the food places I exclaim highly due to the budget buffet they offer. This isn't as inexpensive as Don-Day, however. When we first went, the buffet, which includes on-your-table grilling, only costed a bit more than 500 Php.

When we went, the weekend price costs 630 Php per head. I guess it's to be expected due to inflation. Nevertheless, the offerings remained the same. We sat down on a table and immediately went to the buffet table.

Hanuri (Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had a second dinner at Hanuri a few weeks ago. Yes, you read that right, and if you're curious as to why, find out in a later blog. Anyway, our stomachs weren't satisfied although we already had pleased palates, so we weren't very picky. It was already a bit late at night, so our choices were limited even though we were at the foodie haven of the Tomas Morato area. We noticed the sudden influx of Korean restaurants at the McDonald's side, and one of them happen to be open for 24 hours. Since we know that most modern Korean restos are generally generous with their servings. Since we needed nourishment more than something to tickle our palates; not that Korean food is bad, I just find it monotonous in flavor—either spicy or sweet.

We found that their menu is relatively more pricey than the place I consider to be the best value Korean resto. It's still quite competitive against something like Kogi Bulgogi. One unique item in their menu, which is what we ordered, was their Shabu Shabu (390 Php), which, according to the menu, was good for two. We also ordered a bottle of Soju (150php) for the heck of it.

Yoogane (Il Terrazzo, Tomas Morato)

Beloved and I had dinner at Yoogane a couple of nights ago. This relatively new Korean restaurant opened shop at the same building on the same floor of one of our favorite Japanese restaurants. Beloved had the chance to eat here before, and forewarned me of the spiciness of their specialty, Dak Galbi. Since our recent Korean restaurant ventures proved deliciously fruitful, I gave it a shot.

Every table is equipped with a stove. Beloved explains that the Dak Galbi is cooked in front of you. Although unlike other Korean or Japanese barbecue places we've been to, this place have cooks cooking for you. All of their specialties include chicken plus some other meat. We decided to order their Marinated Chicken Galbi & Assorted Seafood, which came in 900php and 1200php variants. Obviously, we chose the former. I should add that this is the only menu item that has this tag, the others are priced 300Php or less, but I assume these are only good for one. We chose this since this was the only one that came with seafood. Aside from that, we ordered a couple of side dishes, their Assorted Add Ons (200 Php) and Beloved asked for their Udon Noodle (90 Php).

Woorijib (Kalayaan Avenue)

Beloved and I had dinner at Woorijib a couple of days ago. I was badly craving for pork belly, and since samgyupsal seems to be the most cost-efficient way to consume as much pork belly as I can, we considered going to Don-Day. I did a quick Google search for samgyupsal and Quezon City, and this place was among the first to pop up, receiving quite favorable reviews. It was located at Kalayaan Avenue, just a couple of jeepney rides away from home. Because I felt that Don-Day would be better for when there's more than the two of us, I urged Beloved that we try this place out instead.

Unlike Don-Day which is essentially a Korean buffet specializing in samgyupsal, Woorijib is a full-fledged Korean restaurant. However, all the tables seem to be ordering either their pork belly samgyupsal or beef version of it, since there is free endless side dishes, veggies, and soup. Beloved was leaning to the beef version, but since they probably wouldn't allow mixing up the two (or would make us pay for both for each of us), I convinced her to that: their Samgyupsal (299 Php). Beloved also ordered their Kimbap (200 Php), since, as I've mentioned, this place isn't really a Korean buffet. I felt that this was unneeded, seeing the grand feast the other tables were having, but I let Beloved have her order since she did agree to the pork.

Kogi Bulgogi (Eastwood Mall)

Beloved and I had dinner at Kogi Bulgogi last night. This Korean restaurant is found at the second floor of Eastwood Mall's alfresco area. We honestly didn't plan this one, but Beloved wanted Serenitea and didn't want to walk on Katipunan because of the summer heat, so we just took the cab to Eastwood, the second closest one from home.

Anyway, since this was Korean, I expected two things: hot stuff and barbecued stuff. My expectations were correct, but I was also surprised to find quite a handful of Japanese dishes, such as sashimi and tempura. Of course, the Korean stuff still dominated the menu, and practically every Korean dish I know of is in the menu. They also have samgyupsal, as the one served unlimited of in Don-Day. Here, though, everything's on a per-order basis.

