Our Bibimbap Kind of Lunch

Annyeonghaseyo! Eotteohge jinaeseyo? (Hello! How are you?)
 

Yesterday, I had an interesting lunch with my officemates at the nearby Korean restaurant from the office. I haven’t really dived into any traditional Korean cuisine before so it was my first time to try this kind of food. The name of the restaurant is “BibimHaru” and we opt to try one of their signature Korean dishes they called “Bibimbap”...erm..I really thought it was some kind of a noodle soup but to my surprise it's a bowl of rice. Forgive me but yeah, it was LOL moment for me. Here's an FYI, Bibimbap in Korea means "mixed rice". :-p

BibimHaru Korean Restaurant settles at the ground floor of Two E-COM Center, Mall of Asia Complex facing the scenery of the Manila bay. I normally see people, who maybe came from a graveyard shift, chilling outside the restaurant while drinking beer. Unfortunately, it appears to be like a cheap restobar sometimes which I think is inappropriate for the kind of branding that is right for the restaurant. I just hope the management will do something about it because the place is very refined and they have beautiful interior designs. Luckily, today the place is in a pretty quite mood and we have the entire restaurant just for us. Yehey!

Can I be honest with you? I didn't actually know what distinguish Korean food from the Japanese’s. The fact that they are neighboring countries and both are using chopsticks for eating, it made me believe they belong to the same kind of cuisine. But today, I finally spotted a difference. Aha! I have realized Korean dishes are more meaty and spicy with lots of vegetables on the side whereas the Japanese cuisines tend to be more subtle or mild in flavours and they are heavy on fish and tofu. (o-O)

For our lunch, we ordered three (3) kinds of Korean Bibimbap: Pork, Beef and Seafood. We all feel slightly excited as it's our first time to try this kind of dish. The friendly waitress told us that our food orders will be served in 15-20 minutes but they managed to deliver all our Bibimbaps in less than 10 minutes. Basing on that, they have a good costumer service. Clap clap!

Beef Bibimbap (PHP 195)
Ground beef served on a bowl of warm white rice with vegetables like carrots, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini. At the center is a half cooked egg and dewdrops of gochujang (chili pepper paste)

Classic Pork Bibimbap (PHP 195)
Minced pork spread with sesame seeds and served on a bowl of warm white rice with vegetables like carrots, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini. At the center is a half cooked egg and dewdrops of gochujang (chili pepper paste)

Seafood Bibimbap (PHP 215)
Grilled shrimp, clam and seaweed served on a bowl of rice with vegetables like carrots, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini. At the center is a half cooked egg and dewdrops of gochujang (chili pepper paste)

The Bibimbaps were served in a large sized bowls which I think is enough for a hungry stomach. The food orders came with free Iced Tea or any Pepsi product soft drinks. But here's a tip: Ask for an extra glass of water because it comes very handy as the dish are drooled with chili pepper paste. I guess for people who indulged in spicy dishes, Bibimbap is definitely a must-try. But for me (as a first timer), the seasonings are too much for my liking but I have to say, the flavoured warm white rice is the winner among the ingredients.

The whole experience was quite impressive and for that I'm giving BibimHaru Korean Restaurant a score of:

BibimHaru complete address is Ground Floor Two E-Com Center, Ocean Drive, MOA, Pasay City. They are open daily for 24-hours. For inquiries and reservation, call (02) 887-0050.