I've heard about Gangnam 88 for a long time now. Even my Korean acquaintances recommend this place. So, after so long of hearing people talking about this place, I finally paid a visit - in conjunction with my mum's birthday.


It's a nice cozy place with yellow lighting. But...my enemy. Yellow lighting. Dislike yellow lighting. Oh well.




This place definitely caters to the younger crowd. Televisions were on, blasting K-pop music videos and shows, much that my sisters could relate to. Me, not so much. Heh.


On the walls, various K-pop merchandise were displayed as props.



Dwaeji-Galbi (Savory pork ribs sauce) 

Tasty stuff! Generous portion, super flavourful.



Bulgogi (Marinated beef served in soup with glass noodles)

I recently had bulgogi at Ko Hyang (Viva Mall outlet) and it was horrible! Basically the soup was almost tasteless and full of cabbage. I needed to erase that memory. Gangnam 88's bulgogi did much justice - generous amount of beef and mushrooms. Soup was really tasty. So it was all good. Phew.



Samgyeopsal (pork belly)

Basically, it's awesome stuff. Surprise - there the pork belly is not marinated! So go ahead and savour the porkiness in its full glory.



Okay, I feel hungry already.

Gangnam88 grills or BBQ food in their kitchen (not in front of customers, phew!) so there's less likelihood that you smell like BBQ or smoke after your meal. However, after the meal, I knew I did smell a little like smoke (very faint) but bearable. Sometimes going to mamak places is worse.



Kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew)

The kimchi jjigae is on the spicy-sour side. The soup is thick and flavourful. 



Big thumbs up to Gangnam 88 for colour-coding the plates for their side dishes. Most of the Korean restaurants I've been to use the same plate for the side dishes. So when I ask for a refill, they don't know what we are asking for. At Gangnam 88, because of the different plates used for different side dishes, the waiters knew what we were asking for when we asked for refills.

Even bigger thumbs up for the good variety of the side dishes. Pajeon (pancakes), myeolchi-bokkeum (stir-fried dried anchovies with nuts), kimchi, and spinach amongst others.



Before I forget, we also got a complimentary steamed egg for ordering meat dishes. Hahaha, great compliments from the restaurant. I like. The steamed egg is towards the "burnt" side but it's in such a way that it tastes good. I'm sorry, but that's the best I could explain. 

Gangnam 88 is actually famous for its Beer Chicken which takes about 1 hour to prepare. We knew this and contemplated if we wanted to try and skip waiting time by pre-ordering when we booked a table.. but in the end, we didn't. I guess we love beef and pork too much to give them up for chicken.


Refill them pajeon!

Overall, it was a simply enjoyable experience and great food. I would come back just for the side dishes. Even if it's just pajeon and kimchi. Hahahaha.

Rating:
Food: 7/10
Service: 6/10
Value: 6/10
Atmosphere: 5.5/10