Yesterday I was around Pantai Indah Kapuk area and decided to stop by a newly-opened Korean BBQ restaurant,
Mapogalmaegi (or Mapo Galmaegi), which has just had its grand opening on October 1st, 2014. Located inside the Ruko Crown Golf complex after
Cafe Shirokuma and before
Gomawo, the location couldn’t be more strategic. Although I had never tried this before, I heard about how popular it is, especially because they already have more than 450 outlets in South Korea only, 25 in China, 3 in US, 1 in Thailand, and now, they opened their first store in Jakarta, Indonesia. Now that’s something, right?
When I stepped inside, I can see that the place is not big, as in spacious, but they only put the tables (and stools) on the left and right side, giving a nice, clear pathway on the middle. Very neat and comforting. There are 2 kinds of tables, round and rectangles, and we chose the rectangle one because we can put more stuffs there (you know, Korean BBQ stuffs!).
Like usual Korean BBQ restaurants, their menu has variety of meat to grill (pork and beef), meal (bibimbap, japchae etc), soups, rice cakes and also menu for share. Prices are quite reasonable for a popular Korean restaurants, starting from IDR 85.800 for the meat.
 |
| Lucky we got the rectangle table instead of the round one 😉 |
One of the things to look for when eating in Korean restaurants is the banchan a.k.a. appetizers! Here they don’t serve many varieties but the essential ones were there so I am not complaining at all. First, they have this super delicious fresh salad served with black sesame dressing, which was AMAZING. It came in quite big bowl, enough to share among 3-4 person (and you can always ask for more if you want), so refreshing and tasted so good.
Then the casual boiled veggies with gojuchang paste on top, not exactly my favorite but ironically, one that I always look for in banchan. XD
 |
| Fresh seaweed with pickles |
 |
| Kimchi |
Then after they set up the grill, I saw that they have the outer ring that are used to cook the whisked eggs. Honestly I don’t really care about the eggs but I enjoy watching the funky yellow color outside the grill, LOL. Before they poured the egg in, I saw that on the bottom they sprinkled chopped kimchi and apparently, the egg will later be cook with them and giving special taste.
Also we got two bowls of dipping sauce with pickles to enhance the meat-eating later. Personally I rarely use these sauces because usually Korean BBQ meat are already marinated and quite tasty even without any additional sauce. But here, I actually enjoyed eating those pickles when waiting for my meat to be grilled. My favorite was the turnip, so crunchy and tasty.
Maekom Galmaegi IDR 95.8K
Mapo Pork Skirtmeat with Sweet and Spicy Sauce.
Mapogalmaegi (or Magal) has a certain specialty that differentiates it from other Korean BBQ restaurants, which is skirtmeat. Skirtmeat is certain part that only 200 grams can be harvested from individual pigs. This special meat cut is low in fat and contains a sufficient amount of vitamin D, which is effective to overcome fatigue. It also contains amino acids and iron, which contribute to prevent anemia. Skirtmeat is also excellent for people who are on diet and in the process of building muscles, because of its high protein and low calories: only 188 kcal/100 grams.
The meat were very enjoyable, with very tasty sweet and spicy sauce that reminds me of Indonesian satay sauce! The first time I ate it, I felt like I was eating meat with peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce, and being a satay fan, all I can say is just DELICIOUS!! The meat were very soft and tender, like you don’t need any effort to chew them at all. And it’s really good to be eaten Korean way, with the lettuce wrap, some sauce, garlic, green chili, and also the sliced turnips! It was also good eaten just like that with lots of rice and you don’t even need any dipping sauce.
Haemul Sundubu Jjige IDR 69.8K
Spicy soft tofu stew with assorted seafood.
I love this soup. We all agreed that this soup was EXTREMELY DELICIOUS, probably the best of its kind so far. We tried a lot of sundubu jjige in many Korean restaurants all around Jakarta and this is clearly the winner. The broth was great, nice balance of taste and perfect spices, better yet, it already comes with rice so I can order this and already get a nice meal.
Mapo Samgyeopsal IDR 95.8K
Pork belly, how can I resist you? This is a must-order item whenever we go to Korean BBQ restaurants because pork belly never fails! XD Here they were not fancy like we can find in Gomawo, but I found these simple ones very enjoyable too.
Chijeu Tteokboki IDR 55.8K
Spicy savory braised dish of sliced rice cake with cheese.
I am kinda used to order this rice cake dish now, and I actually loved some of them in restaurants I visited lately, so yeah. The portion was quite big and we could actually see immediately that the rice cakes were cut in large slices, and the cheese melt was such a beautiful topping! However, the rice cake failed to impress me because the texture was too soft and sticky, probably over-boiled and unfortunately I like chewy, harder texture rice cake more. But again, taste-wise, it was well-seasoned and the cheese added extra yumminess into the whole dish.
 |
| Complimentary Papaya for dessert |
Overall, it’s nice to know that the famous Mapogalmaegi finally opens its first outlet in Jakarta and this adds one more choice for nice and delicious Korean BBQ. I really think the food were great, and the legendary skirtmeat is nothing but awesomeness. I will definitely come back for another visit even just for that and the soup!
We also got to meet the owner, branch manager and also an Indonesian manager who were very friendly and helped us deciding what to order (Kamsa hamida!). I loved how everyone was so polite and helpful, I hope they maintain the good service! So best of luck and hope it can spread more wings everywhere around the world! 😉
P.S. There is currently a promotion of 10% discount (total bill) during Grand Opening days. And prepare cash because they don’t accept credit cards YET.
*All prices are subject to 5% service charge & 10% government tax
*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
Ruko Crown Golf Blok A / 11
Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK)
North Jakarta 14470
Opening Hours:
Mon – Sun 10.00 – 22.00
No Comment