SOME of us may have read fables on acorns and oak trees and know that the mighty oak grows from little acorns but there is definitely not an acorn in sight, here in the tropics.
So, when Mary Shin Mi Suk explained that the brownish jelly like dish among the Korean side dishes before us was made of acorn powder, our ears pricked up.
Wide variety: The assorted barbecue fare at Restaurant Kung Jung.
Since acorns are not available locally, Shin’s mother Kim Jong Oh and her sister Hyun Suk return to South Korea twice a year to get essential Korean ingredients like acorn and sesameleaves, cutlery and spices for their outlet.
“We buy organic Korean acorns that can cost up to RM200 per kg and it is very expensive, just like the sesame leaves,” said Shin.
Once we learnt of its price, we quickly cleaned up the plate so as not to be wasteful.
The not too bad tasting acorn jelly dish (Dotorimuk) topped with seaweed is relished with soya sauce.
Besides the acorn jelly, we had several other side dishes like potato salad, marinated cockles, stir fried anchovies, fresh kimchi, regular kimchi, seasoned tofu, stir fried fish, garlic sticks and seaweed for bites as we watched waiters prepare our barbecue stove with special non-smoke emanating Korean coal.
Kim served us two types of kimchi - fresh kimchi and the preserved one so we could distinguish between the two.
Hot bowl: The Dol Sot Bi Bim Bam is a rice dish with spinach, white cabbage, chilli powder and raw egg which is quickly mixed at the table so the egg cooks in the hot rice.
The vegetable texture of the former was firmer, its spices raw and vibrant as we alternated between the two tastes, growing fond of the fresh version with each renewed experience.
Kimchi, Mary said was made of vegetables (usually cabbage), chilli powder, salt and garlic.
“Back in South Korea at the onset of winter, we make a lot of kimchi and we bury the kimchi container into a big hole in the ground and the snow helps keep the vegetable cold while it ferments.
“Koreans say that kimchi prepared during this period is the best,” Shin said as she served us Korean Raspberry Wine, Gold Korean Plum Gold Wine and Soju.
Here’s some good news - the variety of side dishes change daily and are complimentary.
There was plenty of garlic on our table and I enjoy the pungent herb.
Shin said Koreans love garlic and that 80% of their dishes had garlic in them.
We were having the Modum Koo Ee (assorted grilled barbeque) that consisted of fresh spare ribs, fresh sirloin, marinated spare ribs, marinated rib eye, char broiled marinated cuttlefish, prawns and scallops.
While waiting for the stove to heat up, the kitchen served the familiar Korean-style Pancake (Pah Jeon) that was aromatic with scallion and seafood.
With hard to grip stainless steel chopsticks, the omelette pancake was delicious with or without its accompanying sauce.
As the restaurant caters to locals, don’t be surprised to see a sauce laden with chilli padi served alongside.
The Chab Chae is lightly stir fried potato noodles with assorted vegetables in light sweet soy sauce that resembles the local stir fried glass noodle dish.
The aroma of the barbecued items, grilled before us, wafted in the air.
The grilled fare, be it the marinated or unseasoned meats, were as good as they smelt.
At the end of our barbecue experience, Shin brought in bowls with more Korean food.
The cold buckwheat noodles (Mool Naeng Meon) is a serving of fine noodles with mustard and vinegar.
Although the noodles were nice, it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea to have cold noodles shock my palate after the hot sizzling barbecue experience.
The other bowl (Dol Sot Bi Bim Bam) contained rice with spinach, white cabbage, chilli powder and raw egg which is quickly mixed at the table so the egg cooks in the hot rice.
The outlet, in its ninth year is a testament of Kim’s success after having lost her husband just three months after arriving in Malaysia 18 years ago.
“My father left Korea to join his Korean business partner here in Malaysia but sadly he died in an accident soon after we arrived here.
“My mother was a housewife then and with the little that she had, she opened a food stall called Ari Lang in Lot 10 selling Korean food.
“After two years, she sold the business and worked at the Halla Korean factory as its caterer before opening this restaurant in 2000,” Shin said.
Kim smiled and nodded her head throughout our conversation as she does not speak English.
Her eldest daughter Hyun Suk has been her right hand throughout the years, dealing with the administrative part of the business.
Besides Kim, the outlet also has executive chef Kim Guy Hyun to dish out the traditional Korean fare.
“Our restaurant is open 365 days a year and my mother is at the restaurant from as early as 9am to closing time so her customers are assured that she lends her personal touch to their food,” said Shin with a pleasant smile.
The outlet also serves Japanese cuisine for those who want a mix of Korean and Japanese.
RESTORAN KUNG JUNG (halal), Lot No 3.1, At PNB Darby Park, Jalan Binjai, Kuala Lumpur. (Tel: 03-2166 7181) Business hours: noon to 2.30pm, 6pm to 10.30pm Monday to Saturday, 6pm to 10.30pm on Sunday.
