Eating in Baguio….You can eat at the usual restaurants, but sometimes you want to eat a big piece of barbeque meat! But there are times when you want to eat a big barbeque! This time, we will tell you about a recommended samgyeopsal restaurant for such occasions. This restaurant is so popular that it has been passed down from generation to generation among Korean students.
Location and menu of Pearl Meat Korean
Pearl Meat Korean is located near the center of Baguio City, near “Good Taste,” the most famous restaurant in Baguio, and has a very high rating of 4.3 Stars (207) on Google map. Two Korean restaurants are located in a row, but please be careful not to confuse them.
Seating is quite plentiful. The main hall can accommodate about a dozen groups of four, and there is also seating in the back that can accommodate a group of customers. It is a popular restaurant, so it is crowded, but it is seldom impossible to sit down.
The menu has two patterns: all-you-can-eat and individual orders. The all-you-can-eat buffet costs 499 pesos per person and includes about four kinds of meat, vegetables such as sunchu, side dishes such as pancakes, rice, soup, etc. for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The first soft drink is free.
On the other hand, in the case of individual menus, you can order what you want to eat. Basically, the menu only describes the type of meat, but the accompanying dishes such as sunchu and kimchi are included in the price, so it is essentially a set menu.
This time, I have eaten both the all-you-can-eat and individual menus, so I will introduce both!
For the all-you-can-eat menu
In the case of Unlimited, it is buffet style, where you go and get your own meat and vegetables. Regarding the meat, when we visited, there were “for samgyeopsal”, “for bulgogi”, “pork (neck)”, and “thin slices of beef”. The meat is probably cut in the restaurant, but it is already thawed.
There is a gas stove and a griddle in the middle of the table, and approximately 4 or 5 people use one stove to grill the meat. The main dish is samgyeopsal, so basically we grill a long slice of meat, about 20 cm long, and cut it ourselves.
The taste is definitely delicious. The meat is all chewy, not too tough and not too tender, but the texture is familiar to Japanese people. In the Philippines, where the meat tends to be fatty, I can honestly say that the quality of the meat is delicious.
In fact, there are countless other samgyopsal restaurants in Baguio. Moreover, you can get the same unlimited menu for about 300 pesos. What is wrong with that is that the meat is too thin. In this respect, the quality of the food here is high enough to satisfy even international students in the real Korea.
And the side menu is also substantial. The accompanying raw vegetables include sunchu, Chinese cabbage, and finely sliced green onions, among others. Personally, I was impressed by the wide variety of pickles, including kimchi. There is even kakuteki, and I personally devoured the cucumber kimchi, which had a familiar taste to me.
These may seem spicy at first glance, but they are mildly seasoned. I am not a fan of spicy ramen so much that I cannot eat spicy ramen, but I enjoyed all the dishes!
For the individual menu
Next, let’s take a look at the individual menu items. You can order beef from 250 pesos and pork from 150 pesos. As I mentioned earlier, if you order these items, vegetables are also included and you can enjoy them.
This is pork belly meat called PORK BELLY, which is the most standard meat for samgyeopsal. As you can see, the thickness of the meat is definitely different from that of the all-you-can-eat. The meat is of the same quality as that of the all-you-can-eat samgyeopsal.
This one was recommended by a Korean senior. The meat is cooked on a griddle covered with foil as if it were stewed with sauce. I forgot the name, but it was definitely delicious as well.
Summary
This time, I introduced a good quality samgyeopsal restaurant that is talked about among Korean students. Of course, it is also suitable for the Japanese palate, so if you want to enjoy a gutsy grilled meat meal at a reasonable price, I can confidently recommend this restaurant.
However, they are a little strict about leftovers. You will be told in advance that you will be charged if you leave any leftovers. In our case, we ate all the meat and left a few scorched pieces and vegetable scraps, but we were charged 80 pesos. We wanted to go all out, but we had to be moderate.
That said, the waitresses are very nice. They seem to know that foreign students often come here, so they responded perfectly even in my poor English. When I thought the juice was free and tried to order again, they asked me in advance if it would be OK if I had to pay.
Also, the owner, who is probably Korean, often treats us to ice cream after dinner. We have received it every time we have used the restaurant. Maybe it is a service for all customers, but we are not sure. After the meal, let’s thank the owner and say, “It was delicious! and thank them for their hospitality. See you soon!