A SAFE time to go and dine in, especially in a mall, would be before 6pm, and never on a weekend. So, there we were at SeoulNami at The Gardens, Mid Valley at 5.30pm, and we had the restaurant to ourselves.

It’s a Korean BBQ restaurant committed to a halal platform.

SeoulNami is a spacious, colourful restaurant which serves the famous Chuncheon chicken. When you order the chicken platter or sampler, the chicken thigh meat comes in three flavours – Korean spicy, sweet and savoury.

There’s gochujang (hot pepper), honey butter, inspired by the famous Korean honey butter chips, and ganjang (soy sauce).

But first, while waiting for the others and to dull the hunger pangs of a friend, we ordered the spicy octopus (RM39). Cooked on the barbecue, they made hot, chewy bites. Steamed egg fluffing up in a stone bowl on a stove, was part of the banchan (side dishes).

With everyone seated, yang galbi or marinated rack of lamb (RM59) went on the grill next. The cut-up thick strips of lamb were juicy and tender, the meat infused with a lightly sweet marinade.

Lightly dipped in the spiced salt would suffice for the meat, or touched with the ssamjang sauce (spicy and sweet) and wrapped in lettuce with raw garlic.

With this Korean BBQ meal came a tray of lettuce, cucumber, carrot, large green chillies and raw garlic slices. In a separate tray were two sauces and salt, kimchi and pickled radish.

You could get adventurous with the vegetable wraps of meat and whatever you fancy in front of you.

We had a beef platter with bulgogi, beef rib fingers and beef belly (RM119), adding in a bone-in short rib (RM139). Beef would also be my choice of meat when it comes to Korean BBQ.

We made sure the meaty short rib was not overcooked, savouring the juices of the dark pink meat on its own or in a wrap.

The beef platter enables you to try the different textures of the different cuts of beef, from bulgogi to beef belly. I’m partial to beef belly, the fat sizzling over the charcoal briquettes on the grill.

If you order the beef set (RM299, good for four people), you will get all of these together with kimchi beef, and charcoal burnt cheesecake for dessert.

The beef and lamb are Australian, halal-certified, drenched with chef’s special soy-based marinade.

In between we had fist rice (RM29), both original and spicy, and given plastic gloves to shape them into rice balls. The original version presents warm and sticky soft rice combined with seaweed flakes and fried minced chicken.

I enjoyed the spicy fist rice, with a fiery kick from cili padi tucked in the rice.

In the chicken platter (RM89), the flavour I liked best was the hot pepper or gochujang, which gave a delicious spicy lift to the smooth, tender meat. I liked the tanjang marinated one, too. Honey butter would be popular with children.

The name SeoulNami (Tsunami) stems from the Korean wave (hallyu). Seoul represents Korea and Nami is the famous island where the town of Chuncheon is, and where the famous Chuncheon chicken BBQ originated.

Other dishes on the SeoulNami menu include exceptionally hot fire ramyeon (RM39), the odeng seafood hotpot (RM49), seafood platter of king scallops, prawns and mackerel (RM79) and cheese lava (RM49).

SeoulNami is at F-215, First Floor, The Gardens Mall, Kuala Lumpur. Contact 03-2202 3336 or [email protected] for reservations. – September 25, 2021.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.