Unlimited Korean Barbecue at Matgalne

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Jancee and I recently gained new friends - new teammates on our work and they are all into the Korean hype: K-pop, K-dramas, K-fashion, name it, they relate to it. I am not into those things in particular, but I do dig Korean food. So they needed not to invite me twice into their samgyupsal soiree. For this, the guys chose Matgalne, a Korean restaurant in Kalayaan Avenue, Makati City.

The Place
   

No trouble at all reaching the place. It's near Century Mall where you can meet up with friends if you need to, as was our case. There was limited place for parking. We went on a Saturday night, so I was not really sure if we could make it. As of this writing, Korean restaurants are so in demand (especially on weekends) it's actually part of our plan to go to an alternate place if one Korean restaurant is jampacked. I guess we were lucky this wasn't the case, because we arrived pretty late at the place, around 8:00P.M.

Even so, there were no more tables available inside the restaurant so we settled outside of it. Well, it made the experience a little bit difficult because since it's buffet-style, we had to walk in and out every time we took something from the buffet tables inside. I was so glad I donned my trusty old sneakers instead of high-heeled shoes which I planned for the day. Place was casual, which was okay because it allowed a laidback experience. As we had our table outside, we had no air-conditioning but the wind was cool, thank goodness. I brought my mini-fan in case and thought it was a marvelous idea. Also, street kids flanked us and asked for money and food while we were eating. Had to shrug that all off, this was my first Korean barbercue experience and I wanted it to count.


The Food

We availed the 499php unlimited pork and beef and after making sure we've had our fill of around a dozen side dishes, we got settled. So for the sides, you can choose among a variety of dishes. Some of which that I could recall include kimbap, kimchi, a variety of veggie recipes, chicken, soups and salads.  I now regret not taking photos of them individually, as I really am no food expert and would at least have something to show, but maybe we'll get the chance to come back and update this blog. Who knows? Maybe by the end of this blog, we'll figure out.



 


 

I tried a bit of everything, but for good measure I didn't stack up on heavy ones like the kimbap as I wanted to focus on the samgyupsal. I watched a couple of Youtube videos on preparing samgyupsal but here in Matgalne, it's pretty much DIY. You cook your beef or pork up to your preferred state then take lettuce, pop in the meat, put some sauce, and pretty much anything that can be added into your concoction. My favorite combination was lettuce-pork-kimchi-barbecue peanut sauce-cucumber combo. Why, to each his or her own.

The Service

This is an area I just added because the servers on this restaurant were remarkable. They were remarkable in the sense that they showed consistency in putting up their poker faces. They were nice and prompt, but they looked nonplussed. I hope they are being paid well.

The Verdict

Okay, now for the verdict - was the experience worth my five hundred bucks? Again, this was my first samgyupsal experience and I wanted it to count. But then frankly, it didn't reach my expectations. Cooking and walking back and forth wasn't such a big deal, but the flavor of the dishes, especially the meat - was not at par with the goodness from other buffet restaurants I've known like Vikings or Yakimix, not even close. Even the side dishes were somewhat of a letdown, the flavors were not special. I'm not even sure if they were good.

I believe the guys think otherwise, though. They said they enjoyed Matgalne. I had a good time chatting with them, regardless. It was still a good Saturday.







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