Korean Bbq @ Makchang

 

With the Korean wave in Manila, Korean BBQ restaurants have also been sprouting everywhere. Most of which are small restaurants owned by Koreans themselves, so expect authentic Korean cuisine! Among the Korean BBQ restaurants that I've tried, Makchang would be the best and worth every peso. I have tried Korean BBQ in Korea and it was very expensive, apparently, meat is expensive in Korea. One order of meat was around P1,200 pesos whereas here you can order one for as low as P250. A very big price difference but with the same satisfying taste. Makchang is located right across the street from Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Place Manila. It is a small somewhat dingy place similar as to what you see on Korean dramas. 

Fire up the coals for my meal! 

The menu is simple,  consisting of only 11 dishes and is posted on the wall. I ordered my favorite, Pork Galbi since its soft and juicy even without the fats.

 Burning coals

 

Unlimited servings of banchan (appetizers) includes kimchi, leek kimchi, garlic and ssam jang (bean paste). One of the reasons why I love this place is the leek kimchi! Its soo good and I always have this refilled. This is the only place  I know that serves this. Their kimchi is also a thumbs up! Its fresh, slightly crunchy and the sweet-sour fermentation taste is balanced perfectly. Other Korean restaurants serve kimchi that tastes like paper and is usually overpowering.  

Servings of very fresh green lettuce and mint leaves, strips of sweet potato and rice, which is an additional side order. I was opting to abstain from rice, but I could not resist having rice with this meal!

A steaming hot bowl of vegetable soup is also part of the banchan.

Begin the lettuce wrap by dipping a slice of galbi in ssam jang

Add kimchi and leek kimchi

Wrap and place the entire the lettuce in your mouth. I am not sure if this is the correct way of eating Korean Bbq but this is the way I eat mine. Sometimes I will have galbi and rice or add rice into the wrap.

After eating and paying the bill, the waiter will serve you a doublemint gum to get rid of bad breath.

The gum is not enough though, I can usually still taste the kimchi in my throat but nevertheless I  always come back for more :)

Makchang Restaurant
Right across from Robinsons Department Store Manila,
Take the exit on the first level from the Health and Beauty Department   

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DIY: Lace Shorts

 I was about to toss this pair of old faded black shorts when I came across Youtube videos of lace shorts and decided to recreate it. I have been meaning to buy a pair of lace shorts in either cream or off-white color but this black pair will do for now :)  If you will be making this, I would suggest to choose a lace with a wider width of around 2 inches. That way you would not need to create a lot of layers like mine! My lace had a width of about 1 inch and I ran out of lace halfway through the process!  I chose this lace because of the scallop detail which gives it an overall texture. Check out the steps below.

Materials Needed:
1. Old pair of shorts (Mine is super faded!)
2.Yards of lace trim (this will depend on the width of the lace)
3. Pins
4. Scissors
5. Needles or Sewing Machine
6. Thread

 

1. Layout and measure the lace onto your shorts. I started from the bottom to top. Leave half an inch on each end and fold it inside. This will prevent the trim from fraying. Use pins to secure the placement of the lace trim.  

2. Continue layering the lace trim with the design that you want. I wanted it to be full lace all the way to the top so I cut off the belt hooks and sewn the pockets in.

3. For the back, I added trim to the pockets and waist. Again, I removed the belt hooks and buttons. I used only 2 layers for each part. I wanted to include the bottom but I ran out of lace. The pockets were hand-stitched since I wanted to keep the pockets open.  

4. Sew the lace trim with a sewing machine or with a needle and thread. Sewing the middle part of the shorts was difficult and I had to hand-stitch the part towards the zipper. Keep on sewing and sewing..until you have sewn all layers! Be patient and do it part by part. 

5. This is how the back looks:

6. And this is how the front turned out :) I am happy with the result despite that it took me almost a week to complete. I did one part per day and it just gets more exciting towards the end when you see the final product :)

I will most probably make another one in cream, using a WIDER width of lace! I used about 11 yards of lace for entire shorts heee :)

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