Butler's Steak PIK

Butler’s Steak is one of my favorite steak restaurant in BSD area where they opened their first location in 2021. Now, one and a half years later, they just opened their new second location at Damai Indah Golf PIK complex to the public today.

Stepping into the newly opened restaurant, the place felt familiar yet different. Carrying the same interior from their first location, the vibe is definitely reminiscent of my previous visits to the BSD location. But then the bigger space and the higher ceiling make the restaurant feel completely new and fresh. Large floor to ceiling windows at both sides of the restaurant also allow plenty of natural light to come into the nicely spaced out seatings in the dining area.

The menu offered at the PIK location is slightly different than their BSD location. On top of their regular menu items, they actually added a couple of new dishes to the PIK location menu that are only available at this location (at least for now).

Appetizer

(New Menu) Beef Bacon & Cheese Croquette | 7/10

Herbs Breaded Potato Puree with Beef Bacon and Melted Cheese, Tartar Sauce, Mini Salad.

Crispy breading, generous filling and well-seasoned. It tasted good, but I’m not a fan of cheese in general so this one was just okay for me.

SIDES

Butler’s Steak has pretty great sides. I’ve tried almost all of them (I think the only thing I haven’t tried is their garlic rice) and all of them was great. Worth to mention since I don’t have a picture of it here, is their creamy spinach. Their creamy spinach is excellent. Totally recommended.

French Fries | 8/10

Shoestring Potatoes with Shredded Cheese.

Sweet Corn Kernels | 9/10

Corn, Herb Crust and Grana Padano.

(New Menu) Triple Cheese Broccoli Mornay | 7.5/10

Broccoli, Red and White Cheddar, Grana Padano, Mornay Sauce and Bacon Bits.

Mains

For the steak, all of the meat was cooked well and very well seasoned. And my favorite sauce is still the symphony of mushroom.

(New Menu) Special Butcher’s Cut | 9/10

200 Grams of the Butcher’s Daily Selection of Special Cut.

Wagyu Butler’s Steak | 9/10

200 Grams Australian Wagyu MB 6-7 Butler’s Steak.

(New Menu) Grilled Osso Bucco “Tangkar” | 9/10

US Prime Beef Shank Osso Bucco, Tangkar Broth, White Rice, Sukun Chips, Cucumber Pickle.

I was pleasantly surprised on how good this dish is. The meat was tender, the Indonesian flavor really came through in the soup and the portion is really generous. Also, this was my first time trying the sukun chips that they served with the dish. The flavor and texture are quite interesting.

(New Menu) Wagyu Fajitas | 9/10

200 Grams Australian Wagyu Inside Skirt, Flour Tortilla, Grilled Corn Salsa, Mint Yoghurt, Guacamole.

The fajitas was also really good. The meat was cooked well and when I ate it with the whole toppings in one bite, the flavors exploded in my mouth. It was really juicy and flavorful. Really love the meat and vegetables flavor combination.

Lastly, got the complimentary made to order ice cream to end the meal. They have 3 different flavors that they rotate daily—chocolate, vanilla and strawberry—depending on whatever flavors they have available.

Overall, I had a really great meal and dining experience during my visit. The food was great and the service was good (some servers were clearly more experienced than others but no big mishaps happened during my visit). Will definitely come back to this place again (whether it’s this location or the BSD location).

 

Butler’s Steak PIK

Address: Damai Indah Golf PIK, Kapuk Jl. Marina Raya, Jakarta Utara 14470, Indonesia
Telephone: 021-5569-5706
Hours: Everyday 11.00 - 22.00

Instagram: @butlers.steak

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Namul Meogneun Gom • 나물먹는곰

I was introduced to Namul Meogneun Gom (나물먹는곰) by my friends, Soo Zee and Leigh, when I asked them to recommend a good Korean restaurant that serves great bibimbap in Seoul. This place was apparently their favorite, so of course I had to go and try their food.

Namul Meogneun Gom (나물먹는곰), which means bear eating greens, was housed in a traditional hanok in Hongdae area. The entrance of the restaurant led to an open courtyard with outdoor seatings and you enter the hanok through one of the sliding doors for the indoor seatings. The restaurant has that homey vibe that made me feel like I’m visiting someone’s house to have a meal.

After I got seated and ordered, they brought the banchan out. I got to try five different things and they were all excellent. Plus, the serving portion was really generous. I honestly could just eat all these with a bowl of rice and call it a full meal.

I was also craving seafood pancake (해물파전) that day and since they had it on the menu, I ordered one. Their seafood pancake was also great. Plenty of seafood and green onions toppings, not too thick and really crispy.

Then came the main dish, the Namul Gom Bibimbap (나물곰비빔밥). Everything on the stone bowl was really well-seasoned. After I added the gojuchang and mixed it all together, it tasted even better. Their gochujang sauce was also really good. Overall, it was a really great meal and I was stuffed by the time I’m done. Now I know why Soo Zee and Leigh like this place.

Update: This location of Namul Meogneun Gom has now closed. They have moved to another location not too far from this location and renamed their restaurant to Baek Sae Sik Dang (백세식당). They are still keeping the bibimbap menu so if you want to try it, you can go to the new location which comes up as Namul Meogneun Gom Guk Bap Jib (나물먹는곰국밥집) on Naver map. See below for new location’s information.

