Gangnam 88: Gangnam Style Korean Cuisine

Modern and Trendy Fusion Korean Food

I love Korean cuisine. The mere mentioned of Korean cuisine immediately gets my adrenalin going at the thoughts of sizzling barbeque meats on grill pans, spicy Kimchi, assorted banchans, hot Kimchi soup and seafood pancake! In fact, I confess that I eat Korean food a few times a month. In addition, my neighborhood is filled with loads of Korean restaurants. Most of them offer the usual Korean cuisine but they all do have their own specialties.

Gangnam 88 is one of the Korean restaurants I often patronized. While most Korean restaurants are more traditional, Gangnam 88 takes Korean cuisine into our modern world. Serving up Gangnam style dishes, Gangnam 88 also creates a modern design restaurant focusing on all the famous Korean pop stars in the entertainment world. Walking into Gangnam 88, one will be immediately attracted to stylish interior filled with lots of wood. Posters of K-Pop stars are placed all over while hanging tvs are playing Korean music videos. Its loud, its fun and best of all, the place sure smells pretty delicious!

Gangnam 88’s menu offers a good sizeable variety of Korean dishes to cater to everyone. Besides traditional BBQ dishes, Gangnam 88 also offers unique dishes that are a take on the modern cuisine of today’s times in Korea. A recent visit to Gangnam 88 at their second outlet in Sunway Giza Mall, I was happy to see that this outlet has a larger seating capacity and is also very spacious. The walls are all decked out in K-Pop stars with the most famous one Mr. PSY that literally took the word Gangnam to new heights.

We didn’t go our usual menu route that evening. Instead we opted for dishes we usually don’t order on the recommendation of the owner. Since I love Kimchi so much, we decided on a Kimchi stew and more kimchi dishes that are perfect for a rainy night.

I had Korean citrus Soda and my other half had Milkshake.

Our banchans arrived, served on colorful plates. Though the choices are not as many as others, these were decent. I got my favorite Kimchi and Seaweed. My little one loved the egg coated tofu, little pancakes and the sausage with crab stick banchan. These are refillable so ask for more but remember to save room for your main dishes.

Kimchi Pork Roll Soup (RM44.80+) was first to arrive. I really like that Koreans serve all their soups and stews piping hot or on the portable stove. This one resembles the kimchi ji gae which I love but has added ingredients like cabbage stuffed pork roll, sliced pork belly, mung bean noodles, king mushrooms, spring onions and chilies in addition to the usual kimchi and tofu.

We let the pot simmer till its boiling and then lower the heat to let it subside to a gentle simmer. The staff helped us cut the cabbage rolls into two for easier enjoyment.

This stew is so awesome in my books. Spicy, tangy and piquant, the lightly thick soup is very comforting and satisfying. I can feel the light burn of spiciness but that’s what a good kimchi soup is, just enough spicy heat to make one feel a little sweat. The cabbage pork roll is gorgeously tender and flavourful. The rest of the ingredients are a perfect combo as well, making it a complete dish on its own with meat, vegetables and noodle. I enjoyed this dish with rice a lot. There is something so comforting and homemade about this dish that I could go on eating them…

I have just found a new favorite dish to be added to my Korean favorite dishes! Super yum…

Next, we had Tofu Kimchi (RM39.80+) which we were recommended to savor with the Makgeoli (RM25.00+).

A mount of kimchi sautéed with pork is accompanied by long cuts of fresh tofu sprinkled with black sesame seeds. The kimchi pork has a robust and spicy note as well. The flavours are intense so the fresh tofu will ease down the spicy, sweet and savory flavours of the kimchi and pork. I had read somewhere that this is a famous Korean anju (drinking dish) hence that’s why we had our dish with the chilled Korean rice wine.

The rice wine is pretty potent (in my books) with a good hint of sweetness and light tang. I like that we were given small gold metal bowls to drink the Makgeoli… makes me feel so Korean for some reason… lol…

We had a non-spicy dish of Carbonara Chicken (RM39.80+) for my little one. This fusion dish was a take on the classic Italian dish but this one has chicken and onions cooked in the carbonara cream sauce. Served on a sizzling platter to keep the creamy dish warm, its not too bad. It is very creamy and there is a touch of sweetness to the overall flavours. I like the chicken and onion combination with the cream. My little enjoyed this since he likes creamy sauce dishes.

