Woorijib Korean Restaurant: authentic Korean food fit for Pinoys

While cruising the streets along Kalayaan Avenue to satisfy my kimchi craving, a not-so-attractive korean restaurant named Woorijib caught my attention. at 9:45 pm, the place was almost empty except for one couple eating their hearts out.

I judge Korean restaurants by the number of Koreans eating inside. But then again, they were about to close, and we barely made it to their last order call. Their waiter knows everything on their menu, compared to Chung Mi Rae along Timog where all I got was "masarap po yan", or "okay naman po ang lasa" from the waiter. Woorijib's waiter explained everything on the menu and words made it to my palates.

But more than that, they were serving pork strips buffet (Samgyeopsal) for P299.

This buffet includes unlimited side dishes, unlimited seafood miso soup, unlimited rice and of course, unlimited pork strips. The price range on their menu would play around P250 to P350. S0 I guess the P300 Samgyeopsal buffet wouldn't be a bad decision at all.

The waiter began setting up the stove beside our table, as several side dishes came. They had kimchi, sweet potato wedges, cucumber salad, bean sprouts, tofu, potato salad, and a green vegetable I assumed wasn't kangkong. They were all very tasty, and I can have as much as I want. 

Another entree came in a sizzling hot bowl. A miso soup with seafood bits inside. It was a relief to see my seafood allergies did not kick in that night. It would have been disappointing to not feast on this tasty seafood miso soup. The chopsticks and spoon were presented like this, hygienic and well, uhhhm...presentable. 

The waiter then came with a huge plate of raw pork strips. He started grilling them while making small talks about the restaurant. 

Aside from the Samgyeopsal, they also serve beef strips buffet for P499 per head. One serving of the pork strips will cost P250, minus the rice and soup. But that night, we were able to consume five servings at the very least. Not bad at all for a P300 buffet. 

The strips were served with sesame oil and soya paste. Koreans eat them in this order:

1. Dip the pork strip in sesame oil

2. wrap it inside sesame leaves or lettuce (which were also unlimited)

3. Dip it in soya paste

4. Eat!

I thought they were going to taste like bacon, but it wasn't even close. It was crunchy, and surprisingly tasty even without any seasoning. I guess pork meat have that distinct flavor which chicken and fish do not. They didn't use oil in grilling them either. They let the pork fat generate the oil needed to cook the pork strips. A dripping saucer was placed beside the grill for the excess oil. 

The place could do a little better. For a Korean restaurant, Woorijib looks a bit mediterranean-spanish. It has a very high ceiling too. Inside was a bit humid probably because of the in-your-face cooking steam, and the big area of the restaurant. A new airconditioner unit might do the trick, or a better ventilation fan, I don't know. I could imagine this place being filled with people, -humid feast. The service crew were kind enough to assign a fan to our table. We were the only customers left then. ahhaah!

They have a parking area in front which could accomodate at least 6 cars.

Overall, the experience was amazing, thanks to the good food quality (and quantity) as well as the warm service of the crew. 

Will I go back to Woorijib? Definitely! 

Price: P250-P500 per head


Food:         *****
Ambiance: ****

Service:     *****

Servings:   *****

Woorijib Korean Restaurant is located at Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City, Metro Manila , Diliman.