Connecting to Korea

Like the new kids on the block, or like foreigners in any country, Koreans have huddled together in different parts of the country, slowly but quiety establishing their own expat communities, keeping to themselves and continuing traditions of their hometown instead of assimilating cultures of their new residence. Whereas we Filipinos in different parts of the globe would fluidly adapt to the nuances of the people of our new hometown, kitchen adobo notwithstanding, Koreans staunchly stick to what they know, maintain every element of it, and threafter welcome the local as if the locals were the foreigners and not the other way around.

At least that's how I felt when I toured Makati's Koreatown this past week. The changing cultural landscape had escaped me because I usually just zoom down Kalayaan straight to Rockwell but in fact the Koreans have taken over this area about Bel Air. The Filipinos in this area would now just be the very rich of Bel Air and the very poor of Burgos, with the Koreans filling the gaps between. You might have noticed many a Korean KTV in this area, but more than that, there are, if you skirt into the blocks, a considerable number of Korean restaurants now - holes in the wall as well as more established ones like Dong Won Garden on the main road Jupiter.

Last Saturday I had lunch at a little house-turned-restaurant named Lee Jo. I really fancy out of the way restaurants that you chance upon either by word of mouth or that you discover by simply being in the neighborhood, so Lee Jo's charm as a relatively unknown restaurant quickly worked on me. We were going to eat at Ma San Garden, which is highly recommended by the Korean community, but as it was past two (yes, it was a very late lunch ... as it was my SECOND one, after having a lighter one at the Salcedo Market at around 11 lol), Ma San was closed so we were redirected to Lee Jo.

While deciding on what to order, as with any Korean restaurant, we were greeted by a spread of kimchi and company, which our kind server introduced to us one by one: radish, cucumber, toge, dilis, and spinach. We then had Bulgogi, which was sooo tender and sweet. And some barbecue, called Samgyupsal.

The samgyupsal is a great Korean experience because of the procedures involved. They will first serve a platter of greens before you which, I later learned, contained, cabbage and some green chili. Then they bring the pork (or beef or chicken or fish, depending on your preference) and barbecue it in front of you. Once cooked, you place the meat on the leaves after dipping in the accompanying sauces, spread some bean paste on it, add kimchi if you like, then fold the leaves as you would bread. I found my leaves too long so I would turn the dish into some kind of cabbage roll but as I was reading up later on, you must resist the urge to do this because that's just not how it's done. You should cut the leaves to size then simply fold it like a sandwich, and not make a "Korean burrito". But whatever sandwich-making experience you have, bottomline is it was yum. The crunchy leaves against the chewy meat, the sweet sauce against the salty paste, added with a hint of spice from the kimchi makes for a very memorable lunch.

Another great thing about Korean cuisine is that it is deceptively light! After maybe 6 "sandwiches" I was still in the mood for more that our table asked for extra leaves and we sandwiched the bulgogi instead. But I didn't feel heavy at all, not like if you had six burgers! (No, I'm not THAT sick - can't do that.)

We left the restaurant very satisfied with our meal and with a great appreciation of Korean food. It's still not a favorite but once in a while it's a refreshing break from other Asian cuisines!

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Lee Jo. #4 Orion St., Bel Air.