I did find the prices of most of the dishes fair, but the one that caught my eye wasn't. I ordered their Tuk Bulgogi (320 Php), which was essentially a Korean sukiyaki. Beloved had their Yuk Hoi Dulsot Bibimbap (188 Php), a rice bowl with raw beef and raw egg, to be cooked as you mix. Finally, we also ordered their Nude Kimbap (188 Php), just because of the name. Oh, and we also got a couple of their Iced Tea (65 Php), which comes with one free refill—a smart offer, I thought.

Cafe Monaco (Banawe)

Me, Beloved, and Hannah had dinner at Cafe Monaco a couple of days ago. This quaint cafe is located at Banawe corner Retiro, which is a place I don't really have plenty reason to go to. Beloved and Hannah, however, lives nearby which makes this their territory. Anyway, Beloved explains that this place has been here for a long time and has a pretty big following, which I could see from the amount of people at the place wanting to go in but couldn't because all the seats were taken.

Hannah was already inside when we went in, which solved the seating problem for our part. She had already ordered a Nutella Creppe (100 Php), which is part of their selection of crepes filling up an entire page of their menu. Aside from the expected desserts and coffee, the place also specializes in Korean and, recently, according to Beloved, Japanese food and Pinoy silogs. Because Korean was their specialty, I decided to order their noodle dish: Chapchae (130 Php). Beloved also ordered their Bibimbop (140 Php), a Korean rice bowl, and their Kimbop (120 Php), a Korean rice roll.

BonChon Chicken (Regis Center, Katipunan)

Me and family had dinner at BonChon Chicken last night. I've only recently heard of this place, which apparently recently also sprung up everywhere for some reason. All of my loved ones who have tried this place say that it's fantastic. Mom had heard that their chicken is addictive, and they claim to be the best chicken in some parts of America. However, from what I've heard, this place is apparently a Korean fried chicken place. A pretty accessible one opened up in a somewhat newly-opened building at Katipunan Ave., and that was where we ate.

It was a fast food-style of ordering, with two counters and a couple of screens showing their menu. Their chicken come in bulks of different pieces, with the thighs, legs, and chops at a same price-per-piece and the wings at a cheaper one. They can also be mixed-and-matched. I do not recall the exact prices, though, since we got their set meals. Each comes with two of the larger cuts or three of the wings plus rice and drink. Also, you have a choice of spicy or sweet style of cooking. Some of their side dishes confirm the Korean side of things. They have Chapchae, Korean stir-fried noodles; Bulgogi, sweet barbecued beef, in burrito or shawarma form; and Kimchi, that extremely spicy Korean staple, in salad form. While they do have non-Korean exclusive sides, such as Fries and Calamari, we were about to find out that this was indeed a Korean fried chicken place.

Our orders were their BonChon Chicken meals. Mine were two chops for 145 Php, my brother got two thighs for 145 Php, and mom had three wings for 135 Php. We had half of them sweet and the other half spicy. We also got a couple of their sides: Calamares for 125 Php and Chapchae for 75 Php. For the prices, I thought they were pretty affordable...

Don-Day (Malingap Street, near Maginhawa Street)

Me, Beloved, and friends celebrated one of our friend's birthday at Don-Day. This Korean barbecue place is located right across Pino, a walks way from Maginhawa Street. We've been wanting to try this since we've heard about it, especially when we learned about its price.

Anyway, the place itself isn't really praiseworthy. It looks like your usual open-air pares place devoid of air conditioning. However, upon entering, you are greeted with a whiteboard menu boasting it's small selection. On top is the Samgupsal Buffet, priced at 299 Php. This consists of a buffet of Korean food fare plus unlimited pork for you to grill at your own table, similar to YakiMIX or, perhaps more appropriately, to Sambo Kojin, only much, much more affordable. They also have the  Don-Day Buffet priced at 199 Php selection which removes the said unlimited pork, and just provides with a buffet of regular Korean food fare.

Sambo Kojin (Eastwood)

Ah, it's been a while... again. No, I haven't gotten paid yet from any of my apparent sources of income. But because yesterday was a special day for Beloved and I, we decided to rummage our savings to eat somewhere special as well. We went to Eastwood City Walk's somewhat newly opened restaurant Sambo Kojin.

