Sunday, August 25, 2013

Jang Gun, Fahrenheit 88

Do you agree with the saying that goes “Two is better than one”? As much as we Malaysians like Japanese food a lot, Jang-Gun (under the same management as Shogun and Saisaki) decides to incorporate varieties of Japanese delicacies along with their main buffet theme that promotes Korean fare.

It always good to start a meal by having some healthy tea. Here in Jang Gun, they serve the popular Korean drink namely barley tea. The slightly dark brown beverage imparted a fragrant aroma from barley that provides a pleasant taste. You can choose other beverages from the drinks section such as orange juice, coffee, hot chocolate and others.
 
 
A Korean meal wouldn’t be complete without banchan, a ‘routine’ to start with and serves as a great appetizer to stimulate our appetite. A variety of the side dishes are served here, ranging from basic kimchi, julienned potato, par-boiled spinach, clams, mini pajeon, egg rolls, potato salad and many more. Kimchi was decent with adequate spicy and sour kick, but not the best I’ve had. Other banchans are pretty good too, but remember to save extra stomach space for more upcoming food introduced in this blogpost later!

Craving for hot stone bibimbap? You can order freshly made ones from the banchan counter.

 Sashimi counter

 
Salmon, tuna, butterfish, tako and others as well as boiled prawns

Sushi section




Fried items
Various types of tempura using prawns, soft shell crab, yam, pumpkin, brinjal and sushi. Not greasy nor oily, crispy and irresistible end product. Have your favourite chicken katsu if you fancy some.
 
 
Kimchi and seafood pancake. Although the centre was too soft for my liking, the edges still remained crispy.

Baked cheese oysters were pretty disappointing as the cheese surface turned hard after left to cool for some time.

Soups and stew (jigae)

You can expect to find basic Korean soups and stews that we usually have in Korean restaurants such as none other than kimchi jigae, seaweed soup, soondubu (soft beancurd) jigae and sam gye tang (ginseng chicken soup). Be prepared to savour beef rib stew, fish maw soup as well tom yam soup.
 Soondubu Jigae
 
 Kimchi Jigae
 
 Sam Gye Tang
 
 Fish maw and seaweed soup
 
Tom Yam Soup and Beef Ribs Stew
Kimchi soup boasted a balanced spicy and sour flavours, suitable for people who cannot take overly spicy food. The kimchi pieces were cooked till soft, very enjoyable along with tofu cubes. Although not the best I have had (I prefer more spicy versions), but this can easily satisfy my cravings.

Soondubu jigae was decent too, infused with seafood goodness easily detected from first sip of soup. The smooth and soft tofu pieces along with non-conventional addition of needle mushrooms goes well with steamed rice provided.

If you love the umami flavours from seaweed, seaweed soup is perfect for you.
 
Seafood such as prawns, scallops, mussels, crabs and some vegetable were prepared for you to boil with hot water, then poured with the soup/stew of your choice.

Grilled meat station

 
Choose from marinated chicken, beef, squids and others and handover to the chef to prepare freshly cooked meats for you. The squids were executed until the right doneness and presented a smokey sweet flavour.

Hot cooked food
 

Chawanmushi- well flavoured with soft and smooth egg texture. Some did not like the overly soft texture, as a slightly pudding like texture is more preferred.

 
Steamed cod fish, Nyonya prawns, fried egg with sharks fin, bamboo clams
Cod fish was as good as always, judging from the same dish served in Shogun. Freshy, sweet and flaky fish with superior soya sauce is always a favourite Chinese dish of mine.

Bamboo clams' unpleasant fishy taste slightly covered with the sweet spicy sauce.

 Fried mixed mushrooms, stewed beef ribs, ginger duck, lamb shank
 
 
Kimchi fried rice, yaki udon, abalone fried rice, mussels in tomato sauce
Kimchi fried rice was a let down- hardly any kimchi flavours infused to the rice.
 
Udon lacked springy texture as it turned soft and mushy, probably have been left in the buffet dish for quite some time already.
 
 Mussels with sweet peas, mushrooms, spicy stir fried squids
 
 
Beef bulgogi, sweet and sour chicken, japchae, broccoli with prawns
 
 
 
Tteokbokki (rice cakes)- texture was too soft and mushy, probably left in the warmer for too long.
 

 
Generally the dishes were decent or literally ‘as it is’ except separately mentioned, hardly any surprises or outstanding flavours.

Dessert and fruits
 
 
 
 
Dip marshmallows or biscuits into melted chocolate. Have your healthy dose of daily fruit intake by choosing from watermelon, honeydew, papaya and pineapple.

Fruit cocktail, I always look forward to this dessert whenever I dine in Shogun. Love the diced watermelon, honeydew, pineapple and papaya in iced syrup, oh so refreshing and addictive.

The highlight of dessert was the all new Squeezit. It is a type of mixture between ice cream and sorbet concept dessert brought from Japan.

