Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Ko Hyang Korean Country Delights @ The Gardens, Mid Valley City

I have not been blog hopping for quite awhile and have only kept up with what's new of late through friends (food bloggers and non food bloggers). When I was told that Masak-Masak had blogged on a Korean eatery which has been garnering good reviews, I knew I had to pay them a visit at The Gardens, Mid Valley City.

After some shopping one day, it was time to fill our stomachs and I remembered this time (at times I do forget!) to drop by Ko Hyang since Glorious Jade and I were already in the vicinity. It was a rather late lunch and we wanted a quick bite, which was good I suppose as that meant Ko Hyang wasn't as busy as it would be during the usual lunch hour. The menu wasn't that extensive which was understandable as Ko Hyang has a very simple set up. I saw a Korean lady there and I suppose she was the owner and she had quite a substantial number of staff helping her out in this small eatery. We promptly put in our orders and as usual the banchan was served to us first as we waited for our food to arrive.

There were just 3 varieties served and both of us enjoyed the Kimchi tremendously. Being the most common banchan served in every Korean restaurant I've been to, I would say that Ko Hyang's kimchi is the best I've tasted so far! We have eaten some that tend to be a tad sourish but Ko Hyang's Kim Chi was absolutely delish and the taste was spot on. Spicy and pungent enough without being too overwhelming, I guessed what made it that good was that the pickled cabbage served was smaller than usual. So, it was very flavourful.

Bulgogi
Next served was Bulgogi with rice (RM16.90). The sesame seed, onions, carrot and spring onions added more sweetness to this dish. Though the beef was quite well marinated, it would have been better if it had more gravy, a bit on the dry side for me.



Rice
Oh, the Bulgogi came with a bowl of rice and we enjoyed this shiny sticky rice, plus points!

Jap Chae
Of course, I ordered my favourite Jap Chae (RM14.90) Stirred fried with sesame oil, the noodles were very tasty. One can choose either chicken or beef with the noodles and we choose chicken as we already had the Bulgogi. I absolutely love this dangmyeon/cellophane noodles with the vegetables and Ko Hyang's does a great job with it. Not oily and fragrant, this was simply yummylicious!


We also ordered the Kimchi Pancake (RM9.50) and we enjoyed it too with the chili oil dip. Though it came a bit burnt on the side, it was the burnt parts that we enjoyed most as that meant it was crispier than the middle part which was softer. And since we loved the Kimchi, of course this Kimchi Pancake tasted great to us too.

An overall pleasant dining experience with homecooked "country" Korean food indeed. I'll definitely be back again :o)

Ko Hyang
Korean Country Delights
LG-KG05, The Gardens
(Lower Ground Floor, opposite JustLife)
Mid Valley City
59200 Kuala Lumpur



If you starve for three days, there is no thought that does not invade your imagination
- Korean Proverb





18 comments:

J2Kfm said...

hey! i ate there also last weekend! yummy lah, the pancake, the cold noodles, and the barley drink ...

some more so cheap (the Garden's standards, of course)!

boo_licious said...

Glad you love this place. Must admit that this is definitely one of the better Korean places in town! The taste is so like what you find in Korea per someone's tastebuds.

Ciki said...

i have not tried this place yet. My folks , cumi.. all love korean - next stop.. the gardens!

minchow said...

I ADORE this place... and that's saying a lot, since I've pretty much written everything in Mid Valley off as mediocre at best. I've tried the Kimchi Fried Rice, the Jap Chae and the Bibimbap and they're all top notch! They're also generous with the banchan, topping it up once you're running low but only during non-peak hours.

Simon Seow said...

I passed by here before but always quite quiet so don't dare to try :p

Pete said...

Hoo Hooo, missed Korean food, especially bulgogi and samyetang!

GJade said...

Hey when can we go again to try the kimchi fried rice? Enjoyed our meal there very much

wmw said...

J2Kfm: Yup, the food there is nice. Yes, cheap by Gardens' standard. Haha...

Boo : Yes, quite a gem!

Cumi&Ciki : Yeah, you gotta!

550ml jar of faith : Glad that it has your stamp of approval :o)

Simon : When you see the place quiet, you better go try before it gets crowded!

Pete : Miss? Why? Aren't you in Malaysia?

Glorious J : Hey...soon, yah, kimchi fried rice and Japchae again next??? :o)

choi yen said...

Love Korean pancake but some of the restaurant charge it too expensive :(

Christina Kim said...

I must go there when I am back in KL; seems like good reviews from all of you yea?:)

Glad that the pancake turns out good, coz most of the time, I find those served in most Korean restaurants just full of flour..ughs!

Unknown said...

Looks like it's thumbs up for this restaurant. Shall keep in mnd when looking for Korean.

Went to one of those at Sri Hartamas on Sunday. It was packed. The waiters were fast walking ( running!) Food was so so with the soupy dishes.

sc said...

this is on eplace that i wanted to try since i read from boo's blog. but still have not tried!!! arrrggghh!!

Tummythoz said...

A got to try obviously.

email2me said...

Wow the Kimchi pan cake looks good! :D

Rebecca Saw said...

Aiyoo..was there jz now but we couldn't get a plc!
really wanted to try since i read 550ml post, and having her saying tht its good was good enough for me..since she's like Korean!
i'm not at The Gardens much..how ahh..
ciki..we got to go again!

Sugar Bean said...

I noticed that Korean restaurants in shopping centers generally don't serve a lot of side dishes. That is why we somehow prefer to dine in restaurants outside shopping complex. But this place seems nice, we love kimchi too! :)

tigerfish said...

I have korean food last Friday when I was out of S'pore! The Jap Chae was part of the ban chan and I could not finish my main course of tofu stew cos the ban chan was enough to be a meal! :O

wmw said...

mimid3vils : I think the pancakes here are priced reasonably.

Christy : Yeah, make a visit here :o)

Keats : Yeah, they seem to do that a lot, I am usually concern that they fall and/or fall onto a customer drinking hot soup or worse, scald their hands!

SC : Bila then??? :o)

Tummythoz : Hahha....then go when your tummy starts rumbling next.

email2me : Mostly all the other stuff there is good.

thenomadGourmand : So have you set a date with Ciki yet? ;o)

Sugar Bean : Then you gotta try the kimchi here!

tigerfish : Yeah, at certain places, there can be up to 10 varieties - indeed a meal by itself! Hahaha