We also tried the Bap Burger (RM19.90), a seaweed rice burger stuffed with bits of meat and vegetables with a sweet and sour sauce. This one is yummy. Simple but I like the rice and seaweed together with all the rest of the ingredients.

I had to order the Korean Potato Noodle Soup (forgot the price tag for this dish) for my little one because he prefers noodles over rice. This dish came in cloudy and hearty chicken stock broth with lots of vegetables, egg and a soft noodle made from potato flour. It’s simple but I really enjoy the noodles as it is so slippery smooth and soft. My little one likes this a lot too.

Gangnam 88 strives to be different. The menu offers lots of fusion and trendy dishes like BBQ, Beer Can Chicken, Jeongol, Jokbal and other exciting dishes. It’s a fun place to eat and be seen, especially if you are a Korean fan like me!

GANGNAM 88

Sunway Giza Mall

No. 2, Jalan PJU 5/14, PJU5, Kota Damansara

47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

 Tel: +603-61516488

Business Hour: 10.00am – 1.00am daily

Solaris Mont Kiara

No. 1-1, Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara

Off Jalan Duta Kiara, Mont Kiara, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.

Tel: +603-62065888

Business Hour:

Mon – Thu: 10.00am – 1.00am

Fri – Sun: 10.00am – 6.00pm & 10.00pm – 1.00am

Website: www.gangnam88.net

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gangnam88.net

Pretz and Beanz Café, Solaris Mont Kiara: Going Nuts over Pretzels and Pizzas

Fabulous Pretzels and Pretzels Pizza

Talk about going crazy over carbs, it was also love at first taste at Pretz and Beanz Café recently. Now its nothing new that I love food with carbs. Its probably not good for the waistline but I just can’t help it… I love carb rich food like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes. Many times when I find good carb dishes, I tend to just lose all my self-control over them. So when I discovered Pretz and Beanz Café, it looks like I am going to do this again since I have fallen deeply in love with their pretzels.

Guilty as charge, even before I wrote this post, I had actually returned to Pretz and Beans four times already with friends and families. Yes, I really enjoy the café a lot. So one may ask what Pretz and Beanz serve that makes me go ga-ga over the café? Exactly like what its name says… pretzels and coffee beans.

It all started when owner, Ms. Anna Chong turn their current F&B business by focusing on their signature pretzel recipe and coffee menu. Before she knew it, Pretz and Beanz were born with the goal solely focusing on churning out what the people behind the kitchen do best. It seems like a great pairing as there were not many pretzel competitors around, moreover one that pairs it with the much sought after beverage, coffee.

In July this year, Pretz and Beanz Café opened officially in Solaris Mont Kiara area. The café is designed with comfort in mind, a place where one can relax comfortably for some light bites and a great cup of Joe. Walking into Pretz and Beanz, the warm ambience greeted me with much delight. Banquette seatings against a brick wall, bright colored sofas and armchairs with low coffee tables, uncovered ceilings with grey cement flooring emulates minimalist with modern comfort in design. A long counter hosted a large chiller filled with desserts, cashier and coffee machine. The backdrop is a long wall menu displaying all the available food and drinks that Pretz and Beanz has to offer.

We were hosted by Anna herself, a gracious and humble lady who speaks with joy and happiness when it came to the subject of Pretz and Beanz. They say one can tell if someone is passionate about what they love and I can see this in Anna. She spoke with great pride of the café and I can see why after I had tasted the food there. Her passion is obvious as there is a lot of effort and thoughts put into the menu at Pretz and Beanz.

It’s all about pretzels and coffees here but the café does offer more than just those two main highlights. At a glance, the café offers lots of pretzel varieties and pretzel pizzas together with breakfast dishes, sandwiches, pasta, dessert and a beverage list of coffee, tea, healthy juices and more.

That evening, I went straight for their Mean Green Juice (RM13.90) and I also had an Iced Caramel Macchiato (RM13.90) later during my meal. The Mean Green Juice is superbly refreshing and invigorating. A blend of several fruits and vegetables, the juice has tangy and perky flavours from the celery and ginger which I really love. My Ice Caramel Macchiato was delicious too with a good balance of coffee notes with milk.

We joined other foodies that evening and they had Iced Blended Mocha (RM13.90) and Iced Java Chips (RM13.90).

