SW enjoys a Korean barbecue
Calling all meat lovers! If you’re a fan of meat and Korean cuisine, then bulgogi is the dish for you. For the uninitiated, bulgogi is thinly sliced, marinated beef that is barbecued and then eaten over rice or wrapped in lettuce. It’s one of Korea’s most famous and culturally important dishes.
Bulgogi Brothers is a Korean restaurant chain that has branches all around Southeast Asia. Many consider it the best place to get your bulgogi fix. Here in Thailand, Bulgogi Brothers can be found on the eighth floor of EmQuartier.
For our special Korean issue, S Weekly visited the restaurant to see what all the fuss was about.
GANGNAM STYLE
Bulgogi Brothers was founded in Gangnam, Seoul in 2006. The restaurant’s reputation for delicious barbecued food soon spread. Before long, branches began to open up everywhere within South Korea and beyond. In Korea alone, Bulgogi Brothers has over 40 branches and there are many more across Asia. The EmQuartier branch has a fancy interior with modern lighting, comfortable tables and seats, and pleasing jazz music which helps to create a great atmosphere.
WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
While Bulgogi Brothers specialises in barbecued meat, there are plenty of other tasty options to choose from, such as soups, stews, stir fries, hotpots, dumplings and more. Here are some of the dishes that the SW team tried.
01 Kimchi Chamchi Jjigae (Kimchi Tuna Soup) (300 baht)
It would be strange to go to a Korean restaurant and not find kimchi on the menu. Healthy and delicious, the classic pickled vegetable dish is Korea’s best known food. Kimchi Chamchi Jjigae is a soup made from spicy kimchi paste, rice cakes, tofu and tuna. The tuna made for a surprising but pleasing flavour as it blended nicely with the kimchi. This dish is quite mild, making it suitable for people with a low tolerance for spicy food.
02 Bulgogi (240-590 baht)
Of course, the main reason for going to Bulgogi Brothers was the bulgogi. There are a few different options to choose from, with a range of prices to suit your needs. Unyang is minced beef in heart-shaped patties. You can get Thai ribeye for 295 baht or US beef for 590 baht. Gwanyang, or sliced beef, is 240 baht for Thai ribeye and 480 baht for US beef.
The meat can be cooked by skilled staff right there at your table, so guests can eat it without worrying whether it’s overcooked or undercooked. Our meat was well done, but soft and juicy. We recommend eating it wrapped in lettuce.
03 Spicy Chicken Maekjeok (300 baht)
This dish was our favourite. Spicy Chicken Maekjeok is sautéed skewers of chicken and vegetables with a sweet sauce that’s similar to teriyaki but spicier. We particularly enjoyed the way that the chicken was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
04 Stir Fried Spicy Pork with Cheese (480 baht)
Another tasty dish is Jeyuk Bokkeum, spicy pork stir fried in mirin (rice wine), chilli paste and sliced onion. Cheese can be added to create a dish full of rich flavours. The combination of mirin and chili peppers was very pleasing. We recommend eating it with rice.
05 Spicy Ham and Sausage Hotpot (550 baht)
This hotpot is a marriage of American and Korean flavours. Ham and sausage are stewed with assorted vegetables such as cabbage, bean sprouts, mushroom and gochujang (Korean hot chili paste), all cooked in a spicy broth and served with noodles. There is also a mixed seafood hotpot to choose from, a hearty mix of clams, crab, prawns, mussels and squid.
Address: 8th Floor, the EmQuartier, Bangkok.
Opening hours: daily from 10am to 10pm. Call 098 246 0888.
Website: www.bulgogibrothers.co.th
