Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Restaurant Review: Maru

My mom and ninang are the biggest Koreanovela fans. Can you believe my ninang even has Bae yong jung's (from Winter Sonata) manager's number?-- and on top of that, she even contacted KBS and MBC on her trip to Korea just to get Jang Dong Gun's (Kenneth of All About Eve) number? lol!

Well, that addiction got them patrionizing a lot of Korean stuff-- especially their food. That means only one thing: eating sessions at Korean restaurants. lol!

Honestly, I don't think Korean Food is vegetarian-friendly so I'm not that excited to eat at Korean restos. Oftentimes, I have to "edit" out the meat from my meal which is something I try to avoid doing when we eat out. But then, what's one more "un-vegetarian-friendly" restaurant to add to the roster? So our stop? Maru.

Choosing what to eat was a task for me because there weren't a lot of vegetarian friendly stuff in their menu. But our server was very helpful in suggesting items that I could eat and he assured me that there are plenty of vegetables in Korean cuisine that could fill me.

I picked the Bibimbap co'z I was seriously craving for rice:

See how it's full of veggies?? I laveeet! :P I also think it's delightful that it was in a hot stone bowl. It kept the food warm--no, make that HOT even after a long while. The best thing about this type of Bibimbap is the fact that the meat part is so small and clumped together which makes it so easy to remove :)

Here's Maru's take on the traditional on-the-spot grilled meat:

Wrapping everything in lettuce was the fun part! Didn't matter if mine didn't have meat, it was really flavorful already! Yum, yum!I really enjoyed eating at Maru that I even brought my good friend P, who doesn't like Korean food there only to turn her into a convert! We love, love Maru!

Overall taste: Great with a capital G! Everything tasted authentic especially their Kimchi. A tip: you should ask for a little bit of sesame oil with salt and some soy bean paste, they are sooooo yummy and goes well with everything!

Ambience: The place was really nice and well- lighted. It also gives you options on where to sit (either on the floor in true Korean style, or on basic tables and chairs).

Value for Money: Excellent! For the pictures on this post, not including the grilled mackerel I forgot to add, everything cost us less than P1,000! That's three dishes total, and we didn't even get to finish them all!

PK advise: The servers are really nice that it's sad that they don't charge for service. I think it would be proper to leave them a good tip! Also, it's best to eat here if you're not going anywhere else after co'z they don't use smokeless grills and I tell you, the smoky smell has a way of sticking to your clothes!

So if you want to try authentic Korean cuisine without breaking the bank, check out Maru at HK Sun Plaza, Diosdado Macapagal Blvd, Pasay :)

2 comments:

  1. Whhhaaaat?! She has BYJ's manager's no. and Jnag Dong Gun??? How did she get that? Amazing! Your mom is the best! ^^

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  2. Hahaha! yes, she does. Actually, she just called the korean network and they "gladly" referred her to the manager. Apparently, they are very excited to get calls from International fans (and oh, maybe it helped that she works at the Cultural Center of the Philippines?)

    ReplyDelete

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