Gangnam 88 Korean Bistro @ Solaris Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur

Having had the thought of Korean food since morning, we decided to head to a place called Gangnam 88 Korean Bistro which is located in Solaris Mont Kiara for dinner. It was an early dinner I should say as we were already here around 6.30 pm.

Gangnam 88 at Solaris Mont Kiara

The Entrance As The Restaurant Is Located On The 1st Floor

Opening Hours

Initially I thought that it would be difficult to find this restaurant amidst hundreds of others in Solaris Mont Kiara, but I sighted it easily as they were located along the main road right above Coffee Bean which is a corner unit. At this time, parking was relatively easy for us and we got a place quite near the restaurant.Since this restaurant is located on the first floor, you would have to use the side entrance just beside Coffee Bean and take the lift to the first floor. Signages are very well placed and it makes things convenient.

Interior Of The Restaurant

Just Having Taken Our Place

Interior Of The Restaurant

Korean Style Cutlery

Water On The House

The restaurant had a very cool layout. It was stylish though small. Yet, the ambiance was great with K-Pop music being played on the TV all the while. The owner, a Korean and his staff greet you unanimously once you walk in, of course the greeting was in Korean. The reception given by the owner and the staffs were very warm to the extent that they even help you with adjusting your chairs. The tables were all set with the cutlery and the moment you take your seat, cold water is served first and only then they come up with the menu.

The Menu

The Menu was very elaborate but it is divided into three different timings and based on these timings, different dishes are served. Lunch is strictly from 1130 to 1700, Dinner from 1700 to 2200 and after that is basically Pub style bites and Korean Beer and Liquor. Even between Lunch and Dinner, they have segregated the offerings and not a single dish is offered for both Lunch and Dinner. After having scanned the menu, we placed our orders and within 15 minutes, food was served. I guess we were lucky since we arrived early, we were the only ones at the restaurant at that moment and all attention was given to us.

Rice

The rice was interesting as you can see from the above photograph as there were pieces of barley like thing mixed into it. Never really bothered what it was as it did not taste weird.

Spicy BBQ Pork @ RM 33.00

This dish was very good. It was slices of pork stir fried with onions and carrots in a very spicy sauce. It has a tingling sourness which tipped the taste above the spicy sauce. We surely enjoyed this dish very much. Although the price may be slightly on the high side, still it was worth the money. I would rate this dish at 9.4/10 . A good dish to try here.

Six Refillable Side Dishes At No Additional Cost

This was a great part of the deal. Along with the above dish, this six side dishes are included in the set and the best part is that they are refillable at no additional cost. They had Kim-chi Vegetable, Japanese Tofu, Long Beans, Potato, Sliced Fried Eggs and Fish Paste. Each of the above had their own merits and definitely good. The both of us had topped up all these dishes three times this evening. What is worth mentioning here is that you do not have to call them to top it up but they continuously observe your table and as one dish depletes, they replenish it even without asking. That is the quality of service that we always look for.

Kimchi Jjigae @ RM 20.00

This is pretty much Kimchi Vegetable Stew. To ensure that the dish is kept boiling hot for a long period of time, a candle burner is supplied together with this dish. Another excellent dish here. It was lovingly spicy and delicious with great amounts of Tofu, Vegetables and Pork in the soup. I would rate this dish at 9.5/10 . By the time we finished our meal, we literally emptied the entire soup as it was delicious to drink.

Salad

Korean Steamed Eggs

All Set To Start

Both the above Salad and Steamed Eggs from complementary as they are included into the Kimchi Jjigae Set. The salad was definitely very fresh and the Korean Steamed Eggs was delicious. I would rate the Steamed Eggs at 8.5/10 .

Korean Style Ice Kacang

 Once dinner was done, they waiter came up to us and mentioned that desert was already included in the sets and since we had two sets, the would be two deserts for us. This Korean Style Ice Kacang was nice but a little low in sugar. That is obviously a good thing but as Malaysians, we are used to consuming more sugar and I personally would expect this Ice Kacang to be at least slightly sweeter. However, it was still a good desert. I would rate this at 6/10 .

Cafe Americano

The above coffee was my choice of desert although it does not qualify for to be placed in the desert category. They only had these two options available for the day. Well, being a coffee lover why would I miss this anyway. The coffee was good, definitely better than Starbucks. I would rate this cuppa at 8.8/10 .

Overall, this is a great place to dine. In fact as time went on, the crowd started growing and by the time we left this place at 2030, it was full house. I think there are many reasons why someone would be a repeat customer here. The hospitality, good food, great ambiance and decent prices and some that needs to be mentioned. Cleanliness is another point too. I would definitely come back here for another round soon and to try the other dishes. I also heard their Beer Chicken is pretty good. Don't ask me what it is please as I have not tried it and only saw it on the menu and also from the recommendations from Foursquare but as that many people have mentioned it, I reckon that would surely be on my list of orders the next round here.

Address: No. 1-1, Jalan Solaris 3, Solaris Mont Kiara,
                50480 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: Lunch   1130 - 1700
                            Dinner 1700 - 2200
                            Pub      2200 - 0100
                            Closed 2nd & 4th Monday of the month.

Telephone: +603 6206 5888
                    +6012 320 0785