Food | Restaurants

Dining at Koryo-won Suria KLCC

fine korean dining

I’ve been telling myself that i need to blog about this before i forget. So here goes…

Last weekend, before the book fest, Liz and i met up at Koryo-won for lunch. We were in Suria KLCC in the heart of Kuala Lumpur and wanted to try out a Korean restaurant there. The one and only Korean food place we found is this restaurant.

 

klcc koryowon korean
Koryo-won Korean restaurant @ Suria KLCC


Located on the top-most (that’s the 4th) floor at Suria KLCC shopping center, Koryo-won prides itself in serving fine Korean barbecue and traditional Korean cuisine. I must warn you though, that this place is not cheap. It’s pricey and if you want a taste of premium wagyu beef (wagyu = Japanese beef also known as the caviar of beef) on a Korean barbecue, well, you can get it here. One serving of wagyu beef on the barbecue stove can set you back RM360 (USD110)! So if you don’t want to burn a huge hole in your bank account, order carefully. But if you are a tourist or earn USD or Euros or some other currency, then this place would probably be all right.

 

The interior of the restaurant as you step in. They even have two private rooms which you could book for large groups.


The cheapest food item on the menu is RM25 (USD7.60). Nothing below that. After a quick survey of the menu, we ordered the Den Jang Ji Gae (된장찌개) and Mi Yok Guk (미역국).

Liz and i also took note that a drink at this place cost RM12 (USD3.60). They do not serve the usual free flow of tea or water here either. Since we were on a budget and want to keep the bill to a minimal, we didn’t order any drinks. We ordered soupy meals so that’s okay.

Liz had the Den Jang Ji Gae (RM25) which was traditional bean paste vegetable soup in a hot clay pot served with traditional Korean side dishes and fragrant rice. The vegetable soup and rice made a tasty yet simple meal. Very healthy too.

 

Den Jang Ji Gae – the traditional bean paste vegetable soup came boiling hot!

The vegetable soup with tofu and shrimps

 

Banchan – these Korean side dishes
came
with Liz’s order of Den Jang Ji Gae


I had the Mi Yok Guk (RM28) – a traditional seaweed soup served with steamed rice. How come this does not come with traditional Korean side dishes? The Mi Yok Guk is the same traditional soup Koreans drink on their birthdays. =) My seaweed soup came with fresh scallops in it. There was a very generous amount of seaweed but not so generous with the scallops in the Mi Yok Guk. If you dislike the slightly “fishy” smell of seaweed, don’t order this.

 

Mi Yok Guk (RM28) – a traditional seaweed soup

Seaweed with bits of fresh white scallop meat on rice


Although the banchan (Korean side dishes) were good, the waiters did not top up when we finished a couple of them. Usually, these side dishes were topped up. We had to ask for more. 🙁

 

rootsingojuchang
We loved these side dishes and asked for more…

 

When we were having our meal, we noticed that a Korean man at a table nearby was served pieces of watermelon for dessert. We have visited quite a few Korean restaurants and they usually served fruits for dessert and on one occasion, we got a very nice sweet ginger drink with crushed ice. So after dinner, we waited for our dessert but none arrived. We then asked for the bill and the waiter took his time with that too. We were not at all pleased with the service at such an expensive restaurant. When Liz asked the waiter how come we didn’t get any dessert, he then mumbled some silly excuse which we could not understand and left! Gee…

 

Bad service caused us to leave the posh
and
expensive restaurant with a sour after-taste

 

The bill came up to RM60.95 as we kept it to a minimum by not ordering drinks and starters. So if you order drinks, a meal for two persons would be around RM80 – RM100 (that’s including the 5% Government tax and 10% Service Charge).


On the way out, the man at the door offered us sweets in a small basket and said “Here, this is for dessert”. Sweets for dessert at a fine restaurant like this? We were less than impressed. Fine dining indeed! It wasn’t that fine for me.

Related:
BookFest @ Malaysia 2008

K-popped!’s culinary adventures:

In Malaysia:
Affordable Korean food at HanChon (Sri Hartamas)
Lunch at Han Woo Ri, Korean BBQ restaurant (Ampang)
Eating out at Seoul Korea Restaurant (Taman Desa)
Korean Cuisine at Pavilion KL (Kuala Lumpur)
Dae Jang Geum (Section 14, Petaling Jaya)
Daorae Garden (Sri Hartamas)

In China
Coffee at Beijing’s 798 Art Zone
Delicious Korean cuisine at Beijing’s hutong
Korean snacks from Wudaokou
Lunch at Wudaokou


13 thoughts on “Dining at Koryo-won Suria KLCC

  • Dear Anonymous, its really hard to say halal or not since no JAKIM logo or such. pork free doesn't mean HALAL, coz they might use cooking wine in the marinade, or sauces. same goes to many Japanese Restaurants where sake & mirin is largely used. so, go with ur instinct…

  • OMG, this reataurant is such a rip off! i would be very happy to go to other Korean restaurant which offer better service & much cheaper price.i always go to Gomone Korean Restaurant, Ampang Point.

