Travel: Korean Restaurant "Gahyo"

GAHYO
Jl Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 52053 Lot. 6
Jakarta Selatan
Telp 021-52897044

If you ever want to taste some of the Korean delicacies (Hanguk Emsik), I would very much recommend you to Gahyo at Jalan Sudirman. Though did not look too promising from the outside---you cannot see it from the main road; it’s located at the back of Milenia, at one of the alleys. On busy days, you barely can see it, as it is covered by cars parking at the front of it---once you’re inside, you will become a bit reassured.

The rectangle restaurant is divided into two types of seating: western style (with tables and chairs) and the oriental style (with platform, short legged tables, and seat cushions). There was also a small island of bar at the middle of the room. Wanting to have the complete eastern experience, we chose the oriental style seating; taking our shoes off, hoping our feet would not betray and go dead on us ;-p

There were of course the barbeque selections on the menu, but as we want to try the foods with gukgi (clear soup) or cigae (thickly spiced, sometimes oily, soup), we only had our eyes on that group. I wanted to order the Kimchi Cigae (cigae with meat and kimchi), but too bad they only have the pork one, so I have to pass. I order the Jukkejang (cigae with beef and mushrooms) instead.

What I loved about this restaurant was the complete banchan (side dishes) that they served. They were many of them!!! (Quantity sometimes does still rules over quality!!! Hahaha) On my first visit, I counted them, and there were about seven types of banchan: including kimchi, vegetable pancake (a bit like Japanese okonomiyaki), and bean pasted spinach (my favorite!), and eggs tofu, etc. You can see more from the pictures I took. And I found out at my second visit that the set of these banchans were not always the same, so you expect different sets on one day and the other.

The tea they served tasted and smelled like the Japanese mugicha (usually drink cold during the summer). I instantly fell for it. I didn’t expect that mugicha also tasted delightful when served hot. Oh, and thank god for the free refill!!!

Stepping out from Gahyo with full tummy probably can well be expected with the price over Rp100.000 each. But, guess what?! We only spent about Rp60.000 each after tax, only because of the cigae’s price. The banchan is for free and if one serving wasn’t enough, you can get another refill!!! So I guess now you’ve known why I like this place so much. The thought of coming in and order only white rice will certainly come to mind… ;-p

Amidst all the good review, sadly the restrooms were not as those of the high-class restaurant. And where taste is concerned, I will have to admit that at the second visiting, the taste of the Jukkejang could not be described as mind-blowing, but if you’re insist on having great collections of banchan, this is definitely the place.

Pictures taken by Chihiro 2006: (1) Banchan (2) More Banchan ;-p (3) Jukkejang and bab (rice)