 

Namul Meogneun Gom Guk Bap Jib • 나물먹는곰국밥집

Address: 서울 마포구 성지3길 67
Telephone: 02-337-0704
Hours: Everyday 11:30~21:00

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Okdongsik Seogyo • 옥동식 서교점

Okdongsik (옥동식) is a small restaurant in Seogyo-dong (서교동) that sells amazing 돼지국밥 (dwaeji gukbap/pork and rice soup). The place only accommodates 10 seatings and the only main menu they have is their 돼지국밥. And when a restaurant only have one main dish on their menu, you know it’s going to be good. I first found out about this place when I was searching online for a place that sells 국밥 (guk-bap/rice soup) during one autumn afternoon. The weather was a bit chilly so I was craving something hearty and warm and gukbap immediately came to mind.

After seeing Okdongsik (옥동식) appeared on one of the search results, I decided to try this place out because apparently the restaurant has been on the Michelin Guide list since 2018. Hours later, I was one of the ten patrons who were sitting inside the small restaurant tasting their delicious dwaeji gukbap. The gukbap has clear broth that tasted light, clean yet flavorful and comforting. The sliced meat was super tender and the portion was pretty generous. While people usually mix the red pepper paste into the broth when eating gukbap, Okdongsik actually recommend against it. Instead of mixing the red pepper into the broth, they encourage people to taste the broth as is and put the red pepper paste on top of the meat without mixing it with the broth. So I took a spoonful of rice and soup, put a piece of meat on top of it, then put the red pepper paste on top of the meat. It was a satisfying spoonful of gukbap. I like it.

Overall, as a fan of gukbap, it was a really good meal for me. Would definitely recommend this place if you’re looking for a good pork gukbap restaurant. Oh, and also, they only serve 100 bowls a day so come early just in case they run out.

“With his take on dwaeji-gukbap, Chef Ok Dong-sik has managed to singlehandedly change any preconceptions the local diners previously had about the hearty pork and rice soup dish Koreans hold near and dear to their hearts. Think bacon-thin slices of silky tender pork meat piled on a bed of rice, all submerged in his trademark consommé-like clear broth. The 'extra large' portion comes with double the amount of meat. The space is limited and only 100 bowls of gukbap are sold daily so get here early.” —Michelin Guide

Note: Photos were taken before the pandemic.

 

Okdongsik Seogyo • 옥동식

Address: 서울 마포구 양화로7길 44-10
Telephone: 010-5571-9915
Hours: Monday-Friday 11:00-22:00, Break Time 15:00-17:00 | Saturday-Sunday 11:00-21:00

Instagram: @okdongsik

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Mapo Mandu Hapjeong • 마포만두 합정점

Mapo Mandu (마포만두) is probably my most favorite bunsik place that I discovered during the time I first moved to Korea. The first time I tried their galbi mandu (갈비만두), I remember thinking that it was the best galbi mandu (갈비만두) I’ve ever had. The meat filling is so juicy and the size is just perfect for one mouthful bite. Another great thing that I discovered from this place is their cheese ramyeon (치즈라면) which is really good. I don’t know what kind of cheese and ingredients they put in the ramyeon broth, but it’s so satisfyingly good (especially if you eat it on a cold day). Apart from the galbi mandu and cheese ramyeon that I always order during my visit, they do have other menu options for you to choose from if you think those two are not fulfilling enough (I usually just opted for 2 portions of mandu and 1 cheese ramyeon if I’m feeling particularly hungry).

Anyway, Mapo Mandu has earned a permanent spot on my must-eat list every time I’m in Seoul. No Seoul trip is complete without at least a visit to Mapo Mandu. And having been recommending and taking a lot of my friends to this place on different occasions, I can say that all of them liked the food too. So if you’re looking for a bunsik place or a late night snack, I’d definitely recommend this place. And oh, they have multiple locations so you can check whichever location is closest to you.

 

Mapo Mandu Hapjeong • 마포만두 합정점

Address: 서울 마포구 양화로7길 12
Telephone: 02-333-9842
Hours: Open 24 Hours

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Otaru Soba Udon • 오타루소바우동

Ended up at Otaru Soba Udon (오타루소바우동) one day when I was exploring Mullae-dong (문래동) and had a sudden cold soba craving for dinner. Found this restaurant among the search results I got for soba restaurant around the area and the place seemed to have great reviews. What really sold me though was their Fried Chicken Cold Soba (닭튀김냉소바) menu which is super interesting because I usually have my cold soba with tempura, so pairing it with a fried chicken was pretty new to me.

So then I head to Otaru Soba Udon (오타루소바우동) for my dinner. The restaurant is pretty spacious decorated with wooden interior and furnitures. I ordered their Fried Chicken Cold Soba (닭튀김냉소바). The soba was garnished with tamago, crab meat, clam meat, grated radish, lettuce, and green onions. The fried chicken was served with fried lotus chips on the side. The soba was cooked well and has a nice, firm texture. It’s easy to slurp and bite off with that spaghetti-like texture. The cold broth is seasoned well, not too salty, light and refreshing. The fried chicken was really nice too. Super crispy skin on the outside with juicy meat on the inside. And it actually works well together with the cold soba. Overall, I really enjoyed the meal.

 

Otaru Soba Udon • 오타루소바우동

Address: 서울 영등포구 도림로 491-2
Telephone: 02-2634-5460
Hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30-21:30 | Close on Sundays

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