Shinmapo Korean BBQ has just opened in Malaysia. This franchise has over 500 outlets worldwide across 11 countries. The first outlet in Malaysia is located at SS15 courtyard and soon, it will open another 2 branches. One at the Gardens Mall and the other at Empire Damansara. In case you are wondering whether Shinmapo Korean BBQ is the same with Ma Gal BBQ, they are. In Korea, the franchise is known as Ma Gal BBQ and in certain countries, they are known as Shinmapo Korean BBQ.
Shinmapo specialises in barbeque pork galmaegisal or also known as skirtmeat. It is the meat that is found between the ribs and the belly of a pig. This is a unique premium cut that forms about 200 to 250g of every full grown pig. It is long, flat, and prized for its flavor rather than tenderness.
It comes in 3 different flavours – Spicy, Salty and Plain. Among the 3 flavours, the spicy flavour is the best. If you are worried that it will be too spicy, it’s not. It was marinated just right. We were informed that the best way to have the galmaegisal is to have it on a salad with some garlic, green chili and some sauce.
The Shinmapo Ultimate Set @ RM128.00 which is perfect for 2 to 4 pax comes with a 200g Pork Skirt Meat (Galmaegisal), 200g Pork Belly (Samgyeopsal), 200g Marinated Pork Collar (Moksal), 1 piece of marinated pork skin, Kimchi egg ring crust, and military stew (Bbudae Jjigae). Apart from the above, Special Pork Collar Pork Belly, Pork Skin, Marinated Pork Collar, Pork Entrails and Braised Beef Back Ribs may be introduced into the set or as a la carte in the future.
If you’ve looked at Ma Gal BBQ’s video or had been to Ma Gal BBQ, you would know that you could choose either to have Kimchi egg ring crust or cheese ring crust. For now, Shinmapo doesn’t offer the cheese ring crust yet but only the Kimchi egg ring crust. I was told that they may introduce this in the future.
The military stew is the more traditional version as it only contains sausages, luncheon meat, kimchi, chili padi, scallions and cabbage. It is a more diluted version of the military stew and it does not contain any noodles or ramen – which is what you normally get when you dine in a restaurant in Korea. The military stew versions in Korea today allows customers to add more ingredients, including premium meats.
If this is the first time you are trying this stew, you should know that soon after the Korean war, food was scarce in Seoul, Korea. Some people made used of the surplus left at the U.S. Military bases and incorporated the sausages, hot dogs, spam, hams and etc. into a transitional spicy soup with chili paste and kimchi.
The Shinmapo Ultimate Set doesn’t come with any rice. You may order either the Fist Rice @ RM22.00 or the Volcano Fried Rice @ RM25.00 – if the set is not enough to fill your stomach. The Fist Rice is made of rice cooked with chili, crab sticks, cucumbers, fish roes and seaweed. After mixing the whole thing, it may look like fried rice but it doesn’t taste anything like fried rice as it is missing the ‘wok hei’ part. I find this fist rice interesting. The combination of flavours is spot on.
The volcano fried rice is another interesting item on the Shinmapo’s menu. Before seeing how this volcano fried rice was actually made, I was expecting fireworks and lava flowing our from a crater or something like that. And yes, that’s how it ultimately looks like minus the fireworks. The rice is first fried and made into a shape that looks like a mountain with a crater right on top of it. Then egg mixture is poured into the crater and around it for the ‘lava effect’. Between these two rice dishes, I prefer the volcano rice as it is much more fragrant compared to the fist rice. Frying the rice first does brings out the overall flavour of the fish.
For drinks, you may try Shinmapo’s Seoul Train Soju Bomb which comes with a bucket of beer and 2 bottles of Soju. You may order either Tiger Beer for RM105 or Heineken for RM120. I was informed that for each set, you should be able to make about 25 cups of soju bomb. What you see here is about 10 beers and 4 Soju for 50 cups.
For those of you who are planning to come here, make sure you make reservation first before coming to avoid disappointment.
SHINMAPO KOREAN BBQ
G-07 Ground Floor SS15 COURTYARD
Jalan SS15/4G, 47500 Subang Jaya
Business hours: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11.30pm
Tel: 03-8601 3722
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