Dinner at Kaya Korean Restaurant

‘m determined to find the best Korean restaurant in Manila. I’ve already featured several and now it’s Kaya’s turn. We ate at their branch at Jupiter street in Makati. It was my first time to eat at that branch and I was amazed how big it was.

There were several private rooms at the second floor.

I wasn’t too excited about the free appetizers. I liked the variety at Yedang more.

It was first time to try a Korean green salad. It was spicy, tangy and crunchy. It wasn’t so different from the Western style salad except for some unique ingredients.

“miyuk moochim” seaweed & garden veggie salad P270

This was Jennie’s favorite dish in Kaya. It was quite interesting to eat thinly sliced grilled ox tongue. It was a bit chewy and bland. A quick dip in one of the many sauces solves the problem.

“woodsol gui” grilled ox tongue P390

We requested that all our grilled food be cooked inside the kitchen so we wouldn’t smell of grilled food. But if you don’t mind the smell, cooking it yourself on the table top grill is the best way to enjoy the food. The kalbi gui was very tender and flavorful.

“kalbi gui” marinated short ribs P360

The grilled chicken was my favorite dish of the night. It was sweet, spicy and scrumptious.

“dak bulgogi” grilled spicy chicken fillet P300

Kaya’s japche was the best among all the Korean restaurants I’ve eaten at. The flavor and texture was just outstanding.

“japche” sweet potato noodles w/ meat & veggies P290

The bibimbap was just ok. Nothing spectacular but not bad either.

“dolsot bibimbap” rice in hot stone pot P310

I just tasted the kimchi soup and it was HOT! Too spicy for me so I skipped it. The others enjoyed it with plain rice.

“kimchi chige” kimchi pork soup P250

The pajeon was more ‘egg-y’ than the ones I’ve tried at the other Korean restaurants. It tasted more like an omelet than a seafood leek pancake.

“pajeon” onion leek pancake w/ squid P260

I don’t usually bother with the free soup dessert given at the end of the meal. They’re usually too sweet and strange for me. It’s a good thing I tried this because I loved it! It was still sweet but it had a strong kick of hot ginger and strong cinnamon. Imagine eating cinnamon gum.

“sujunggwa” dessert with cinnamon & ginger

If you’ve seen all my posts on Korean restaurants you will see that we almost always order the same things. We order food that’s within our comfort zone. We need to try other dishes instead of the usual Korean specialties. I will keep that in mind the next time I eat at a Korean restaurant. Any suggestions on what to order or the next Korean restaurant I should try?

Kaya menu
starters & specialty, other specialties, hotpots & seafood stews,
noodle dish, other soup dish, desserts & drinks