Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Bonjuk, Desa Sri Hartamas

(NO LONGER IN OPERATION)

Hardly recovering from our Saturday outing (from all that laughter and food), I received an sms from Lyrical Lemongrass this evening asking, "Bonjuk tonight? Can?". Boo_licious had told us about this 1 month old place and its delicious Korean dishes ;o). So, before anyone could finish saying "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious", Precious Pea was already at my place to pick me up for dinner at Bonjuk. Boo_licious, Lyrical Lemongrass and the two of us arrived almost at the same time for a rather late dinner (look at the clock).

Andrew, the friendly young Korean guy who runs the place, greeted us warmly and proceeded to explain some of Bonjuk's dishes. Bonjuk is basically traditional Korean porridge and as their website says, "Porridge with a soul". The food is cooked only when ordered, hence fresh. As quality is ensured, this is probably one of the reason why the prices here are higher as compared to other Korean food.
The interior; the place is clean and pleasant

Boo_licious's medium order of Octopus and Kimchi Porridge (RM12.95) - It tasted very much like the usual Kimchi Chigae (Kimchi Soup) that I usually drink; except for the fact that this is porridge. Nice and spicy.
Lyrical Lemongrass's medium order of Seafood Combo (RM14.95); a mixture of squid, shrimp, mussels, clams, and octopus was simple and tasted very homecooked indeed.
My Beef & Bulgogi Bibimbob (RM24.95)with a mixture of mushrooms (which I love), vegetables and beef. The beef portion wasn't a lot though, it was kinda "lost" after I mixed them up together with the rice. The mixture of sauces and the ingredients however made this bibimbob taste great! I was expecting it to be served in a hot stone bowl but I was told that one can request for it as it's served in a normal bowl as per the menu.
Precious Pea's Spicy Octopus Bibimbop in Hot Stone Bowl (RM21.95). She liked it a lot and was first to finish her meal! We had to take photos of her food as quickly as we can as she had to mix it up so as to not eat burnt rice!

Service was good and attentive; with the staff ensuring that our glasses of plain water were filled at all times. During dinner itself, they brought out a tray several times; filled with small saucers of chilli, kimchi and other appetizers, they asked us to help ourselves to them. Andrew then came out with a treat for us; Korean pancake.
It didn't have the usual floury texture and was surprisingly light whilst soft though it was slightly thicker than the usual Korean Pancakes that I have eaten. Dipped into the sesame seed soy sauce, it was nice. We tried eating it with kimchi for a spicier version and it was just as good.

I guess I'll be receiving more smses in the future asking, "Bonjuk tonight?" after our enjoyable meal there. The four of us can't go on meeting like this.....LOL! Looks like we have started our own mini makan gang...

Read SooYin's review on Bonjuk; for location and details of Bonjuk, check out the link HERE.


Words have no wings but they can fly a thousand miles. - Korean Proverb



40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oooh.. I like bibimbob, but I really malas to go to Hartamas and look for parking!!

Lee Ping said...

Dear WMW,

I probably shouldn't read your blog before I eat dinner. I am drooling and my stomach is churning. I just wish my husband can get home soon so that we can start dinner. I have posted Korean Food on my blog before but yours is way more appetizing. Later...

Precious Pea said...

Wahhh...super efficient, you must have slept late yesterday. Hahaha...i will do mine soon after i finish editing my photos.

boo_licious said...

Wow! That was super duper quick! Must show my bf the beef bulgogi one as he was drooling over the pixs that day. Glad you enjoyed the food.

Kenny Mah said...

Mid-morning now (at least as far as I'm concerned). Came here. Big mistake. Now dragging my wholemeal bread and 100% pure peanut butter out for a snack in the office. There's a big box of tissue paper on my desk just to wipe the drool off from visiting your blog.

I swear, I'm adding on inches to my waist just from looking at them pictures... :D

Babe_KL said...

oooo boo_licious' order seems very appetising to me!

