Dorae Garden in Hartamas.

Korean food, something that I'll always enjoy not just because of its variety but also its exquisite taste. I first worshipped Jap food when i was 12 but i was never willing to try Korean because they ate dogs during winter... and i LOVE DOGS! So here i was in Dorae Garden, located in Sri Hartamas, on the same row as Maybank, just before the fire station. Dorae Garden is on the 1st and 2nd floors of the unit and hence, you've got to look for the sign on the doors next to the ground units. It seems that this restaurant is often full during weekends and reservation is a must to ensure your dining experience here.

There were 6 of us in total, 5 big eaters and the other, of a medium scale. We ordered 3 barbeque sets, 2 pork and 1 beef and a large serving of the spicy kim chi noodle after our mains. First came the sides, made up of anchovies, spinach, kim chi, 'balitong' snails, steamed fish, bean sprouts and etc. And because these are free of charge when you order the barbeque sets, i think we kinda finished the first round of the sides within 15 minutes or so.

The 'balitong' was nice and sweet but to me, it was kinda weird having it with the Korean dishes. From my Korean dining experiences, this was a first for me.

See my chopstick? It's diggin on the mayo-like vege... superb! Went well with the rice alongside the chili paste and the raw garlic pieces below.

The garlic pieces were meant to be eaten with the lettuce, salted sesame oil, the chili paste and the BBQ-ed meat but you know lar Malaysians, anything oso can one.

This was the spiced up spring onion and cucumber, sweet and spicy, a bit like our "achar", another one of those dishes that you can finish by yourself.

Wanna guess this is? It's a piece of steamed fish with sweet chili paste on it.. reminds me of our "cheong ching" fish. Thing is, it was served cold....cold sashimi is my favourite but this will take quite a lot to get used to.

The first meat we had, beef; lightly marinated and was nicely done. I thought they brought out the wrong meat coz we ordered some specially marinated beef but the waiter assured us that it is the right one.... When it was done and served, one bite was all it takes to mesmerize us. You've really got to savour its lovely texture and taste. Sweeeeet.... this one's better than the Nobu, MNI.

The 2nd meat arrived, pork. This was highly recommended by my friend who frequents this place pretty often and it does, resemble the infamous roast pork so many of us adore.

Fancy some bacon? This certainly had what it takes to take on my all time favourite brekkie meat. It was quite unpleasant upon first sight, looking at the layers of fat on the top half of the strips but i kept telling myself, "i'm gonna double my time and effort on the U-Zap". Soft on the inside, topped with its crispy skin, this was my favourite. Thankfully they served this last. Indeed a meat to savour.

We rounded things up with a nice hot wok of kim chi noodles served on a portable gas stove and though it looked devastatingly hot, it isn't actually. It had pieces of tofu, kim chi, pork, crabstick-sized chewy flour and instant noodles. Yup, you read it right, instant noodles that were suprisingly chewy despite spending more than 10 minutes in the bubling hot wok. the gravy clinched it for me, thick and reasonably spicy... very "kau"....

And the aftermath.......

Price: RM 180.00

Tummy Rating: 9.4/10