KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — It started with a bowl of kalguksu or Korean knife cut noodles and with more visits, Ju Ga & Cook has become my happy place for comforting, nourishing Korean food.
Eagle-eyed diners will notice an interesting tagline in their menu proclaiming, “Our food is genuinely prepared”, translated from Korean.
And they definitely walk the talk, as their dishes embody a labour of love, from their homemade kimchi to the rolled egg, a simple side dish found on every table in a Korean home.
Handmade noodles or kalguksu are always big for me and their version boasts toothsome strands.
There’s also sujebi or hand torn noodles — reminiscent of our own mee hoon kueh — rough, uneven bits of dough cooked to al dente perfection.
Select from three types of broths to enjoy the noodles, whether it’s clear anchovy broth boosted with sweet briny flavours from shellfish, a creamy and nutty perilla seeds broth with cucumber and clams or a spicy kimchi broth.
So far, I’ve only sampled the clear and perilla seeds broth. One day, when it’s cool and raining, I will definitely order the kimchi broth.
Hand-torn Perilla Seeds Noodle (left) is a creamy, nutty soup with pieces of dough and the Rolled Egg (right) may look simple but it’s an eggy, fluffy wonder. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
The Kalguksu is RM23 while the Hand-torn Perilla Seeds Noodle is RM28.
Another of my absolute favourites here is the Rolled Egg (RM18).
Be patient as it takes time to cook this fluffy egg wonder, layer by layer where it’s dotted with carrots and spring onions.
I have been on the search for a good gimbap ever since I got hooked on the seaweed rice rolls after a jaunt to Seoul, where I would track down various flavours of the rice roll at a particular convenience store on a daily basis.
‘Gimbap’ here is superb with a higher ratio of vegetables, pickles and protein to rice, all encased in seaweed lightly smeared with sesame oil. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Here, the Gimbap (RM14) has a refreshing slant with carrots, cucumber, pickled radish, pickled burdock, egg omelette and crab stick.
With these spiral-shaped rolls, it’s all about the balance of ingredients, with a ratio of more ingredients to rice, making it less carb heavy which I personally prefer.
For RM1 extra, there’s the Spicy Gimbap filled with crunchy bits and green chillies that exude a potent heat.
Bulk up the meal there by adding a bowl of ramyeon or tteokbokki with your gimbap.
I often pack home a gimbap to relish for dinner, sometimes with their jap chae too, found packed and ready-to-go on the counter.
Pork Soft Tofu Soup isn’t fiery hot but a slightly sweeter broth that pairs well with the soft beancurd, enoki mushrooms and minced pork. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
For the evenings, when the sun has set, it’s a boiling hot Pork Soft Tofu Soup (RM25) with good-for-you purple rice.
The broth may look spicy but it’s mild and slightly sweet, urging me to keep drinking until the bowl is scraped empty.
As you dig inside the stone bowl, you will get wobbly, creamy beancurd, enoki mushrooms, zucchini and minced pork with each spoonful.
Ginseng Chicken Soup is to build your stamina in this withering heat. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
With this burning heat almost every day, it’s time for Ginseng Chicken Soup (half chicken for RM30, whole chicken for RM50), taken to boost one’s stamina.
It’s pre-cooked with meat that falls off the bone with a gentle nudge, into a thick, creamy broth.
Here, the ginseng isn’t too prominent but I am too busy drinking up that broth, which I season myself from a saucer of salt and pepper served on the side.
It comes with a bowl of purple rice but inside the chicken, there’s soft glutinous rice too, soaked with the broth.
Seafood Spring Onion Pancake isn’t your usual pancake as this one has crunchy, golden bits. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Most times I am stuck at just my favourite snacks but one time, I broke away from that never ending cycle and ordered the Seafood Spring Onion Pancake (RM32).
Their version isn’t the soft, floppy type but instead, each piece hides craggy, golden bits for an extra crunch.
Spring onions are also cooked whole and the seafood is spread at the outer part of the pancake, giving a slight chewiness from the squid.
Every time I visit, I find families or even the occasional homesick Korean dining here, relishing the food, whether on a mid-day break or an early dinner since they close early.
One doesn’t care much about that mish-mash of unmatched tables and chairs here as it’s the hugworthy cooking you’re here for.
Every time I visit, I see regulars enjoying the food (left) at Ju Ga & Cook (right) hidden inside Plaza Damas. — Picture by Lee Khang Yi
Restoran Ju Ga & Cook,
Lot E-0-5,
Plaza Damas,
60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1,
Taman Sri Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur
Open: 10.30am to 3pm, 4.30pm to 8pm. Closed on Sunday
Tel:014-9305529
Instagram: @juga.cook
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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