Young Bin Gwan offers good Korean food

JAKARTA (JP): Blok M, particularly the area lying between the bus terminal and Jl. Melawai Raya, is well-known for its multiplicity of Japanese and Korean restaurants as, before the economic crisis, there were significant numbers of expatriates from both countries living and working in the surrounding area.

Although there are not quite as many these days, this is still the one part of the city where restaurants offering both cuisines tend to be clustered together. I tried a Korean one recently that lies just outside that immediate area, but is nonetheless a good example of its type.

It was the first time I'd eaten at a Korean restaurant (although I had tried Korean food before), so I was relieved that the waiter who welcomed my dining companion and myself as we entered was also very helpful in describing the food available and in assisting us to choose a balanced meal.

Young Bin Gwan Korean Restaurant: Jl. Mahakam I/13, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan, phone: 7247073, 7224545.

Location: Very easy to find. The restaurant is directly opposite Hotel Gran Mahakam on Jl. Mahakam I.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 10 p.m. every day. Major credit cards are accepted.

Looks: Nothing special outside, particularly as the French chateau look-alike Hotel Gran Mahakam visually dominates everything in its vicinity. There is a parking lot immediately in front that can hold about seven to eight vehicles.

Inside it is bright and functional, with a minimum of decoration and tables for four or six with high-backed chairs. The restaurant can seat about 50 diners downstairs, with another 50 to 60 upstairs, some in private rooms. Each table has been designed to accommodate a circular barbecue, of which more later.

The staff were all friendly and helpful, and managed to avoid displaying their amusement too openly at my novice attempts to prepare and eat some of the food, particularly the barbecue.

What it's got: The menu, thoughtfully prepared in Korean, English and Indonesian, shows a good range of Korean fare available including soups, noodle dishes (some spicy, using cold noodles), stewed meats (including intestines and cow gristle), and the mainstays, pork, beef, chicken or shrimp barbecues, which can be cooked at the table.

The Korean standard, kimchi (cold sliced vegetables pickled in a fiery sauce) is served with every meal as no Korean would dream of sitting down to eat without it.

Drinks available included a range of juices, tea and coffee, sake (rice wine), whisky and Jinro, described on the bottle (the size of a small beer) as Korean liquor, and tasting a little like gin or cold sake. It is served in a whisky tumbler with ice and a slice of lime or lemon and is a good accompaniment to the kind of food described above.

Taste factor: As soon as diners are seated, they are presented with an impressive array of complimentary appetizers in circular dishes. I counted nine in all, including kimchi, various kinds of other pickled or steamed vegetables, a salad and fried potato cake. If I'd eaten all of these, I would not have been able to manage anything else!

It takes a fair degree of self-control not to devour the lot, as they were all attractively presented and some were quite "more-ish". A complimentary dish of omelet was also brought to the table later on.

We ordered sun dubu jige (beancurd soup), which turned out to be as fiery as the kimchi, and a bit like a soupy Korean version of Indonesian sayur asem (sour vegetable soup).

The Bokum bab (Korean-style fried rice) was a little sticky, but had plenty of diced vegetables and egg in it. Jab chai consisted of slightly sweet glass noodles cooked with various vegetables, including chili, carrot and onion, and left a somewhat fiery aftertaste.

The highlight item of the meal was bul galbi (barbecued rib of beef Korean style). This is where the built-in table barbecues came into their own. Fortunately a waitress did the cooking at the table for us, as I would not have known how to do it properly.

The meat, still on the bone, was removed, then cut into small pieces, about the size of large postage stamps, using a pair of scissors.

Meanwhile the charcoal (not gas) barbecue was heated up. A bucket of hot coals was lowered into a well beneath the perforated circular hot plate and was kept glowing by the draught from an electric fan below. Pieces of garlic were grilled alongside the meat.

When done, the meat, dipped in a tasty savory sauce, together with the garlic, are wrapped, Korean-style, in lettuce leaves, rather as Peking duck and hoisin sauce are wrapped, Chinese- style, in pancakes.

My novice attempts at this stage of the proceedings must have tested the self-control of the wait staff to the limit, as I didn't hear any loud guffaws as I struggled to prevent the pieces of meat from slipping out of their leafy envelopes.

It was worth the effort, though, as the result was a delicious combination of juicy meat and refreshing lettuce, pepped up by the piquant garlic.

Price points: The meal above, including complimentary appetizers and omelet, plus a Jinro, ice lemon tea and complimentary Korean tea, came to just under Rp 230,000, including tax and service at 20 percent. This was a very reasonable price, considering the amount of food available.

Minus points: Although I had no complaints about the food, the lighting level and general ambience of the restaurant did not really lend itself to a quiet, dinner-for-two, and seemed more suited to people dining in groups. I gather this is fairly typical though of Korean restaurants in Jakarta, and probably what would be the norm in Seoul.

Verdict: To the uninitiated, Korean food is certainly worth trying, especially as the sight and aroma of it being cooked at the table somehow makes it all the more appetizing. There is no shortage of places at Blok M to sample this type of fare, and Young Bin Gwan is as good as any as your starting point. (Les Coffier)