This place is special because it's basically 90% similar to YakiMIX from our research. The only apparent difference is they also serve some Korean food apart from the smokeless grill yakiniku and Japanese food YakiMIX offers. If you've read our review of that place, you know how much we loved it, explaining why we wanted to try this place out. Of course, I must insist on comparing this place to that since they're just so similar. Consider that my forewarned apology.

The entrance to the place exudes an aura of... preparedness. They actually have a lobby where people can wait, complete with a water dispenser and actually comfy-looking furniture. Not that we had to wait at all—after signing in, we were immediately led upstairs to the dining area. After asking us our drinks, we went out for their Dinner Buffet priced at 595 Php per head.

Koryo (SM North EDSA)

Beloved and I had dinner at Koryo last night. This is a newly-opened Korean barbecue resto-bar at SM North EDSA's Sky Garden that kept handing out free garlic potatoes in front of their joint. The transparent glass let us see the flames from their grill, which made it quite appealing. However, the fact that this is Korean=kimchi makes me have second doubts. I cast these doubts aside and hoped that their flavors would be on the sweeter half of Korean food, rather than the spicy side.

The way of ordering here is similar to school canteens or cafeterias—you choose your meal and pick the side dishes visibly kept on warming trays. The meal choices, as expected, consists mostly of barbecued meat. However, there were also a few selections of udon soups. I ordered for myself their Beef and Chicken Barbecue Combo (195 Php). My order comes with a couple of scoops of seasoned rice and a couple of side dishes, and I picked their Fish Cakes and Garlic Potatoes. Beloved ordered their Seafood U-don (225 Php)—yes, it really had a hyphen in its name. Our drinks were large non-refillable Iced Tea for beloved and Mango Juice for me (55 Php each), although they did have quite generous servings.

Santorini (UST)

Every other friday night, me and my blockmates eat at Santorini because it is the only time we get to bond due to thesis. We went there again for merienda last friday to celebrate Bebs' birthday. Santorini is a Korean restaurant located at P. Noval (beside Jon Clark Cafe) which is loved by CFAD and UST students alike. They have posters of different K-pop groups; a tv that only shows korean shows and music videos; plus a bulletin board where you can post your thoughts and fanart.

I ordered their Bibim guksu noodles (150php) and Chamchii (100php) to share with my blockmates. Ivy ordered Korean pancake (100php) while Dustin ordered their Sogogi (100php). We ordered their Magnolia fruit drinks for (10php) each, plus they have free water. They also serve kimchi for free while waiting.

Seoul Garden (SM North EDSA)

A couple of days ago, beloved and I ate at Seoul Garden. This was one of the first restaurants to open during the opening of the brand new Annex of SM North EDSA. From it's name, it's safe to assume that it's Korean. What kind exactly, I wasn't too sure since every time we pass by, I see there's only a few people in to pique my interest. However, I notice there were plenty of dividers inside, so I couldn't be too sure. I grow curiouser each time we pass by, especially after our wonderful experience on YakiMIX and realizing that Seoul Garden was a do-it-yourself-barbecue-and-hotpot-buffet. The day before yesterday was our chance to try it out.

As I've said, this was a Korean buffet. They specialize in hot pot and barbecued items, although they also serve some bibimbap and other cooked Korean staples. Perhaps what was keeping me from being too enthusiastic (although still curious) on trying this place out was the fact that it eludes Korean just from its name alone. And, quite frankly, I'm not really fond of Korean, especially its spicy side. Anyway, this was an opportunity, so I said why not. They charge 585 Php for adults on weekends on lunch, which was the day and time we happen to eat there. We went in and they showed us our table. Each table had its own stove where you cook your food. They also asked us what soup base we would like for our hotpot. The choices were chicken soup, kimchi, spicy somethings, and Chinese herb. Because all the others sounded spicy, we picked the Chinese herb one. While waiting for our soup, we went to the buffet table to get our raw stuff.

My first impression on their available meat was disappointing. As I expected, everything was marinated in something spicy. They had kimchi beef, peppered chicken, spicy curried fish, spicy pork, et cetera. Luckily, they had pork belly, or, in my favorite words, plain bacon. They also had crab and shrimp balls, shrimp, and fish sticks for the hotpot. There's a lot of choices of vegetables as well. Since this was a hot pot, we got a very varied plate filled with meat, seafood, and balls, without any space for veggies, before going back to the table.