Ye Dang with the Gang!

Back in college, when Korean food wasn't as readily available as it is now, I was completely fascinated, obsessed even, with Korean cuisine.  Ironically enough, I learned about Korean food and culture through the hundreds of Korean dramas and movies I've religiously watched over the years.  Before that, all I knew was Beef Bulgogi.  Yep, I'm a bonafide K-drama addict.  I used to be a die-hard fan but these days I've mellowed down.  I'm down to one K-drama series every two weeks.  LOL. 

So anyways, as with any K-drama follower, that the culmination of my obsession with Korean cuisine peaked when Jewel in Palace (Dae Jang Geum) was released.  If you haven't watched it you're definitely missing out.  I dedicated a good two weeks of my life to finish that historical drama with only 2-3 hours of sleep in between.  From then on there was no turning back for me.  I'd drag my mom and dad to eat with me at Kaya every so often just to stem my craving for Korean food.  Each episode had me curious (and salivating).  In fact, A LOT of Korean restaurants started using Jang Geum's face in their advertisements after the drama came out.  That's how effective it was.

Luckily enough, with the sudden boom of Korean residents and students in Metro Manila, Korean food is fast on it's way to becoming one of the mainstream cuisines.  It's not as foreign as it was, say 5 years ago.  In fact, chapchae, a favorite of mine which uses potato starch noodles, is one of the staple dishes in our catering business.  In the beginning, I had a lot of fun introducing this dish to our clients.  These days, almost everyone I know is familiar with chapchae. 

My high school gang and I get together once every one or two months to hang out and catch up with each other's lives.  A few months ago, Dianne, arranged for us to meet up at Ye Dang.

The place was filled with Koreans, which is always a good sign good things to come.

We had to wait a while to get seated since our group was quite large.  We were ravenous by the time we were seated so we immediately placed our orders.

As soon as our orders were in, the banchan (or panchan) was placed on our table.  This is always the part I look forward to the most when dining at a Korean restaurant.  Banchan refers to the side dishes served along with rice and main courses.  These are meant to be shared.  We were served 7 side dishes which is a lot more than the standard 4-5 banchans served in other Korean restaurants. Among my favorites are the stir-fried anchovies (myeolchi bokkeum), the bean sprout salad (sookju namul), the seasoned spinach (sigumchi namul), and the ever popular pickled Napa cabbage most commonly referred to as kimchi.   Be warned, it's highly addicting.  Some days I end up eating kimchi twice a day together with my meals.

I love how crunchy, fresh, and delicate the flavors are despite how almost half of the dishes include chili paste in their ingredients.  The banchans whet the appetite.  I prefer to munch on them together with my main courses.  Ye Dang serves these side dishes automatically with any dish you order, hence the prices and the conservative portion sizes.  Korean cuisine has always been on the pricey side.

Dolsot Bibimbap Php  250.00

At the time, I had been craving for bibimbap which is simply rice topped with a fresh egg yolk and an assortment of Korean-style vegetables; meaning it was simply tossed with sesame oil, garlic, scallions (sometimes) and sesame seeds.  This particular bibimbap was served in a stoneware bowl which added a nice earthy touch to it.  It kept the bowl hot for a really long time so it cooked the egg yolk in no time at all.

Kalbichim Php 300

Kalbichim.  A classic Korean favorite.  Beef short rib stew.  The meat was incredibly tender and just melted in my mouth.  It had just the right sweetness and I liked how the sauce was packed with flavor and not watered down.

Sweet Beef Ribs Php 300.00

My friends took the more adventurous route.  They just couldn't pass up on putting the grill we had on our table to good use. 

They tried an order of the beef ribs.  They serve 2 portions for Php 300.00 which is quite steep in my opinion, given the cut and size of the meat.  However, for any grilled item they do serve a side of lettuce and perilla leaves with it which sorta makes up for it...erm experience-wise.  

This was my first time to see actual perilla leaves so it was exciting for me.  These leaves are related to the basil family and is widely used in Japanese cuisine.  Koreans also use perilla for kimchi among other things.  For this instance, we ate the perilla leaves as is.  You're supposed take a perilla leaf, scoop a spoonful of rice in the middle of the leaf together with a pinch of meat, wrap it, and then pop the whole thing into your mouth.  Fuuuuuun! :)

I forget how many orders of the grilled meats were consumed.  I do know that chapchae (Php 300.00) was ordered as well.

I'd hate to work as a dishwasher in any Korean restaurant, what with the gazillion plates and bowls they use.  However, as a customer, it makes for a really memorable dining experience and a whole lot of good conversation.  A bottle of soju (Php 180.00) would've been perfect with our dinner feast, but sadly it was a week day, so we settled for red bean ice cream instead at the Korean grocery right next door to Ye Dang.  :)



Address:  88 Meralco Ave., Ortigas, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila
Tel. #: 636-1461