Traditional Korean Food @ Sa Rang Chae Restaurant, Jalan Gottlieb

I used to complain that the Korean food in Penang is not as authentic as those in KL and other places. However, this shut my mouth after I tried out the Korean food at Sa Rang Chae Korean BBQ and Korean cuisine restaurant.

First of all, I need to thank CK Lam for the arrangement of this review and also enable us to have the chance to try out this delicious Korean cuisine.

It is not hard to locate this restaurant, if you are driving to Gottlieb road from Greenlane, you will see “Peng Hwa” Penang Chinese Girl High School on your left and there is a row of shops on your right and that place is called New Bob Center. At the left corner of New Bob Center, you will see the Korean restaurant called Sa Rang Chae. I remember there was a Korean restaurant (Arirang) here before and it has been taken over by Sa Rang Chae.

As soon as we arrived, our table was full with all the side dishes. There wasn’t even an empty space to place our rice bowl also. It looked just like a feast which will last for 3 days and 3 nights.

The side dishes are complementary from the main courses and they are all free and refillable.

The kimchi and the pickled raddish had the authentic Korean taste. Usually the one that I tried in other restaurants were abit sweet and not as spicy. However, this one was really spicy and tasted not as sweet compared to the OEM version of kimchi.

Maewoon Kalbi  (Spicy Pork Rib Stew) – RM30, This is my favorite. This hot pot of stew consisted of pork ribs, korean glass noodles. The soup base had been cooked with ginseng, dong gui and red dates. The strong aroma of herbs from the soup made my mouth watery. The spiciness of this hot stew is still acceptable and the base had some slight sweetness from the red dates and pork ribs.

Dakgalbi (Spicy Grilled Chicken) – RM50, if you tell me that you can really take spicy food, tell me about that again. Dakgalbi is one of the most spicy food I have taken. The level of spiciness is very different from Maewoon Kalbi. For maewoon kalbi it will spice up your tongue while dakgalbi will heat up your throat and will stuck there for long time. Moreover, Mr. Kim the owner told us this is just the first level of spiciness, are we still strong enough for that?

Spicy Hot Seafood Stew – RM80, the ingredients in the stew included crabs, mussels, squids, scallops and prawns. It is indeed a real seafood stew. However, this is not very suitable for a person with high cholesterol. This stew also came with a lot of excitement and happiness, you will be crying out of appreciation after having this stew.

Modeum BBQ Set – RM150 This set was made up of beef ribs, pork ribs (marinated), pork belly, chicken, flower crabs, prawns, squids and clams. You might think that this would be very expensive. However, the portion can really feed 4 to 5 persons and the ingredients given were really value for money. This time the BBQ was not as spicy as the stew.

The dip for the BBQ, the right one was similar to sesame oil and the other one was a sweet and sour sauce.

Sesame leaves were given as an option to wrap the barbecue meat.

Gentlemen it’s time to start up your engine.

Ladies please be prepared to burn some meat.

Jokbal, Glazed pig’s feet – RM70, besides BBQ, Mr. Kim told us that many Koreans came here for the pork leg. The portion has been standardized to one size and each can feed 3 to 4 persons. The tender of the meat was just nice and with the layers of some fat and big portion of meat made me couldn’t stop eating it.

Ojingeo Samgyeopsal Bokkeum – RM30, This is Stir Fried Squid and Pork Belly, extremely spicy dish. The combination of soft pork belly and chewy stir fried squid really made a great combination. However the spiciness has overwhelmed the whole dish.

Soju, Korean wine – RM25, it really went well with the BBQ. For alcohol lover, it is a must-order if you had BBQ or pork leg.

Thanks to the sweet couple owner Mr. Kim and Mdm. Lim who gave us a very warm welcome and with great food.

Overall, my conclusion is authentic Korean food is actually very spicy. However, certain  dishes like stew and BBQ are still very nice indeed. For those ladies who want to have good skin, then you should eat more Korean food and your skin will be as fair and smooth as Korean ladies.

Editor’s Review (5 Stars Rank):

Taste
Price
Food Presentation
Service
Overall

Quick Facts:

Family Friendly
Parking
Pork Free
Alcohol
Credit Card
Smoking
Reservation
Private Room

Operation hours: 12.00noon-3.00pm, 6.00pm-10.30pm (Closed Monday Lunch)
Contact: 04-226 3587, 012-468 6700 (Mdm Lim/Mr Kim)
Address:11-G-1 & 2 Jalan Gottlieb (New Bob  Centre) 10350 Penang.