I had already admitted to being a fan of pretzels but I was never expecting Pretz and Beanz pretzel to be any different from my previous taste of it. Pretz and Beanz pretzels are freshly made daily and baked to order. Ours came piping hot and the air tingles with scents of freshly baked dough, making it even more tempting. At Pretz and Beanz, the menu has several choices of Pretzels from regular to Filled Pretzel and Pizza Pretzel. One gets 6 to 8 choices of various fillings and flavourings and various Dipping Sauce too.

Out of the seven Pretzels, we tried the Cinnamon Sugar (RM5.90) and Basil Cheese (RM6.90).

Gosh… I was really surprised at how fluffy and soft the oven baked pretzels are. There is a light sweetness underlining the savory pretzel that is welcoming at first taste. The crust is lightly crisp and yields a wonderful light crispiness which contrast with the soft fluffy inside. The sweet earthy Cinnamon Sugar is beautifully warm, sweet and inviting. It has just the right balance of fine sugar coating.

The Basil Cheese rocks! When it was placed right in front of me, I inhaled in the heavenly aroma of cheese and herbs. All the crusty bits of cheese are just deliciously addictively. The savory cheesy flavour is utterly scrumptious, so much so, all I wanted to do is to hog this pretzel to myself. Ok, so I didn’t get to do this but I did get to hog this whole pretzel to myself on my second and third returns…

Other flavoured pretzels available at Pretz and Beanz include Original, Sesame Sugar, Chocolate Peanut Crunch and Chocolate Cookie Crunch.

We also notice how the shape of the pretzel resembles a heart shape. Merryn and her hubby were caught red-handed on camera in a ‘paktor’ moment with their love shape pretzel!

We moved on to Filled Pretzels. The Jumbo Chicken Hot Dog Filled Pretzel (RM10.90) is a sure crowd-pleaser since not many can resist a jumbo hotdog neatly snugged in a pillowcase of soft pretzel. It may be meant for kids but I also enjoy this. There is also a hot dog with cheese version too.

Another classic combo would have to be the Pepperoni Beef Filled Pretzel (RM13.90). This one is stuffed with beef pepperoni and cheese. More stuffed pretzels include Sweet Potato, Apple Cinnamon, Cheesy Chili Chicken, Island Delight and Spicy Tuna.

On to Pizza Pretzel next! We had the Chicken Hawaiian Pretzel Pizza (RM20.90 – Large), Hot Pepper Chili Chicken Pretzel Pizza (RM20.90 – Large) and Al-Funghi Pretzel Pizza (RM21.90 – Large). These come in two sizes – regular and large.

Out the three we tried, I adored the Al-Funghi Pretzel Pizza. The hearty meatless combo of assorted mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, bell peppers and olives with cheese has loads of great crunch textures with the soft fluffy pretzel base.

The Chicken Hawaiian is also very good with its usual ingredients of chicken ham and pineapple with lots of cheese. The Hot Pepper Chili Chicken is not as spicy as it sounds. There is a little spicy heat but it’s very much suitable for many. I actually added more chili flakes for extra heat.

Besides all the delicious pretzels, Pretz and Beanz also have pasta on their menu. Choose from choices of Aglio Olio with additional fillings, Baked Banger & Macaroni, Bolognaise Chicken, Carbonara Chicken Ham, Dory Fish with Sour Cream and Spicy Seafood Pasta. Reasonably priced from RM18.90 to RM24.90, these make a hearty meal on its own.

We had a very yummy Aglio Olio with Prawns (RM24.90) for the adults and a Baked Banger & Macaroni (RM12.90) for the kids. Our Aglio Olio with Prawns had all the passing checkmarks for a good pasta with lots of garlic and chili heat. My only gripe was that the pasta was a bit too soft for my liking as I prefer al dente pasta. I still enjoyed this a lot since the flavours are very good.

The kids enjoyed their Baked Bangers & Macaroni without any doubt as they polished it off happily.

Pretz and Beanz also serve Breakfast dishes, Salads, Sandwiches, Waffle, Thick Toast and Desserts.

We tried their Thick Toast with Cookie Ice Cream (RM13.90). A thick golden toast topped with Ice Cream, crushed cookies and drizzled with more chocolate sauce. This one makes a great snack cum dessert.

