Anhyeong Haseyo at Oiso

I am a habit eater; and that is besides being a picky eater. Being a habit eater means that I am one who likes to stick to the same old food and the same old places; to an extent that I am snuggling too comfortably into the comfort zone. While I am still game to try new stuffs (not too exotic though!), there are just places and food where I just go to when the craving arises, and this, is not a weirdness as I know of many who are just like that too.
I am a fan of a Japanese food, and not so much of Korean initially, as Korean was always about barbecued food - or perhaps I have been exposed to mostly barbecued food since I was introduced to the Korean cuisine. Not that I dislike barbecued food, but I do dislike that stench emitted from the cooking and barbecue process which stays on my hair and clothes long after I leave the restaurant. Otherwise, I am fine with barbecued food?

Back to my story with the Korean food, I was craving for Korean and there is this place I like to go to, for they serve good food which suits my tastes and just right to my liking, and even my family loves this place.

Oiso is a Korean restaurant serving traditional Korean cuisine and they have recently grown to a chain restaurant; with outlets in The Sphere Bangsar, Cheras Leisure Mall(am not sure if this is still around as I have just heard that they have closed this outlet), and the latest one in Tropicana City Mall.
They have a simple and fuss-free menu; with set lunches and dinners available and they are probably one of the rare Korean food joints which do not have BBQ.
There are choices available from rice to noodles, and prices differ for the same item for both lunch and dinners; with dinner prices being slightly higher.
Prices range from MYR11.90++ above and there are also mini steamboats (or shabu) available.

A view of the typical appetizers to start a Korean meal


Spicy Kimchi


Anchovies


Lotus roots


Sauteed spinach with sesame


The drinks do not fade in the variety as well, and most of the drinks are of the authentic Korean origins; and are specially imported from the country.
Price ranges from MYR5.90 onwards for the drinks.

Sweet jujube drink, which is something resembling red dates with honey. There are small bits of shredded red dates at the bottom of the glass.


Rice nectar drink (one of my personal favorites). It is a unique blend of the coarse rice and it tastes sweet; similar to the usual rice-based drink at most Korean restaurants, only this is a sweet version and with the bits of the rice in the drink. It kind of remind me of barley drink as well.


Barley soda drink; really fizzy, and soda-like =P


A glimpse of the BBQ Chicken set





Each set comes with a bowl of rice served in the typical metal bowl with a cover and also a bowl of seaweed soup.


Grilled Saba set - it may look plain but it is quite tasty too. I was a skeptic with mackerels, but I liked the ones served here, though I think that the tastes seem to be much better in my earlier visits.





Another of my favorite is this Spicy Saba with kimchi.
While I am not good with spicy food, I was tricked into ordering this and boy, was it crazy hot and spicy. However, there was just something alluring and appetizing about the taste of this dish.


The kimchi was indeed the spicy factor,  even to the extent of numbing my senses, but I was surprised by the fish which was not spicy and yet had that deep taste of the kimchi gravy which had sunk wonderfully into the flesh; making it a perfect combination.
I grit my teeth to bear the mad spicy taste of the gravy each time for the sake of the fish; yes, even to the point of tears!~ Worth it, but I have to practise caution though as I am really not good with spicy food.


This was another Chicken set (I can't remember the name), but it was similar to a spicy curry chicken dish.


Simple and nice, if you just want to enjoy a spicy-free dish, the Chap Chae is not a bad choice. Stir-fried glass noodles is far from plain; as it comes packed with the flavorful tastes and be warned that you may even be hooked onto this dish after your first trial.

They do have this promotion during dinner (Not sure if it is also applicable for lunch) where if you order above 2 sets, you can have a pick of an appetizer on the house.
The choices are available at the back of the menu.

Kimchi pancake
Love the taste of this pancake; and it can be rather addictive!
Never thought that just plain kimchi with dough can be such a tasty treat, and I have not tried any other kimchi pancake which was this good to be frank.


Steamed Egg Bowl




It was a night of lots of spicy food we ordered; somehow everyone was ready for hot and spicy food.
It was indeed a Spicy Way to learn Korean, and to say Anhyeong Haseyo!