Seorae

Korean culture is very happening in Indonesia. I myself am not a big fan of K-Pop and K-Drama, but I love Korean Food, especially Korean BBQ. And that's why I was so happy to be invited to the grand opening of Seorae, a new Korean BBQ Restaurant at Pantai Indah Kapuk. 

Upon entering the place, I can feel the traditional and modern ambience at the same time. As usual, Korean BBQ restaurant is dominated with light wooden materials, but they did a nice job combining it with bold red color to give modern touch to it.

The event started with an opening speech from Mr. Park, the CEO of Seorae. He explained that the first Seorae Restaurant was opened in Seoul on 2007, and he's very glad that now Seorae has already had 257 branch in Korea, and the Jakarta Branch is their 258th branch and 1st branch outside Korea! Quite an accomplishment, isn't it?

In Indonesia itself, Seorae is brought by three best friends: Astrid Wiliandry, Susanna Anggraini, and Augie Fantinus (yes, the actor and presenter). Carrying the "affordable luxury" concept, they are trying to change the 'expensive' image of Korean restaurant and hoping that everybody could enjoy Korean food in affordable price.

 

In this occasion, Mr. Park also did a demonstration on grilling two of their specialty, the Galmaegisal (Pork Skirt Meat) and Woosamgyeob (Beef Belly). You may noticed that the two pictures above were using different grilling plate. Mr. Park explained to us that Seorae is using two different grilling plate to maximize the taste of each meat. And they also change the grill plate immediately if they are about to grill another type of meat to maintain their quality. 

After the grilling demo, Mr. Park was so humble to fed some of us. I was one of the lucky person to try a mouthful of Woosamgyeob, and it was really tender, juicy, and well marinated.  

And finally, Seorae Restaurant is officially open for business!

After the grand opening event, we were getting ready for the food tasting. First, meet the sauce. There were three kinds of condiments served here, from the left is the Sesame Oil with Salt, the Spicy Sauce, and Seorae's Special Sauce. We are free to dip the meat to the choice of sauces, but later I'll tell you my favorite combinations.

As usual Korean Restaurant, first we were served with Ban Chan. Here there were Lettuce Salad with Korean Dressing, Goguma Mattang (Crispy Sweet Potato in Caramelised Sauce), and Red Bean Rice Cakes. My favorite was the red bean rice cakes, but I also love the Salad's dressing.

After that, comes the meat:

Galmaegisal (IDR 79.800)

Seo Rae's signature dish. Pork skirt meat, marinated with their authentic secret korean spices, and grilled to perfection.

Samgyeopsal (IDR 69.800)

Grilled pork belly marinated with the secret sauce. Juicy and tender.

Maeun Dakgalbi (IDR 54.800)

Tender chicken thigh, glazed with the special spicy sauce, then grilled to perfection.

Seoul Bulgogi (IDR 124.800)

Grass-fed beef brisket cooked in their special soup. The portion on the picture above is a sample portion.

All of them were great! I couldn't say which one is my favorite, since all of them is unique in their own way. The Galmaegisal was tender and well marinated, and I like it best with the Seo Rae special sauce. The Samgyeopsal, in my opinion, is best combined with the spicy sauce, but it could be better if grilled until crispier. In the other hand, the Maeun Dakgalbi and Seoul Bulgogi were already great without any condiment. 

Other than the meat, there were also some side dishes:

Tteokbokki (IDR 34.800)

Rolled rice-flour cooked overnight in hot sauce and served with fried fish cakes. The seasoning was delicious, but it got more and more spicy after a few bites. Well I'm not very good at eating spicy food, so maybe it could be great option for spicy food lovers.

Japchae (IDR 69.800)

Traditional Korean rice-noodle stir fried with pork and fresh vegetables. This one contains no pork, considering the fellow moslem guests. I think it could be better if they reduce the pepper, since the pepper was quite overpowering the dish.

Not stopping there, I also got a box of Seorae's merchandise and a discount voucher. Yay! Thank you Seorae for having me in the event, I will definitely come back :D

Seorae
Rukan Garden House 
Blok B no. 19
Pantai Indah Kapuk
Jakarta Utara
ph. 021 29033389
fb. Seorae Indonesia