As mentioned earlier, I had actually returned four times since this first visit. I love their pretzels and pretzel pizzas a lot. Pretz and Beanz serves up great comfort food that is perfect for anytime of the day. Their pretzels also stays fluffy and soft in takeaways and makes great food for parties because I had ordered their pretzel pizzas for one of my party and it was the first dish to be finished as everyone commented on how they enjoyed the pretzel pizzas. Pretz and Beanz have turned into one of my favorite place for pretzels.

Don’t just take my word, head over to Pretz and Beanz for their awesome pretzels and a cup of Joe!

PRETZ AND BEANZ

Solaris Mont Kiara

22, Jalan Solaris 4, Mont Kiara,

50480 Kuala Lumpur,

Tel: 603  6204 9733

IPC Shopping Centre

G23, Ground Floor, IPC Shopping Centre,

No.2, Jalan PJU 7/2 Mutiara Damansara

47800 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Website: www.pretznbeanz.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pretznbeanz

Ante Kitchen & Bar, Solaris Dutamas: New Porky Brunch Menu

Ante Up The Full Monty!

Mentioned the word brunch and I literally think it’s time for some hearty pampering treats! Brunch usually means it’s the weekend for me simply because it’s the only days I can snooze in a little more and then enjoy a leisure luscious brunch to hold me over lunch. In fact, brunches are treats for me and I do tend to want to enjoy and go all the way out for the full Monty of brunch. What can outdo a great brunch is easy… simply make it a porky brunch!

I have heard through the blogsphere about Ante Kitchen & Bar but I just never had the chance to pay a visit. When Chris from Pureglutton extended an invite to check out Ante Kitchen & Bar as they had just started their new porky brunch menu, it was an irresistible invite. Brunch and porcine can only mean going all out in full flavours. My first few thoughts were pork bacon, pork sausages, eggs, cheese, ham and more. Can’t blame me right since I have been known to have such an obsession with anything to do with swine!

Ante Kitchen & Bar have been around for a while and it is run by young owners who devoted themselves in worshipping the hog in their menu. I have been told by many that their pork burger is simply one of the best. And so one fine Sunday, we all congregated at Ante Kitchen & Bar located at Solaris Dutamas.

The restaurant is dressed with minimalist interior and has a warm and comforting ambience. A full fledge bar sits in one corner and the rest are table settings spread out spaciously. There is also alfresco area for those who love to enjoy nature’s ambience. When I arrived at Ante, the restaurant was empty but not for long. Soon after we all sat down, hungry diners came streaming in to fill up most of the seats. I wish I had some photos of the ambience of Ante but truth be told, I was sidetracked completely by the porcine dishes that I forgot to snap some photos of the ambience.

That said; let’s dive straight into full porcine glory. Everyone loaded up on their juices and coffees while we waited for our order. I had an Apple and Mint Cooler which is really refreshing and perfect to perk me up.

Ok so starting your day with salad may not peak your interest but these are hearty salads with a twist. The Smoked Duck Salad (RM25) is charged up with generous pieces of smoked duck, cherry tomatoes, crisp lettuce, chopped cashews, grilled marinated watermelon pieces and brandy orange dressing. The duck works really well with all the ingredients and the grilled marinated watermelon is delish. I kept picking at the watermelon bits has it has a lovely smoky sweetness that worked very well with the savory duck.

The Caesar Salad (RM21) is decent with crisp lettuce, croutons, boiled egg, creamy Caesar dressing and a sprinkling of bacon crumbs. It has potential to go far if maybe the bacon are bigger in pieces or the eggs have that molten center to add more oomph. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a yummy Caesar salad!

Pork Nuggets (RM15) are golden, crispy, moist and flavourful. It comes with fries and some sauces. We loved this. The nuggets make perfect snack and are made from scratch. An order gets one eight pieces of these yummy porcine nuggets.

When I saw the Deep Fried Soft Poached Egg (RM23) sitting in full glory on a bed of toasted English muffin, crisp salad and strips of grilled pork bacon, I knew I was in for a sexy treat.

The egg poached barely, crumbed and deep fried till golden is a winner. Once it is cut open, a pool of deep yellow oozed out to smother the bacon and lettuce. It is rich, it is sinful, and it is egg porn at its best. The combination of the crispy egg with the lava center and bacon is pretty much lethal. You can’t get any better than this. I used the muffin to wipe all the egg yolk and sauce clean… yum!