KY said...

woo looks good

*slurps*

Tummythoz said...

I really have to seriously consider moving over to PJ area to crash into this makan gang!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Wah you post so fast ar? I found the seafood porridge a little too plain, which explains why I was adding so much of the spicy stuff like the raddish/squid/chilli paste and the kimchi into the porridge. The other Korean "dish" was worth the visit, tho. *wink wink*

Kak Teh said...

I must remember to eat first before i visit yr blog. it is 0640 now and too early to cook. iayaa!

Kok said...

wmw,
The bibimbob looks so colourful. haha! Is it supposed to be less meat (beef)?

And I can see that the Korean pizza is very delicious. Mmmmm...I never had a proper Korean meal before. Should I try?

wmw said...

kat : Parking's quite easy on weekdays.

Lee Ping : Hi there, hope you had a satisfying dinner!

Precious Pea : Ok, hoping over to see yours soon.

boo : That's the power of Intel Core 2 Duo! Ha ha ha...Thanks for bringing us there.

kenny : Aiyoh, never mind, you'll just Body Balance your inches away!

babe_kl : Yah, if you like spicy food, it's pretty good!

KY : Hi there! Yeah, check the food out yourself.

tummythoz : If you do, I'm sure we will approve your application straight away! ;o)

L...Lemongrass : Well, it's plain but it has it's own nice plain qualities.

kak teh : Hey! How's your back? Hopefully much better?

kok : If you haven't tried Korean food before, you should give it a go. For beginners, start with Beef Bulgogi.

Xiu Long Bao said...

korean porridge! interesting...nvr tried before leh.

wonda said...

Your stomach travels round the world (in how many days?) Haha!

Kok said...

wmw,
What's Beef Bulgogi? Nice ah?

Anonymous said...

korean pancakes! i miss how my aunt makes it. i must go home to taste good home cooked food.

wmw said...

xiu long bao : Well, if you like porridge, you will surely like this.

wonda : Ha ha ha..."Have Food Will Travel"

kok : Check out this post, and click on the word Bulgogi for more explanation
http://ugwug.blogspot.com/2006/11/korea-house-desa-sri-hartamas-seo-gung.html

c: Is that you??? Come back! I'll give you a treat!

Anonymous said...

Wah... you guys popping over to visit the handsome leh! kekeke... Luckily I had my dinner before coming in, else I'll have to lick the screen again >_<

Chris T said...

i love ur post. everything is talk about food. i will go there with my sister..

Unknown said...

Haha..so how was the bukit tinggi trip? sounds interesting, korean porridge..hope that i can try it in my coming korean trip :)

Precious Pea said...

Jason, You know about the handsome too?? He got double eyelid somemore leh!

ah nel said...

reli salute u coz can eat kimchi coz when i smell it ledi wana vomit... :)

wmw said...

jason & precious pea : Ha ha ha...How Jason knows? Precious Pea, you mentioned it in your comment box in your blog in the post before we went for dinner there.

Christina : Hope you and your sis will like the food.

kampungboycitygal: Bukit Tinggi was good, looks like we have to go there again at night for Tong Yuen!

ah nel : Not surprising as there are many others who might have the same reaction as you. Afterall, kimchi is fermented! But it has been cited by Health Magazine as one of the world’s five “healthiest foods,” for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and perhaps even preventing cancer (according to the Wikipedia). Believe it or not!

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

my friends went n visited this place while i was in holiday in uk...damnit..they say the food damn good..but nvr chio me there again..need to try lar..i heard that andrew is handsome?

Precious Pea said...

SWICC: Haha...now my colleague also curious how the Korean guy looks like. WMW, shall me make a trip there soon? Aiya..no need shy shy la just ask him to pose with a bowl of porridge lor.

wmw said...

SWICC : And you're asking about Andrew because ???? Ha ha ha....Ask Precious Pea!

