Daorae Korean BBQ

A couple of Saturdays ago I decided to treat Dad to Daorae Korean BBQ. I've had dinner there before and was suitably impressed. Knowing how hard it can be to justify paying RM100 for a few chunks of grilled meat with lots of vegetables, I decided to pick up the tab and just let him savour the taste.

Leafing through the menu picking my choice of dead animals

We ate at the Bayan Lepas branch (map at the end of this post) and do be warned - you should have a reservation for weekend dining. Though it has been open for the better part of the year, it is still packed to the brim during peak hours. Definitely a sign that Korean food is the current hot cuisine in town!

The re-fillable side dishes that is a staple of good Korean restaurants

I chose 2 BBQ items from the menu. I like the fact that the BBQ is done by staff so we do not get our hands messy with cooking or risk undercooking/burning the meat. The first item that arrived was Gal-bi-sal (RM55): Boneless beef short rib marinated in secret recipe Daorae sauce. It was done medium-well (at the cook's discretion) and it tasted good, although I couldn't really taste the so-called secret recipe Daorae sauce. Maybe that's why it's secret.

Gal-bi-sal - before

Gal-bi-sal - after

The second item is definitely tastier and better value. Hanbang Dweji Wang Galbi (RM35) are hand filleted pork ribs marinated in special Korean ginseng & herbs extract, and sweet soy sauce. Just look at the portion given:

Hanbang Dweji Wang Galbi - before

Hanbang Dweji Wang Galbi - after

I taught Dad how to use the provided lettuce leaves to wrap the grilled meat along with his choice of side dishes. It went well with the provided chili dip and sweet soya sauce. At the end of the meal we were served with complimentary dessert. Besides that, a bowl of seaweed soup was also served at the start of the meal. I should mention that the seaweed used is of a higher quality, and not the common seaweed used in miso soups served in local Japanese restaurants.

The last time I went with 3 other friends, we were also given a bowl of steam egg (akin to chawanmushi but in a small stone pot). It wasn't served tonight, possibly because it was just the two of us? I didn't ask.

Sweet ginger soup and watermelon are the complimentary dessert

This dinner cost RM99 (RM90 + 10% service charge) and it gave us a good hour of bonding. They have other non-BBQ entrees which I haven't tried. Let me know what you think of their other stuff!

Bayan Lepas, Penang branch: 

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Other branches throughout Peninsula Malaysia are available.