Food Tasting : Gahyo

Have you noticed that I've already changed my blog address from http://natashavl.blogspot.com into http://www.yummytraveler.com ? Yayyy... I'm so excited that it's finally coming! One more step for The Yummy Traveler :D

Anyway, when this invitation coming to my email, I was soooo excited! Why ? Because I'm a big fan of Korean food, and since I never tried Gahyo Restaurant before, I'm quite curious how it taste like. Thanks to Ellen, who works at Gahyo and also a blogger ( check her blog here ), who invited us for a joyful dinner :D

Gahyo restaurant established since 2005, and the owner also native Korean. Ellen said that all the menu here are originally from their mom's recipe. Who agree that the best food on earth is the mom's cooking??? :D Actually that's what I felt when I had all the food here in Gahyo. It tasted so authentic yet simple and homey, feels like we eat at home, not at restaurant.

Gahyo in SCBD is quite spacious, and when it's dinner time, the place is packed! ( with mostly Korean :D ) So you better reserve first if you wanna have a dinner here. The interior quite typical with other Korean restaurant, simple with Korean's touch.

The food tasting begins with Banchan ( Korean appetizer ) ! I always love Banchan ! It's free ( ow yea ) and you can have as many as you like ( woohoo! ), and every Korean restaurant had their own variations of Banchan. It's not particularly the same every restaurant, but the most common banchan always be 'Kimchi' ( traditional fermented vegetables ). The most banchan that I like from Gahyo is ... well I don't know the name :d but it was a peanuts covered in sweet sticky sauce, tasted like brown sugar ( next to the spinach on the pic ). Yum !

After the banchan, we've been served by many of their dish ( Yes! Many ! ), so I want you guys hang on a bit and enjoy the writings okay ! ;p First is Haemul Pajeon ( Korean Seafood Pancake ) - IDR 95.000,-. I think this is the best Pajeon that I had so far! The seafood tasted fresh, the seasoning are perfect for Indonesian tongue, and the batter it's not too doughy.

Japchae ( Fried Korean Glass Noodle with Beef & Vegetables ) - IDR 95.000,-. I alwaysss love Jabchae ! I love the textures of the sweet potato noodles (called dangmyeon) that is thick and a lil' bit chewy. Jabchae in Gahyo had a perfect seasoning, sweet but savory.

Dolsot Bibimbap ( Various kind of assorted vegetables with rice, beef and egg served in Hot Stone Bowl) - IDR 68.000,-. I think Bibimbap is a popular Korean dish that we all know, from what I taste, Gahyo's Bibimbap is one of the best that I had. It has the perfect seasoning because sometimes, I had a tasteless Bibimbap everywhere.

Sundubu Chigae ( Soy Bean Paste soup with Bean Curd, Squash and Onion ) - IDR 68.000,-. If you a big fan of Bean Curd or Tofu, you'll gonna like this one. It's not spicy at all, and you really can taste a strong bean curd taste. It seems they're using Indonesian 'Tahu Air', because the bean curd still has the textures in it.

Yukgaejang ( Spicy Vegetables and Meat Soup ) - IDR 68.000,-. Usually Yukgaejang is one of my favorite Korean dish, but not this time. The soup tasted spicy, not too savory, and has a lil' bit bitter taste in it. The bitter taste comes from gosari ( Korean bracken fern ), which I thought Kulat/ Jamur Pelawan ( Some specified Mushroom from Bangka ) before because it has a similar shape and taste :D

Samgyetang ( Ginseng Chicken Soup ) - IDR 95.000,-. Ooo... I love this dish! What I like about this Samgyetang is this one not having strong ginseng taste ( which I love ). Sometimes Ginseng tasted a lil bit intense and bitter, some people like it, some people don't :) The chicken are quite tender, the soup was so light, and glutinous rice made this dish perfect. I think this is a perfect dish when you have flu or fever, such a heart-warming dish.

What's Korean food without Korean's BBQ right? :D
First one is Teuk Seng Galbi ( Prime Beef Short Rib Boneless ) - IDR 198.000,- . Tender and nice.

Teuk Yangyeum Galbi ( Prime Beef Short Rib Boneless Marinated in Sauce ) - IDR 198.000,-. More sweet than the first one and tender.

L.A Galbi ( Choice Short Rib Bone Marinated in Sauce ) - IDR 198.000,-. Lil bit chewy and tasted sweet.

Bul Galbi ( Choice Short Rib Bone Marinated in Sauce ) - IDR 198.000,-. Thin sliced, sweet and melts in your mouth. Btw I'm always curious with how to do the meat cutting. It became thin and longgg :D

Wooseol ( Sliced Beef Tongue ) - IDR 128.000,-. Love this! Thin sliced and savory!

Because Jenzcorner ask if they're serve Yukhoe here, they're generously serve it to us even though it's not on the food tasting list! Wagyu Yukhoe ( Korean Steak Tartare ) - IDR 178.000,-. I know not many Indonesian familiar with eating raw beef haha... But it's my first time too eating this Yukhoe! Well I'm not sure at first, but until when I have my first bite, I just fell in love with it. Total love! The beef, which is high quality wagyu, serve in a cold temperature, and really... it's just melts in your mouth! Not chewy and fishy as I thought raw beef would be ( interesting huh ), with a nice combination of sweetness from the Bae ( Korean pear ), heaven ! To serve this kind of dish, they really need to prepared the freshest and high quality beef. Thumbs up for Gahyo!


For the dessert ( yes this is also free ) , they served us with Sikhye, a traditional Korean rice beverage. Sweet with a gingery taste.

Also Mango, Coffee and Coconut pudding. The mango pudding is the most that I like, since coffee one taste really bitter and coconut one quite tasteless.

Overall, I really enjoy my dinner there! With a food served like that, I'm quite curious trying the other branch of Gahyo which is at Sport Mall - Kelapa Gading ( serves pork :d ). And also, no wonder Gahyo received the awards as "The Best Korean Restaurant in Jakarta" from Jakarta Java Kini Magazine three times (2005, 2007 and 2008). I really had a great time and a full belly, big thanks to Ms Yumi and Ellen for inviting! :) and yes, Gahyo is truly GA HYO (delicious) !


Gahyo Restaurant - SCBD
Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav. 52 - 53 Lot 6,
Jakarta.
No. Telp : (021 ) 5289 7044
Opening hours:
Mon - Sun, 11.00 am - 11.00 pm

Gahyo Restaurant - Kelapa Gading
Sport Mall Kelapa Gading Blok A 26 - 27,
Jakarta Utara.
No. Telp : (021) - 4587 6626