Chung Wa Dae Korean Restaurant, Jalan Ampang: Home style Korean BBQ

I am so in love with Korean BBQ!

One lazy Sunday with no plans, we braved the roads and head to Jalan Ampang towards Korean town for some BBQ. Luckily for us, most people were either feeling lazy or they have other plans far away from where we were going, so the roads were clear and the journey was fast.

Arriving in Korean town, choices were many and decision is tough. Finally, we settled on one of the least obvious or fancy one. Chung Wa Dae seemed to have been there for a bit and the fact that the owner was outside, he greeted to us with a friendly smile and asked us to try his restaurant. We entered and found the place to be cozy and setup family style with long wooden tables spread across the room. There are even private rooms available. Although air conditioned, plenty of standing fans were also present to ensure a good ventilation. A television blasting Korean pop artist music videos signified that we are definitely in a Korean restaurant!

A wall of fame hosted all the diners that enjoyed Chung Wa Dae!

Menu was fairly simple and ordering was straightforward. Ala carte and set meals are available. We logged in our order for a BBQ Special Set for 2 to 3 person (RM68.00) that had four varieties of meat of pork and beef.

As with all Korean BBQ meals, I always looked forward to Banchan, the infamous side dishes of delectables, served along the grilled meat. At Chung Wa Dae, I noticed the generosity of their Banchans as there was 12 choices served. Quite a lovely variety if I may say so since quite a few of them was unique and delicious!

Let’s do a quick check on my favorite banchans…

Simply the quintessential dish of Korea, Kimchi is readily available nowadays but a good one is not that easy to find. Chung Wa Dae’s version is quite marvelous as the chili sauce is thick and sticks to the pickled Chinese lettuce. A good balance of spicy and sour flavors had me refilling this dish several times!

Egg in Soy Sauce is unpretentious and comfort food at its best!

I was weary of Spicy Cockles but one bite had me finishing up the whole plate by myself. I like the medium cooked cockles that was doused with a spicy sauce and thought that this banchan is delicious it its own way. Yum… J

Marinated Seaweed may look unappetizing but rest assured as it is simply scrumptious. We had another plate of the sweet seaweed…

My family thought the chilled spicy squares looked weird but I know otherwise. It is actually a cold Konyaku Jelly with Spicy Sauce. It may be weird for some but my palate said it’s actually quite good and refreshing. The cold jelly actually offsets the spicy sauce to balance out and provide a nice mellow flavor of spiciness.

Radish Kimchi tasted sour and spicy but laced with the distinctive radish aroma. Ok lah…

Our BBQ set arrived and we had Fresh Ribeye Sauce BBQ, Pork with sauce BBQ, Pork Jowl BBQ and Fresh Pork Belly Slice.

Firstly, heat up the grill with hot coals beneath!

Lay the least flavored meat, Pork Jowl BBQ and Fresh Pork Belly Slice, to enjoy the original flavors of the meat before proceeding to the marinated ones.

Wait... patience is essential!

Let’s Dive right in!! Slurp…

Sigh with happiness…

Enjoy with the condiments of lettuce, fresh garlic, fresh chili, spicy sauce and sesame oil with salt and pepper.

The next one of Pork with sauce BBQ lies over the hot coals.

Caramelized till perfect and slowly savor its juicy and sweet tender pork. This one is almost perfect in my books.

Here comes the Fresh Ribeye Sauce BBQ! This one takes only a few seconds to cook for a tender bite. Sweet and savory, the beef was oh-so-good!!

Load up the beef with marinated Spicy Scallion for a spicy touch!

Korean served their Steamed Rice (RM5.00) in metal bowls with covers. I am a sucker for rice so needless to say; I had to have my rice.

Partner on the other hand enjoys noodles so we decided to order Warm Noodle with Seafood (RM15.00).

Served with long thin Korean noodles, this is the only dish we didn’t enjoy that day. It tasted bland and didn’t have the oomph that we liked in some other Korean noodles. That said… this was still polished up… hehehe! (Food should not go to waste)

Lots of plus points at Chung Wa Dae Korean BBQ Restaurant! Service was fast and efficient, lots of banchan choices plus refills, portion of dishes are a good size and flavors are sumptuous. Water was complimentary. Total damage was RM93.00 with a 10% discount on cash basis. Birthday diner gets an additional 5% discount.

Craving satiated and the rest of the Sunday was spent in bed… J

Chung Wa Dae Korean Restaurant

Lot B1 - 1, Boulevard II,

One Ampang Avenue,

Jalan Ampang Utama 2/2 Ampang.

Tel: 03 4251 1004 / 013 262 6644 

Email: ccccuuuu@ymail.com

Business Hour 11am - 11pm