Food Trip : Kalbeeya

Well, last December 7,2013 my friends and I decided to have this food trip; we wanted to try something new but we didn't knew where to start. That's when we remembered the new korean food hub in the city: Kalbeeya Korean Barbecue & Grill. This is actually not the first time that I ate in a korean restaurant; I've been to Seoul Korean Restaurant in the uptown, Ajirang in C.M. Recto and Kogi Bulgogi in Limketkai Center. My friends and I are indeed korean food lovers and that may be the reason why we opted to start our food trip in a korean food hub.

It was more likely a lunch date with friends during that time. It was very tempting to order a lot because looking at their menu, they have a wide variety of choices and in fact, it was also very affordable. Their banchans are simple and tasty, I am not just quite sure if it refillable.

A friend of mine wanted to try a jjigae of theirs which I forgot the name, but it was made mainly of seafoods. I, on the other hand, have always wanted to try ddeokbokki, as this was almost always present in all korean shows that I watched. Ddeukbokki is a a korean snack made of rice cake, fish cake and sweet red chili sauce. Kalbeeya's ddeukbokki is also served with ramyeon which actually gave more exciting presentatin to the said dish. It was sweet but also overwhelmingly spicy, but it was actually delicious. The chewy taste of the rice cake and the ramyeon, made the dish more fun to eat. They actually served a platter of it and it was more than enough for the 3 of us.

And since the three of us have already ate samgyeupsal, we wanted to try a new grilled/barbecue dish. Actually, Kalbeeya's grilled meat has a minimum order of two servings but you have the option to have 2 servings of the same korean grilled dish or a mix of 2 types of grilled dish. The three of us decided to try 2 grilled dishes, and those are galbi and dak galbi. Dak Galbi is a grilled manirated chicken with chili pepper; this dish is absolutely tasty especially when eaten with korean rice. I'd rate this at 4 out of 5. Galbi on the othe hand is marinated grilled beef. My friend loved this dish so much especially when she wrapped it in a lettuce alongside with garlic, onion and soybean paste. The wrap of course will depend on the person wrapping it. Both dishes is best eaten with korean rice. And why do I keep on repeating korean rice and why do I love it? Because it is sticky on the right amount, it is soft and and tender; that's why I love it so much. And perhaps it's because it's natural for Filipinos to be accustomed in eating rice 3 times a day. :-)

And of course we wouldn't forget dessert right? Well, we ordered one patbingsu and decided to share it. For us, it was a wise idea since it's one big bowl of serving. Patbingsu is a korean halo-halo version; but unlike the Filipino version, this is mainly composed of shaved ice, red beans and condense milk.

Over-all I'd rate Kalbeeya at 4 out 5. Let's just say that nothing's perfect. It's pretty affordable here. My friends and I only spent Php1,200.00 for all those dishes. And no, it's not per person but the total price we paid. If you happen to visit Cagayan de Oro and would want to try out this place, you can locate them at Tomasaco Str. Macasandig CDOC.