A friend who has been in Dubai for a few years now, promised to take us to some of the off-the-beaten-path eateries in and around Dubai - the small hole in the wall, or a restaurant in a house. Nothing ostentatious but the promise of great wholesome and delicious food.
That's how last Friday saw us driving to Mannland, a inconspicuous Korean restaurant located next to Capitol Hotel on Al Mina Road.
I must admit, while I was quite keen to try the food, I was equally sure that I would get precious little to eat. Korean and vegetarian? Isn't that an oxymoron?
My friend lives in Diyafah, very close to the restaurant and eats here quite often, which made the ordering that much simpler & the service even more personal. They have a floor seating option, whee a raised platform has a low table. You sit cross legged on the platform and eat off the table. Wile it looked exciting my mother in law and me with our knee problems declined. Instead we sat in a small area on one side that was cordoned off from the rest of the restaurant.
We started with the kimchi - there were some 6-7 bowls with the most amazing combinations. I loved the peanuts fried with bean sauce and anchovies - of course I had to pick out the anchovies, but the peanuts made it worth the trouble. They serve this with a pungent and spicy chilly sauce which adds a lovely zing to the taste.
This was followed by Haemul pajeon - a seafood spring onion pancake. Now R is not a seafood / fish fan but even he devoured this. I had a bit and it was delicious! A must order if you ever go there.
For the main course, we ordered Bulgogi - a Korean friend later told me that next to kimchi, bulgogi is the national dish of Korea! Bulgogi is essentially spicy, tender marinated strips of beef that are cooked over open flame. Mannaland serves them with spicy sauce and lettuce leaves. You are supposed to roll the bulgogi along with the sauce in the lettuce leaf and go for it! Strangely enough, even my 10 yr old made and happily chewed through 3-4 lettuce rolls!
For the only vegetarian, they did fried tofu slices, and, a Bibimbap , which is essentially a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A fried egg toed the mix. The hostess mixed all the ingredients thoroughly just before serving at the table.It was steaming hot and tasted delicious!
And oh, we kept having some Korean tea between each course - it works as a palate cleanser for the next course.
We loved the whole experience and will be back for more!
Cuisine: Korean
Location: Al Mina, next to Capitol Hotel
Cost: Very reasonable, accepts credit cards
Contact: 04-3451300
P.S. Was looking up kimchi recipes and this is what I found!
These are traditional vats in which kimchi is fermented!! Wow!!
P.P.S. One of son's classmate's mom is Korean and she mentioned another Korean eatery called Hyu which is supposed to be home cooked good Korean food. Have bookmarked the link below for choice, the next time I decide to go eat Korean.
Time Out Korean restaurants reckoner
That's how last Friday saw us driving to Mannland, a inconspicuous Korean restaurant located next to Capitol Hotel on Al Mina Road.
I must admit, while I was quite keen to try the food, I was equally sure that I would get precious little to eat. Korean and vegetarian? Isn't that an oxymoron?
My friend lives in Diyafah, very close to the restaurant and eats here quite often, which made the ordering that much simpler & the service even more personal. They have a floor seating option, whee a raised platform has a low table. You sit cross legged on the platform and eat off the table. Wile it looked exciting my mother in law and me with our knee problems declined. Instead we sat in a small area on one side that was cordoned off from the rest of the restaurant.
We started with the kimchi - there were some 6-7 bowls with the most amazing combinations. I loved the peanuts fried with bean sauce and anchovies - of course I had to pick out the anchovies, but the peanuts made it worth the trouble. They serve this with a pungent and spicy chilly sauce which adds a lovely zing to the taste.
This was followed by Haemul pajeon - a seafood spring onion pancake. Now R is not a seafood / fish fan but even he devoured this. I had a bit and it was delicious! A must order if you ever go there.
For the main course, we ordered Bulgogi - a Korean friend later told me that next to kimchi, bulgogi is the national dish of Korea! Bulgogi is essentially spicy, tender marinated strips of beef that are cooked over open flame. Mannaland serves them with spicy sauce and lettuce leaves. You are supposed to roll the bulgogi along with the sauce in the lettuce leaf and go for it! Strangely enough, even my 10 yr old made and happily chewed through 3-4 lettuce rolls!
For the only vegetarian, they did fried tofu slices, and, a Bibimbap , which is essentially a bowl of warm white rice topped with namul (sautéed and seasoned vegetables) and gochujang (chili pepper paste). A fried egg toed the mix. The hostess mixed all the ingredients thoroughly just before serving at the table.It was steaming hot and tasted delicious!
And oh, we kept having some Korean tea between each course - it works as a palate cleanser for the next course.
We loved the whole experience and will be back for more!
Cuisine: Korean
Location: Al Mina, next to Capitol Hotel
Cost: Very reasonable, accepts credit cards
Contact: 04-3451300
P.S. Was looking up kimchi recipes and this is what I found!
These are traditional vats in which kimchi is fermented!! Wow!!
P.P.S. One of son's classmate's mom is Korean and she mentioned another Korean eatery called Hyu which is supposed to be home cooked good Korean food. Have bookmarked the link below for choice, the next time I decide to go eat Korean.
Time Out Korean restaurants reckoner
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