After that egg ecstasy, we moved on to Baked Eggs in Cocotte (RM29) served up with buttered toasted baguette. It’s beautifully hearty with baked beans, sausages, tomato sauce, fresh rocket leaves and two eggs. Though the eggs were a bit overdone (blame it on us taking too long to photograph the dishes), the flavours are very inviting with a lovely balance of tangy and sweet with savory. The buttered toast is ideal for scooping up the lovely baked beans tomato sauce.

At first sight I knew I was going to love Croque Madame (RM28). The only difference between a Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame is that the latter is topped with an egg. This dish went all out to please. Beer-infused cheese, bacon and eggs all baked till ooey gooey. The sandwich is utterly sinful with bold cheesy flavours. I can even taste the wine note in the pungent cheese. Most might deemed this to be extremely cholesterol laden but I think it’s honestly ok to indulge once in a while. There’s a side order of salad if it makes you feel better. If it makes you feel better, share this with someone. I really enjoy the boldness of this dish and I would order this again…

One cannot go wrong with the big platter of English Big Breakfast (RM35). You get the full workings of an essential brunch with sausage, bacon, egg, baked beans, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomato and toast with a few rocket leaves thrown in. The portion is generous and the items are cooked well.

Rosti and Bratwurst (RM26) is another anytime dish that works for me. Potatoes and sausages are quite the match and because I have a soft spot for potatoes, I am also a big fan of a good rosti. Shredded potato crisped up in a pancake form was a bit on the darker side. It still has a yummy note and the bacon and sausage are very good.

Gnocchi Napoli (RM24) showcased simplicity at its best. Fluffy potato gnocchi is boiled and pan fried before being covered in a blanket of house made fresh tomato sauce served with some rocket leaves. It’s the only dish that is vegetarian among the rest and I didn’t mind the absence of the swine in this one. Unusually shaped, the gnocchi seemed to hold the sauce really well. It’s not heavy but has a pretty fluffy texture and the tangy and lightly creamy tomato sauce works for my taste bud.

Now this is what I call The Real Bacon Carbonara (RM28)! Truly rich and luscious, the pasta is super loaded up with heavy creamy notes. The pasta was cooked al dente as well. The version here is very lustrous as it oozes with lots of creamy carbonara sauce, mushrooms and bacon.

The Caramelised Garlic Olio (RM25) is almost as good as the carbonara. There is lots of fried garlic to boost the aroma and flavour while the pieces of bacon and mushrooms add more yumminess. Order this if you are not a creamy pasta fan.

At Ante, the kitchen team whips up large portions of every dish. Even the Ultimate Pork Belly Sandwich (RM29) looked huge to me. The bread is sliced thickly to accommodate the thick pieces of pork belly, crispy pork ears, tomato salsa and some greens. A side of fries and salad comes with it. By this time, I could hardly taste this as I was just so fill up from the rest of the dishes. Those who have tried mentioned that it’s a good sandwich and definitely a big filler.

We also got to try one of their signature appetizers of Confit of Pork Ears (RM15). Though I do like offal, ears didn’t work for me. It’s executed well, slowly cooked and then crumbed and deep fried to golden brown. I just don’t enjoy the texture of the pig ears. This appetizer was pretty much happily polished off by other foodies who thought it was simply radical and scrumptious. Great beer snack though…

Even the desserts portion is fairly large. We had Bread and Butter Pudding (RM9) and Apple Crumble (RM9) that day. Both are served with a large scoop of ice cream. They both looked really good and the combination of hot and cold works for me. Although I am not a fan of apple but I really enjoyed their Apple Crumble as it had just the right balance of sweetness and texture for me. After all that big portions, I recommend sharing desserts.

It was certainly a very lovely porcine experience. Ante Kitchen & Bar goes all out in paying tribute to the hog. Prices here might be a little above average but the portions are large and the quality is pretty good. Looks like I am going to have to drag my glutton gang back here to savor their other dishes on the regular menu since I spied pork knuckles, pork ribs and oh yeah… that much raved Pork Burger!

The Brunch Menu is available every day from 11am to 4pm.

ANTE KITCHEN & BAR

A2-G1-09, Solaris Dutamas

No.1 Jalan Dutamas 1

50480, Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 03 6206 3364

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ante.kl

Business Hours:

Mon - Thu: 11:00 - 23:00

Fri - Sat: 11:00 - 01:00

Sun: 11:00 - 23:00

*More photos at my Facebook: Chasing FoodDreams