THE HIDDEN KOREAN PLACE

NOTE: As of 24 August 2011, I received advice from Wencel that they will be closing for a while to venture to wonderful, far away place. We wish you the best Wencel, we hope you'll be back soon!

What I love about restaurants like THE HIDDEN KOREAN PLACE is the privacy of the venue and the personal approach when it comes to service. Sweetie and I felt like we were invited over by a friend to his home! The meals are prepared on the spot - one can hear the whisking, boiling and frying - and smell the aroma of freshly-cooked food that makes you think it would be better met by your taste buds.

This private dining is run by Wencel Angeles (of Biyaheng Pinoy fame) and Chef Robin (he's Korean!). The wooden mat area can accommodate 8 to 10 persons, and the air-conditioned room with tables can cater to a group of 8. Korean songs also play in the background, adding to the authentic feel of the restaurant. While waiting for food to be served, you can walk around or, like me, conquer the games available, like Boggle:

Or read their guestbook! Hehe!

Wencel served us four appetizers (and they're free!) before the main courses. I am already in love with place.

Clockwise from left: Special Omelette, Pickled Lettuce (with a Kimchi kick, yum), Homemade Tofu (my favorite!) and Pickled Cucumbers

The main dishes are then served:

BEEF BULGOGI 불고기

Marinated beef sirloin strips cooked in soy sauce, shiitake mushroom, sesame oil, and secret spices. How do you eat it? Take a leaf or two, put in some meat, and rice, roll it up, and you're good to go! (Sorry no photos of the demo, my hands were full, ha!)

JAPCHAE 잡채

Enjoy light, chewy glass noodles with fun flavors of sesame, veggies and meat! This is also served with rice.

YANGNYEOM CHICKEN 양념치킨

A must-try! Crispy fried chicken smothered with their special red sauce :) Spicy, sour and sweet!

KIMCHI BOKKUM

Our favorite, our favorite, our favorite. Need I say more? :p We loved the spiciness of Kimchi that flavors the hot rice, the soft bits of smoky Korean ham, the runny egg yolk... this dish is perfect! I will order this every time. (Notice the chopsticks too! Cool huh?)

Do you love spices? Then order a glass of SUJEONGGWA. A Korean fruit punch traditionally mixed with persimmon, cinnamon, ginger and even peppercorn. So sweet and spicy. Yummy!!

And then comes my most awaited part of every meal: DESSERT! We pre-oredered their homemade ice cream, sadly it wasn't available (next time Wencel, okay? hehe), so Wencel offered us fish ice cream instead. At first, I was a bit hesitant about the fish and the ice cream used in one phrase. I mean, wouldn't it taste funny?

We ordered it anyway, and when Wencel served us the fish ice cream, I was laughing my heart out. It was an ice cream sandwich - shaped as a fish!

I don't understand Korean, but based on the packaging, there is a sweet bean layer inside the "fish":

Yummy!!! See you again soon, fishy fishy!

We also saw a glass case where Korean beverages are stored, unfortunately we were too full to down even one shot. Next time we will!

SOJU 소주

40% alcohol content... Wow. I think this was what Sassy Girl was drinking when she was ranting at the restaurant and suddenly banged her head on the table. :p

Happy diners

The food was great, the servings huge, the venue cozy and private, the prices are reasonable, and we felt like we had our own butlers that night. It was a great dining experience! Thank you! 감사합니다! 

Experience Korea in Marikina!

THE HIDDEN KOREAN PLACE

20 Ipil Extension (near East Drive and UMAC)

Marikina Heights, Marikina City (Reservations required. View map here)

Tel. No.: (02) 544-1684 (NOTE: As of 24 August 2011, The Hidden Korean Place will close for a while.)

Visit their website at: THE HIDDEN KOREAN PLACE

Munching Budget per person: starts at 100 PhP

Marikina, aking hirang.

Roni