Dae Sa Kwan (day-sa-kooan)

Impressive menu cover

Adrian had just completed his thesis this weekend. To reward his hard work and celebrate the completion of his dissertation, I have decided to bring him to this Korean restaurant, highly recommended by my Korean student, Jessie Lee, a while ago.

Like most Korean restaurants, Dae Sa Kwan is a family-run business located in Sri Hartamas. Even though I don't know why it is named "embassy" in Korean but this BBQ haven has become a favorite family-get-together eatary for the Korean community in Klang Valley.

Usually, Adrian and I go to other Korean restaurants in Bangsar and Sri Hartamas to fix our Korean cuisine crave, but since it was a holiday and I have always wanted to try this restaurant since the donkey years, we've decided to give this a shot!

Since there were only two of us, we only ordered two dishes. As usual, Adrian ordered his all-time favorite beef bu-gol-gi (BBQ beef with onion and mushroom) and as a Cantonese, I've always enjoyed soup dish, so I ordered ginseng chicken soup.

The food serving size in Dae Sa Kwan is rather big for its price. The meal started off with typical Korean side dishes, which has always been one of the highlights of Korean meals. To me, their side dishes are well done with fresh ingredients.

Arrays of Korean side dishes which are not pleasing on the eyes but comforting in the tummy.

Some side dishes served on that day include:Korean national dish nappy cabbage kimchi--a must-have in every household in Korea

stir-fry mushroom with capsicum
One of my favorites--soy-bean sprout stir-fried with sesame oil
Green beans with sesame seeds
Actually, I haven't quite figured this out but it tasted like julienne veggies covered with breadcrumbs
Another kimchi variation--daikon kimchi

The serving size of the main dishes, in my opinion, is rather big--giving us bang for the bucks we pay. The ginseng chicken soup has subtle ginseng taste and the wholesomeness of chicken stuffed with glutanious rice. The soup compliments the meal so well. Then the beef bul-go-gi, which is equally scrumptious! The beef is well-seasoned with vibrant flavour and the tenderness is unbeatable!

Ginseng chicken soup is one of the best I have tried. We love the thrill of digging in the chicken to get the glutanious rice. What a way to start the main dishe??!!

Oh-so-tender beef bul-go-gi. A must try for beef lovers. It's simply heavenly to be eaten with the condiment shown in the next photo.

Fresh salad leaves are used to wrap the bul-go-gi with other condiments such as fermented bean paste, chopped green chili and garlic in half cloves (top bo bottom).