Precious Pea : Are you sure you are asking me to go with you? You asked "Shall ME make a trip there soon?" I think you want to go alone next time lah...Ha ha ha...I hope Andrew's not reading your comments! Or maybe it's good for you since it's an open secret. LOL!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

wah precious pea...do I sense some hmmmm....interest here? eh? Tell tell!

and I promise not to get in the way of the photo. I'll get IN the photo with andrew. heehee.

actually hor...isn't this supposed to be a food blog? oh yeah..andrew's a dish too, rite?

Kenny Mah said...

Okay, okay, I obviously missed something majorly important. Who's the handsome?

Hahahahaha....

Kok said...

wmw,
Maciam very nyaman worr! I love anything to cook with sesame oil. Hmm..I'll try to seek for a korean restaurant here. Thanks for the recommendation!:)

Precious Pea said...

Opppsss...spelling area. It should be 'we' not 'me'. Anyway, i think i don't stand a chance lor...cos i didn't get any 'PERSONAL TOUCH' from Andrew that night. WMW, you know what i mean hor??? ;) Lyrical Lemongrass, don't you agree with me too?

wmw said...

L...Lemongrass : LOL...Yes, I sense what you sense about Precious Pea too!

kenny : We'll let Precious Pea explain to you... ;o) For an immediate answer, head to Bonjuk!

kok : Do let me know whether you like it or not...

Precious Pea : Aiyoh, your mind so occupied that error became area? We became me??? Sure or not? LOL...You girls are cracking me up!

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Oh, the touch!!!! WMW, did you wash your arm that night?

I'll let both of you fight it out for the handsem la. The winner can belanja all of us at Bonjuk...after all, the winner sure can eat free there wat, eh? *wink wink*

Anonymous said...

Precious Pea: Yalor, you did mention "handsome... Andrew" in your Klang roast duck post ma :P Orh, you like double eyelids guy de ^^

Lyrical Lemongrass: Hahahaha.... he became a dish for you girls!

wmw: Heh.. lucky you ^^

Precious Pea said...

Aikkss..spelling error again? Next time will double check my spelling before i click publish...cos my spelling error could really relay a different message. LOL

Aiyoo..wmw, how to compete?? Sure you will win la...like i said, you already got his PERSONAL TOUCH but not me. Sniff sniff sniff.

Err...my hubby better don't read your blog...or else i die standing. Hahahaha! Er...no mention of Andrew at tomorrow's dinner ok? ;) Or else i will be grounded.

Precious Pea said...

Jason: My pumpkin got double eyelid too. :)

wmw said...

L..Lemongrass : Soon I'll be spewing forth obscenities at you and Precious Pea! LOL...Hey, leave me out of all this! I can't help it if I was the one who got the personal touch.

Jason : The rest of the girls are making lots of noises, not so lucky me...I want to pengsan already! LOL

Precious Pea : You still seem to be on the same subject. We won't ask you in front of your hubby but it looks like you might spill the beans (or peas???) yourself since you can't seem to contain your excitement!!! Ha ha ha...

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

Precious Pea: How to keep our mouths shut?? Looks like I gotta look down and stare at my food all the time for fear of revealing our dirty little secrets...and boy, we have many, don't we? *wink wink*

wmw: we say all these things becoz we care. don't pengsan lar. andrew won't be around to revive you with the kiss of life.

jason: andrew? yeah...a rather pleasing dish.

Precious Pea said...

Ok ok...i shall practice being cool and calm so that i won't blurt out my excitement tomorrow. No alcohol for me too...hahaha...or else wmw and lemongrass got to lock me in the toilet oledi.

Anonymous said...

hiya...i'm abit late, but thanks for linking me...*grin*...:-) i'm reading this right before dinner and my tummy's growling!! and yeah...the other *dish* is pretty dishy as well...haha...

wmw said...

sooyin:No worries....This dish is causing quite a stir amongst bloggers! LOL