Samgyupsalamat (Korean Restaurant)

Hey Foodies!

Whose up for a meat-a-palooza?! Featuring in today’s blog is a Korean Restaurant where Ryan and I dined during our anniversary last week and it is called Samgyupsalamat (Samgyeopsal+Salamat) located at Malate, Manila. For those of you who are not yet familiar, Samgyeopsal is a popular Korean dish consist of pork belly slices. These fatty pieces of meat are either marinated or not and grilled at the lunch/dinner table. So, how it is being prepared and eaten? Keep reading and I will show you how. 

We availed the Unlimited Korean Barbecue Dinner for two. For just P499.00 per head, you can enjoy five kinds of pork and four types of beef over and over again in your tummy’s content (2 kinds of meat will be served at a time) service fee and tax included. All the sides dishes are unlimited too and that explains why our table is oh so full! You also have the option to order ala carte but I think that availing their unlimited offers is more sulit! Samgyupsalamat also serves Soju and Soft drinks (excluded in the unlimited offer). 

I have read that Samgyupsalamat branches (Malate Manila, Jupiter St. Makati City, Banawe St. and Katipunan Ave. Quezon City) are always packed with diners and they only accept reservations for large groups of customers, so be prepared to wait a little while to be seated. In our case, we were settled on our seats after thirty five minutes of waiting. We were there Friday so I do not know what is the scenario during weekends. 

Once seated, a staff will immediately arrange the table  top grill for you. 

A total of nine side dishes including a cup of rice and a bowl of soup were served to us while we are waiting for the first two plates of meats that we ordered. There’s steamed omelette, fresh lettuce,  spicy fish cakes, of course the traditional Kimchi, shavings of radish, fresh onion rings and a spicy salad. 

The lettuce is really crispy and fresh, the steamed omelette is one of my favorite because it’s so fluffy and tasty, the soup and spicy cakes are amazing too. Did I say that I love them all? hehe!

The kimchi tastes authentic, the radish shavings and the onions rings will refresh your palette while the spicy salad is also one of my favorites! I barely touched the rice because you know, it’s the rule when it comes to eat-all-you-can restaurants.  

Ryan and I are not heavy eaters that’s why no matter how much we wanted to taste every meat available, we only managed to consume seven out of nine plates. Every single plate of meat is really good especially those with seasonings. The store claims that their meats are all imported from the US. 

Let’s begin with the pork. The first meat on the plate are thin, almost bacon like slices of fresh pork belly called Daepae Samgyeopsal. The one in the middle is called Buljib Samgyeopsal, they are semi-thick tenderized pork belly sprinkled with pepper. The last one is another plate of fresh pork belly but this time it has a seasoned sauce called Yangnyum Daepae. 

For the beef, we managed to consume all four plates. The first plate on the left is a korean beef barbecue with sweet soy sauce called Beef “Boolgogi”.  Next to it is the Beef Samgyeopsal, another bacon like slices of beef. On the bottom left  is a plate of Yangnyum Beef Samgyup, slices of beef with seasoned sauce while the last one (my favorite) is a plate of sliced beef with sweet and spicy sauce called Gochoojang Beef Samgyup.

Three kinds of dipping sauces were served. The first one on the left is a semi sweet with the hint of sour sauce, the one in the middle is called Ssamjang which is a tangy chili paste and the last one is sesame oil if I am not mistaken. These sauces are unlimited too. 

So How to Prepare and Eat Samgyeopsal?

Step 1: Grill your meat and cut it into bite size pieces.

Step 2: Grab a piece of fresh lettuce and put the meat on  it.

Step 3: Spread a generous amount of Ssamjang into the meat.

Step 4: Incorporate a side dish of your choice.

Step 5: Wrap the meat with the lettuce and put the whole thing on your mouth.

The moment I took my first bite of the samgyeopsal, it’s was like heaven! (I am actually drooling right now as I try to recall the sensation I felt during that first bite). The naturally sweet juices of the fresh lettuce splattered on my mouth. As I continue to chew, I tasted the amazing flavor of the salad mixed with the crispiness of the fatty pork meat. 

To wrap it all up, Ryan and I had an amazing experience at Samgyupsalamat. The staff and the security guard (who also assist the customers) are so nice and accommodating. The ambiance is good too (I just wish that the place is a lot bigger to accommodate more customers) and of course the food is uh-may-zing!!! We will definitely come back!