My Favorite Korean Restaurant
If you remember the location of the very first Brothers Burger, perhaps even the Minggoy’s that was adjacent to it, then you know where Ye Dang is.
It’s on a rather obscure, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it place, overshadowed as it is by the used car sales lot it shares space with.
I live and play very near Manila’s own self-described Little Korea so I have it on good authority as to which Korean restaurants make the grade. But Ye Dang, more than just a stone’s throw away from my playground, is the best Korean restaurant I’ve been to yet. Totally slamming on a Saturday night, my Bin and I nab the last table. A few minutes later, a line gets progressively longer. A caveat: come to Ye Dang on an off hour. This isn’t a meal that can be rushed, nor would you want it to be. Service, while harried, is efficient and courteous.
A Korean meal isn’t just one dish, but a juxtaposition of fresh and preserved foods; a veritable mix and match that begins with the side dishes or chups, that range from as few as three to as many as 12. Throughout the duration of the meal, these side dishes aren’t just appetizers, they’re meant to enhance the other dishes that follow. A Korean meal tests my “matchmaking” abilities: does the pickled radish go well with the bulgogi? Will the caramelized peanuts disrupt the smoothness of the pork and leaf roll?
Speaking of leaves, the side dishes at Ye Dang come with a basket of – to the uninitiated – leaves that are decidedly startling in appearance. No, not the “biggest mint leaves of your life”, they’re Korean perilla, the larger version of the somewhat similar Japanese shiso leaf. While the latter is used more as a garnish, this Korean variety strikes a unique flavor between mint and basil. Their size also makes them a desirable vehicle with which to wrap and eat cooked food.
Every proper Korean restaurant has a grill with which to cook one’s food tableside. Though we order the customary bulgogi and pork belly with the assumption that we get to cook tonight, the said dishes come to us already cooked and ready to eat. I guess cooked food will allow for faster turnover so I don’t mind it too much since the place is crowded and the line has just snaked out the front door.
Tonight, there’s nothing new that we haven’t ordered or tried elsewhere before. The aforementioned bulgogi is tender with enough sauce to spoon over steaming rice. The pork belly has been rendered somewhat dry because of overcooking but a quick drag through the accompanying rice vinegar sauce and a dip into the gochujang chili sauce (that comes with cloves of peeled, raw garlic) remedies that quite nicely.
The japchae, the stickiness of the transparent potato noodles always making it a delicious challenge to slice and serve, is abundant with vegetables. But unlike other restaurants that attempt to make up for less noodles with more cabbage (these glass noodles are expensive), Ye Dang’s japchae has an equal amount of both.
Then there’s a new favorite of mine, pajon, the Korean spring onion pancake. It’s so flat that I’m surprised it holds as much as it does, a filling of threads of green onion enmeshed in a sticky-savory batter. So good. And equally wonderful too wrapped in a perilla leaf roll with some of the sauce from the dish of spicy squid. The squid is cooked till just hot, cosseted as it is in a pungent and red sauce.
Ye Dang is also eye-poppingly affordable. Everything we eat tonight between two people with plenty to spare for take home is just P1,490.
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Ye Dang
Meralco Ave., Ortigas
Mandaluyong
636.1461
Additional information:
I like Leslie’s post on Ye Dang.
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Backyard BBQ Cook Off
Just across the street (on top of Brother’s Burger) is also a Korean Restaurant called Sarangbang. You should try it out Lori!
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Lori Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:20 am
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There’s also another one, Minato, on Escriva Drive.
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Hi Lori! Thanks for the mention. I love, love Ye Dang too.
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Hi Lori,
I’ve tried this restaurant when it first opened, and yes agree on all your comments. My only concern is that they do not have chicken dishes. But nevertheless, it makes for a good dining experience!
I would strongly suggest you try Dong Won Garden along Jupiter Street — they also serve a lot of appetizers (for free) and they have a wider menu selection.
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Lori Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:20 am
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good ol’ korean village in malate is also a no-fail choice all the time =) their noodles and barbecued meats always hit the spot. and they have a korean brand of ice cream (i think merona is the name) which is a hit with the young ones.
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Lori Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 9:19 am
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dashashash Reply:
September 9th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
yes, i happen to be a fan of Melona [Korean] ice cream. Ü
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Hi Lori,
I’m a silent lurker of your blog
I was based in Korea for four years. When I got back home, I’ve been on the search for the best korean restaurant in town. Took a couple of misses.. until I found the ONE, 5 minutes from my house…. Ye Dang!!!
It tastes authentic as what I used to eat in Seoul. The BBQ, japchae and ojingo (squid) are perfect. My only wish is that they will serve Nakji bokkeum, similar to Ojingo (squid above) but uses octopus.
Thanks for blogging about Ye Dang. The owner is a Korean couple.. the wife is pretty much hands-on.. you’d see her even cleaning up tables at busy times.
There is chicken BBQ in Ye dang, and the ginseng chicken.
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Ooohh!!! We love Ye Dang too, especially my mom who’s an anything-Korean fanatic
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i really enjoyed jang-gun along libis. it’s pricier than seoul garden next door but also much yummier. do try that next time. meanwhile, i think my lolo might want to try ye dang.
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My favorite Korean resto has been and will always be Korea Garden in Jupiter. Excellent food taste and quality, cleanliness and impeccable service hasn’t changed at all over the past 25 years. Even their staff are still the same.
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Thanks to Ye Dang my hubby now likes Korean food – something I couldn’t get him to try until recently! Gotta have more Ye Dang faves as soon as we get back to Manila.
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Ye Dang is so near where I live! Will try this with hubby. Is 6pm off enough?
Just came from Kaya in Megamall and the servings were so small. I wouldn’t know though which is good Korean food and bad Korean food. Lahat masarap for me!
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I love KOREAN foods! we have a lot of Korean restaurants here but your food snapshots look amazing. We should try some of it when we visit Philippines next year. Thank you for a great review!
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yey! super agree! tis my fave korean resto in MM. <3
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you should definitely try makchang in malate! righ along adriatico, across robinson’s
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I’ve actually enjoyed reading through your content. You clearly know what you might be speaking about! Your site is so effortless to navigate also, I’ve bookmarked it in my favourites
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Our family just tried this Korean resto. The service was slow & the quality of the beef was poor. I’ve had much better Korean food in New Jersey & Baguio. The place was also dirty & we were greeted by roaches in the parking lot. Please don’t recommend this place to anyone.
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