Mish had invited us to try out the new Korean joint over at Solaire. To tell you the truth, I was already salivating when I first saw her photos on
her Instagram feed. So when she asked if I would like to drive out to check out the new grill, I didn't need any convincing. LOL!
The girls and I were excited to try out Kiwa as we are big Samgyeopsal fans, but
Didi couldn't make it at the last minute (t'was her nanny's birthday off and she couldn't bring nor leave the kids). So
Cai was my official lunch date for the day. Funny because we both got to the venue late (traffic was terrible!) so we were given a table of our very own! Date
talaga!
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| Our spread for the day. |
Cai and I were excited to start the meal. I was eager to dig in as I was very hungry, but then Cai whipped out her camera
and her iPhone to take a zillion photos, so I thought I would do the same thing. In case you didn't know, this
Apples and Dumplings blogger is also a photo enthusiast and camera expert. She knows her camera, and I get pretty insecure around her, especially when she has to take photos of products from every angle. I swear I took about 3x my usual number during this lunch! LOL!
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| Ah, a blogger's gotta do what blogger's gotta do! |
And then it was finally time to eat! Yay! This Pumpkin Salad was soooo good! I wanted more!
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PUMPKIN SALAD
Mashed pumpkin mixed with assorted nuts, assorted seasonal vegetables,
and served with a sesame seed dressing. |
The Pajeon came next. I love Pajeon! I feel a Korean meal isn't complete without it. This one was good and the dipping sauce was just right.
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Haemul Pajeon
Pancake mixed with seafood, spring onion and assorted vegetables,
served with spicy soy sauce with sesame oil. |
In between appetizers, we were served a special Juk or Korean Porridge and a cold Kimchi soup. The porridge was really good. I cleaned out my bowl. Hahaha!
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| I've never had Korean Juk, and this was really good. Mmmm... |
After polishing that off, they served this awesome Gobachi - an assortment of single-serve Korean appetizers similar to that on Mish's Instagram photo.
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Gobachi
Platter of Scallop Sashimi, Steamed Shrimp, Salmon Sashimi, Steamed Octopus, Marinated Tomato,
and a mini Green Mango and Korean Cheese Salad. |
By the end of this round, I was stuffed! But we weren't done and the wait staff kept serving! Now if you follow me on Instagram, and if you read my posts on here, then you will know how much I love my Kimchi. The Kimchi at Kiwa is one good Kimchi! It was spicy, but really, really good. Cai and I kept picking on it with our chopsticks 'til we ate it all up!
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Rolled Kimchi
This is a winner! |
Next came the iconic Korean Japchae. I am not really a fan of the Japchae, but this was good.
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Japchae
Seasoned Soy Sauce-based pan fried glass noodles with beef and fried assorted vegetables. |
After the appetizers (yes, those were just the appetizers!!!), we had asked to take a short break from eating. The other girls were already having their dessert, so we paused to do small talk and catch up. We also stopped grubbing to take this photo!
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Group photo (c/o Tiffany) with some of the girls, from L-R after moi (Cai, Jackie, Neva, Tin, Tiffany and Mish)
Okay... we were on a sloping bridge. I may be short but I ain't that short. LOL! |
Because most of the lunch crowd were leaving, we also got to pause and admire the restaurant's interiors. Kiwa has been on soft opening since December 24 of last year. They are pretty popular with the Manila and Solaire Korean crowd. Would you believe this is actually the first real Korean
fine dining barbecue set-up in the Philippines? It is, in fact, the only one in Southeast Asia!
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| The lamp over our table... check out the ceiling fixtures! |
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Really, really beautiful and cozy interiors designed by a Korean firm.
Kiwa has a seating capacity of 184 - with 8 private dining rooms that can be converted into one big room that can accommodate up to 48 persons. |
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Kiwa is a smoke-free Korean Grill Restaurant!
Kiwa utilizes a state-of-the-art exhaust system under the restaurant so all the smoke from their grills goes under. It is the best technology in Korea. So when you dine at Kiwa, you will not smell like smoke and barbecue! |
Then we were ready for the main dish! I should say dishes, as we were served more than one...
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| Time for that Samgyeopsal! |
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| Seasoned Pork Belly for our Grilled Samgyeopsal. |
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Check out Kiwa's smokeless grill!
At Kiwa, the servers do all the grilling. Now that's top-notch service! |
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| Our perfectly-grilled Pork Belly. Nommy! |
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| Yea, it is Samgyeopsal time! |
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| Omnomnom! My beautiful wrap before I devoured it. |
I was stuffed -
literally stuffed. But that wasn't the end of our special Korean meal. This was a full-course menu with very, very generous servings!
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Kimchi Jjigae Bansang
Sour Kimchi broth with tofu and seafood. This was Cai's favorite! |
Then they brought out the beef. This, my friends, is Kiwa's Yang Nyeom Gal Bi. It is the most tender and tastiest gal bi I have ever, ever had.
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Yang Nyeom Gal Bi
Grilled marinated beef with Kiwa's special sauce. |
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| Lives up to its name. It is Nyeom-nyeom-nyeom! Hehe. |
And right when I was thinking the meal was finally over, they served us dessert (a patbingsu, bingsu or Korean shaved ice similar to our
Halo-halo). But I was too busy enjoying it, I forgot to take a photo! LOL! Mind you, I was stuffed, but everything was just so good! I did manage to take a photo of their lovely, lovely cold tea. This was the plum tea. So refreshing!
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| Nothing like a refreshing cup of tea to wash everything down. |
That was a sumptuous meal! Thank you, Mish, for always thinking of me!
Kiwa Korean Grill officially launches their restaurant on January 28 (that's tomorrow)! By then, they will have their complete menu. A full course meal would set you back approximately P3,000. Lunch sets start at P1,500. Rice sets will be in the P500-P700 range.
I loved Kiwa so much that I am treating my folks out to a Kiwa dinner next month. I am sure my mom would love how tender their meat is, and my dad would love their big servings. Yay! I can't wait to bring them there!
Operating hours:
SUN-THU | 9am to 12mn
FRI & SAT | 9am to 2am
KIWA KOREAN GRILL
Solaire Resort & Casino, 1 Aseana Avenue, Paranaque City
For inquiries and reservations, call (632) 888.8888.
www.kiwa.com.ph
#KiwaKoreanGrill
