Daorae Korean BBQ @ Desa Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur

This is the Korean restaurant where Korean goes to when they want Korean food. The restaurant is located in Desa Sri Hartamas, they occupied the 1st & 2nd floor & ground floor is a Korean mini market. Daorae serves authentic and delicious barbeque dishes. The decoration in Daorae is simple yet gives you the authentic feeling. Wooden chairs and tables are used to mimic the good old days of Korea. Patrons can choose to sit at the raised platform at one part of the restaurant and this really adds to the ambiance of a real Korean dining experience.

When you go in, most likely you are talking to the Nepalese waiters (fancy a Korean restaurant with Korean owner, captain, cashier and of course, chefs but having Nepalese waiters. Mind you though, these hard working waiters actually speak Korean!). Not all of them speak good English, but the numbered and pictorial menu assures that you get the orders through.

To the BBQ, all meats are raw and not marinated. Like the Sam Kyub Sal (RM27) is thin slices of pork belly which by itself doesn't have much taste as its not marinated so you will need to dip it in the salt sauce. However, it was certainly juicy and tender as you can see from the picture.

Daeji Galbi (pork ribs) dish of the sweet and spicy variation. The sweet variation is marinated in a sauce made from fruit juice, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar while the spicy variation uses house spicy marinate sauce. It is succulent in taste, crisply grilled to perfection with slightly charred around the edges.

Korean meals is usually served with Ban-Chan, free-of-charge Korean traditional side dishes that may be refilled. Banchan refers to small side-dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean Cuisine. The most famous banchan is kimchi. Banchan are served in small portions, meant to be finished at each meal. They can be replenished during the meal as they are finished.

Then the Kimchi-jeon (Kimchi Pancake), it’s a spicy, savory pancake comprising of kimchi tossed in light butter, and pan fried to perfection. Quite tasty, truly nice….

Pa-jeon (Seafood Pancake), it’s a delicate pancake comprising of fresh seafood in batter topped with spring onion. It’s also nice and delightful.

Kimchi-jeon-gol (Kimchi Iron Pot), this dish is a spicy combination of pork, kimchi, tofu and Korean noodles slimmered in a rich kimchi soup served in a cast iron pot. It’s so hot and spicy. Very interesting actually.

Jab-chae (Fried Glass Noodle), a Korean glass noodle. The chef pan fried it with thin slices of marinated pork and assorted seasoned vegetables in a sesame oil sauce. The noodle is quite good and tasty. Yum

Generally, the service is excellent and you just have to sit and wait for the food to be done. Furthermore, the whole grilling and wrapping experience thingy is a nice experience though.

Food Review

Food Type: Korean (Non-Halal)
Address: No. 27 & 29, 1st Floor, Plaza Crystal Ville Centre, Jalan 23/70A, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: +603-6203 2616
Price: Average RM30 per pax
Operating Hours: Daily (12pm-3pm, 5.30pm-11pm)

Taste Rating: 8/10
Ambiance Rating: 9/10
Service Rating: 9/10
Value Rating: 6/10

Overall Rating: 8/10