Flavours available
 
 
 
 

I have tried Japanese Matcha (how can I resist it???), wild berries as well as premium hazelnut chocolate and liked all of them. Natural ingredients are used, without any artificial flavourings. Matcha was my favourite so of course it was good, though lacked bitter taste but some people may not like it. Wild berries was not too sour with a hint of yoghurt taste and who does not love hazelnut chocolate? I regretted not having more than 3 of the flavours that night XD I promise I will leave more stomach space for more Squeezit =P

They are invading AEON Big supermarkets sometime this week, selling at price of RM5.90 or RM6.90. Locations for its availability will be Sunway Medical Centre, Jaya One, Mid Valley AEON Big as far as I remember.

Jang-Gun
G1 27 01-04, Ground Floor,
Fahrenheit 88,
179, Jalan Bukit Bintang,
Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Contact Number: 03-2148 7333
 
 

SeoulScape Bistro, The Strand Kota Damansara

Located at the popular Kota Damansara area with few quaint little eatery or café, included in the list will be SeoulScape Bistro established by two young entrepreneurs since August 2012. Sub from Korea who is a multimedia designer  prepares all the dishes by himself including the side dishes, while his partner Carmen is taking care of customer serving side. Look at the paintings on the wall, exclusively painted by her who is an artist.







 Small little thoughtful decorations that brings out the ambience further, mostly K-pop related stuff.


Beanbag area for your dining pleasure




 
A Korean meal is always started with side dishes. We were served with three types of simple banchan that night.



Kimchi- Not spicy and sour enough, which is understandable because Sub just made it 3 days prior to our food review session.

Jullienned potato- I like the pepper sprinkled on top to add extra flavours.

Anchovies & peanut- Another good starter that promotes crunchy and sweet characteristics.
Moving on to the main dishes, we have this Jeu Suk Ddeokbokki to begin with.

 

RM45 (4-5pax)- includes 4 rice and 2 noodles

RM30 (2-3pax)- includes 2 bowls of rice and 1 noodle
Korean stew comprised of tofu, enoki mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, sausages, sliced spam and baked beans in spicy broth. It has a slight hint of beanpaste that complements well with spicy chilli paste, but slowly dissipates when cooked longer on the stove. Best served with steamed rice. I was expecting Korean rice that has sticky texture but local rice is served instead. I thought Korean rice would absorb the flavours from the broth better. The overall taste is much similar to the following stew, quite difficult to differentiate clearly.
 

Budae Jigae



 
RM45 (4-5pax)- includes 4 rice and 2 noodles

RM30 (2-3pax)- includes 2 bowls of rice and 1 noodle

 


 
Scallops, filament crabsticks, Korean fish cake, sausages,  ddeokbokki, hard boiled egg and cabbage simmered in broth containing Korean spicy chilli paste. Spiciness level can be adjusted according to preference. When the broth reduces to thicker and stickier texture, ramen is added inside. A further reduction of broth warrants addition of rice to transform this dish into fried rice. The broth tasted rather sweet followed by spicy aftertaste, a comforting stew that has American-Korean history behind it. I love how the rather thick reduced broth coated the strands of ramen, making each slurp an enjoyable one. We should have fried the rice for a longer time resembling bibimbap instead of just mixing lightly.

 Kimchi Jigae (RM20)
 
 
 
This has got to be the thickest kimchi jigae I ever had. The usual version will be reasonably light textured broth with visible chilli flakes, but this is as thick as tomato soup’s, if not, thicker. First sip did not send me to the pungent, spicy and sour kimchi jigae heaven, it taste more like tomato soup actually. The further tasting experience slowly accentuates the spicy sensation, but still it lacked the kick or ‘oomph’, probably I should request for extra spicy =D Ingredients such as carrot, onions, sliced pork and kimchi absorbed the broth well, providing a wholesome bite.

 
Jeyuk Bokkeum (RM18)

Spicy dry stir fried pork with chef’s homemade thick chilli paste sauce. A decent dish for those who like it not too spicy.

Korean Kalbi (RM18)

Non-spicy marinated pork in a ganjang-based sauce consisting Korean soy sauce, garlic and sugar.




Yakso (RM50 for 10 shots)

Flavoursome yakult mixed with clear soju. Contains very light alcohol, more inclined towards strong yakult flavour with a slight burning tongue sensation towards the end. An enjoyable drink to share with your friends, just order a jug for RM40, drink and chat away!

 
We were also treated with complimentary dessert, essentially Marie biscuits smothered with homemade raspberry & strawberry jam, topped with diced apple to balance the sourness from the jam, even better when drizzled with chocolate sauce. I am not a fruit jam person but this version from SeoulScape gave me a reason to enjoy more fruit jam, the sourness is light yet just right. The ingredients worked well with each other, surprisingly. Indeed a simple yet a delightful sweet ending to our meal.
 
Kamsahamnida Foodirector! Yet another joyful food review session with authentic Korean delights and awesome foodies!


SeoulScape Bistro

No. 18-1,
Jalan PJU 5/20B,
The Strand Kota Damansara,
47810 Petaling Jaya.