Light Korean Meals
Cebu is host to a variety of the cuisines of the world and many restaurants serve specialty dishes that gratify foreigners who visit Cebu. Korean nationals presently dominate the tourist arrivals in the city; many of them come here to study, work or engage in business.
I have eaten some Korean food in the past but there are only two dishes that register in my mind; Kimchi and Bulgogi. I have written an article titled “Kimchi… na sad!” in January, 2005 and I have made some kimchi myself (well, it did look like kimchi and tasted like kimchi!). I’ve also cooked Bulgogi. That is all I know of Korean cuisine.
I recently accepted the invite of Mars Espera, of Star Elite Productions, to taste the offerings of Café Tiala at Unit 2-D 2nd floor, Forum Bldg., Archbishop Reyes Avenue Cebu City. The owner, Sunny Kwak, welcomed our group from the media, and gave us copies of the menu of Café Tiala. He then ordered all the menu items to be served (nearly all, actually).
While waiting for the food, I looked around and noticed why the millennials were attracted to the place. Customers had access to gaming equipment (PS3) or they could watch movies or music videos for free. The place had Korean attires called the “Hanbok” for the ladies to try it on for picture-taking, again for free. Waitresses were dressed as maids and the customers were treated like royal guests – pampering the ego of each customer, at least for the next hour or two, even if one’s order is just a cup of espresso.
We had sandwiches like Tuna, Tiala and Bulgogi Burger and brunch items such as the Tteok Bokki, Bibimbab, Samgubsal & Spicy version, TonKaSu, Bulgogi, Gimbab, Chicken Steak, Carbonara Tteok Bokki and Ramen. For desserts, we had the Milky Oreo, Milky Mango Cheese, Pancake and Cheese Cake. The drinks list was quite extensive – Shakes, Real Ade (Orange, Berry Berry), Smoothie (Blueberry), Yoghurt Smoothie, Frappucino, Milk, Herb Tea, Iced Teas, Chocolate Drinks (Caramel Hot & White Hot) and Coffee.
Café Tiala’s version of the Bulgogi or “fire meat” was delicious. It started with prime cuts of meat, marinated in soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, black pepper, onions and sesame oil. It was grilled on a stove-iron griddle (looks like an inverted helmet) and the sight of fats dripping, the sound of sizzling, and the smell of delicious smoke when cooking Bulgogi using a portable gas stove really made one’s mouth water.
Tteok bokki or stir-fried rice cake was made from garaetteok or cylinder-shaped white rice cake and accompanied by boiled eggs, fish cakes and seasoned with chili pepper paste (gochujiang) or non-spicy soy sauce base (ganjiang). I tried the spicy version and found its spiciness tolerable, and the chewy texture of the cylindrical rice cake was unique. Gimbap was also served and it looked like a black cylindrical made with cooked rice and other ingredients and rolled in gim (laver seaweed) and served in bite-size pieces. It resembled Japanese sushi.
The star of the show was the Bibimbab or bibimbap, which literally means “mixed rice,” served as a bowl of rice with toppings of fresh and sautéed vegetables. It was seasoned with gochujiang (chili pepper paste & soy sauce) and served with fried egg and fermented soybean paste (doenjiang). The taste and presentation reminded me of our Filipino rice topping (topsilog and tosilog).
They served Ramen but I could not stand the chili hotness, to think that I am a person who, excuse me, can eat sili kulikot like peanuts.
Fortunately, they had drinks like the Blueberry Smoothie and the Real Ade (Strawberry & Lemon with rich pulp, juice) to extinguish the fiery residues of the ramen embedded with Korean chili peppers.