  • kpop-rubba

    yeah this has been my experience at most korean and asian restaurants… I find i usually have trouble with male servers being soooo dang slow and just plain not caring LMAO the women are a lot better!

  • Anonymous

    halal or not? that is the main question T_T I know 3 of you are non-muslim, but since this a Malaysian blog, can you consider putting halal or not halal on your food coverage? Thanks.

  • @Gail…we’ve been watching movies lately. The last drama i watched was Goong and also following the never-ending ‘Likable or Not’ on TV.

  • Koongjung (near Ampark Park) is waaay nicer than Koryowon.

    I’ve never been impressed with Koryowon as the fair served and service aren’t really up to par with the price (same applies for their Crown Princess and Starhill branches).

    Besides, why go here when you can settle for authentic restaurants in Korean Town?

  • omg! that so sucks! i’m really big on good service and it killed me reading that you guys didn’t get good service. boo to koryo-won!
    thanks for sharing your food outing chronicles and pictures! the food looks sooo good!

  • all this talk on korean food make me hungry for korean food. yummm.

    안녕, Orchid! I’ve been watching “Last Scandal,” which is hilarious and “Saranghae.” I like Seo Ji Hye and the supporting characters, especially her sister in the drama. How about you, guys?

  • @requeiscat Nope, i have not tried nor have i heard of Seo Gung Korean restaurant in SS2. Checked out the link and the restaurant and food looks very good. Will definitely try it out. SS2 is pretty near where i live! Cool!

    Thank you for the recommendation. The owner sounds very friendly and approachable too!

    ah the Bibimbap looks so good. At RM15 it’s reasonable.

  • ReQueisCat

    Have you tried Seo Gung in ss2? Its run by a native korean. Its better if you google that place up. I recommend that place, the service and the food is excellent! The funny thing with the restaurant is that you get 12 side dishes..more than any other restaurant I’ve been to…and they often fill the table. The owner is a nice man…he moved to Malaysia some time ago. I went there some time ago and saw his sister helping out with the food in the kitchen. I remember standing near the fountain pool at the corner of the shop when he came to me and asked “Will you tell your friends about my shop?” or “Can you recommend…” or something along those lines.

    I like their marinated meat (beef and mutton). Its a favourite but a lil pricey. I dont’ know what you like, perhaps you can ask the owner for recommendations as he often takes the orders down.

    My dad usually goes to the driving range and during one of his trips spotted him there too. Apparently he routinely visits thee range once a week and my dad often joins in for a round with him.

    http://foodstreet.com.my/food-street/bpage.s?by=Seo+Gung+Korean+Restaurant&bid=24

    Come to think of it I sound as if I’m advertising..but hey, I really like that place. Btw if you’re going there, park your car at Major Parking because Rm 2 refund for every table receipt.

    —————————-

    KLCC?Everything is real expensive there…..I went there during the holidays and I saw tourists in every nook and cranny…the shopkeepers are probably trying to milk out every penny they can from them XD

  • an-nyeong Gail….you’ve been missed. It’s nice to hear from you again. Thanks for the anniversary wish. Are you watching any K-dramas lately?

  • i’ve been reading your blog through Google Reader so i keep forgetting to come by to leave comments.

    anyhoo, happy anniversary, k-popped.

    110 USD for a serving of beef?! no thanks. i don’t like beef anyway.

    whoa, that’s a pricey restaurant, but service sounds like par with korean restaurants i’ve been to. waiters never come unbidden. and i’ve never been offered dessert at a korean restaurant, so we always go somewhere else for dessert. 😀
    i’ll take liz’s advice. if i’m in malaysia, i’ll go eat korean food somewhere other than koryo-won.

  • Yeah Koryo-won is such a rip-off. I wouldn’t want to go to there again when there are so many other Korean restaurants with better service and at less expensive prices.

    Maybe its catered for the tourists since Suria KLCC is such a touristy area.

    If you’re visiting Malaysia and want Korean food, Don’t Go To Koryo-won…unless you’re eating on the company’s tab or something.

    Check out the links in this entry to other more affordable Korean restaurants that are not stingy with the drinks or banchan.

    Koryo-won sucks.

Leave a Reply