A KOREAN GEM: MATGALNE RESTAURANT

Ever since my office moved to Makati nearly six years ago, I’ve always been  on the lookout for new restaurants to eat at in the area– especially places whose prices that are friendly to the working man.  Recently, I was pleasantly surprised to find a small Korean restaurant in Makati called, “Matgalne”.  

 Matgalne is wonderful hidden gem that offers you not just an unlimited amount of Samgyupsal (which is more commonly known to us non-Korean speaking people as.. wait for it.. Pork Belly!!),  but an incredible buffet spread, consisting of about 20 other mouth watering dishes for only P299!

Located near the corner of Makati Avenue and Kalayaan Avenue (in front of St. Giles Hotel) Matgalne is a simple “Hole In The Wall” restaurant that serves authentic Korean food. The dining area of Matgalne is simple, without really any flashy design to its interiors.  However the light atmosphere and the friendly staff will ensure you’re in for a delicious meal, by all made with fresh ingredients, prepared by Korean national owner, Ms. Windy Park.  

Ms. Park has an excellent understanding of how to tantalize one’s palette, and it shows in her cooking. I’m no expert on the dishes from the beautiful land of Korea, but the every dish seemed to take me on a trip to the Land of The Morning Calm. 

The Makati location is Matgalne's first branch, with their newest Ortigas branch opening their doors only last December 2012.

SAMGYEOPSAL

          If you’re like a liempo lover like me, you’re going to do a quadruple back flip at the thought of  unlimited Pork Bellies for you to grill on your table. 

        The Beautiful cuts of Pork belly are actually unmarinated  and even unseasoned. You gently lay your pork bellies unto the grill in front of you, and sit back and watch those babies fry, until, of course, you need to flip ‘em over.

As an added bonus, Matgalne is also offering not only unlimited orders of pork belly, but thinly cuts of Beef as well!

Unlike other Eat all you can Buffets where you grill your own meat on a hot plate and then dump it in a series of different flavour sauces, Matgalne’s style is simple. You create a mixture of salt, pepper, and sesame oil, with an option to add a little bean paste, as a side, and you let the natural flavour of the meats be the hero of your meal.

   The sound of the sliced pork bellies sizzling on the hot plate brought music to my ears. The aroma of the meat cooking in its own fat was enough to get my tummy grumbling.  It almost made me forget there were around 20 other dishes waiting for me to try.  Almost, but not quite.

What makes your Matgalne experience even more amazing, is that you’re not just limited to the grilled items, but to a wide selection of authentic Korean dishes, cooked the authentic way.  Here are just a few of our favourites:

 My friend Melvyn, who joined me for lunch, took one look at the large platter of the popular Korean dish,” Kimchi” and said, “The Kimchi alone makes the price worth it!”.

             Me, I went straight for the Chap Chae noodles, which I knew Rina would be really envious of. The noodles had a delectable spring to it, and had a wonderful, lightly sweet flavour, that was highlighted by the freshness of the sliced vegetables in it. One of the best Chap Chae Dishes i’ve had the pleasure of tasting.

             Something I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did, was the Beosot Jeon, which was a pancake like dish, made with eggs and flour, but fried with mushrooms in it.  There was also a variation that used ham instead of Mushrooms, and Zuchinni. Although all variants were quite tasty, I still preferred the mushrooms.

                     My buddy Melvyn, whose taste buds are much more daring than mine, was raving about some of the other dishes from Matgalne, such as the Egg Dipped Kimbap, Which is sort of like the Korean version of Sushi, but dipped in a light egg batter and deep fried.

                Melvyn also ate quite a few pieces of the “Jumeok Bap”, which is Dried Seaweed Rice Balls, another popular Korean dish.

    The dish that Melvyn enjoyed the  the most, however, was clearly  the “Ojingeo Bokkeum”, or the Korean Spicy Stir Fried Squid. Bite sized pieces of juicy chopped squid, bathed in red chilli sauce that offered a subtle hint of sweetness, and stir fried with a mixture of fresh vegetables.

        Another unique food “Station”, was the Bibimbap station, which allowed you to customize your own Bibimbap to suit your taste buds. Bibimbap in Korean means “Mixed Rice”, and this is pretty much what the dish is.. A bowl of  hot steaming white rice, with a medley of other ingredients, such a medley of seasoned vegetables, egg, chilli paste, and a bit of sliced meat, that you mix up all together to make one phenomenal meal.

          A nice ending to the meal is Matgalne’s Turon, which we all know as a popular Pinoy merienda staple. However, make sure you don’t miss out on their Mattang, which is glazed sweet potato, in a luscious caramelized sauce.

         I don’t think there are very many restaurants in existence that can beat this deal. But more than the price being incredibly reasonable, the food is absolutely delicious. It’s like trying delicious Korean Home cooking in a restaurant setting.  I had so much fun with Ania, and my other blogger friends, The Hungry Giant and Yedylicious!

Matgalne Restaurant, Main Branch

4768 Kalayaan Avenue Corner Mariano Street, Poblacion

Makati City, Metro Manila

Tel #: (02) 890 – 2949

Operating Hours: 11:00 am to 12:00 midnight, Monday to Saturday

Matgalne Restaurant

2F Millenium Place Building., Meralco Avenue

Ortigas Center, San Antonio

Pasig City, Metro Manila

Tel #: (02) 632 – 9714

Operating Hours: 11:00 am to 12:00 midnight, Monday to Saturday