Stellar off-grill options elevate the KBBQ ritual

Like countless Metro Manila professionals, I enjoy unwinding with friends or workmates after a long day with some Korean barbecue. There is something so satisfying about cooking your own hodgepodge of meats over a shared grill, mixing and matching your mains with whatever assortment of banchan (sides) the establishment offers. The conversation is always great, even if it is punctuated with quiet periods of focused eating or conducted while chewing. Smelling like smoky meat after is a nice touch — you’ll have a souvenir of your night out until your next shower. Cheap soju is optional at these affairs, but sometimes necessary.

I would go as far as to say that the experience of eating KBBQ matters just as much, if not more, than the quality of food. I haven’t been to too many places, but dropping around P700 has yielded largely the same experience each time.

Sure, some places have better cheese, more protein options (shrimp or scallops are an easy way to my heart), or better banchan, but KBBQ nights are homogenous enough that I can review most of them with a simple, “It was good. I’d go back with friends.”

So it was with curiosity that I tried Sogeum by Soban at the glitzy new Opus Mall in Bridgetowne, offering premium ingredients at a more upscale price point. I was interested to see if this high-end KBBQ joint could provide enough of a bump in quality to justify spending more than my usual for the same cuisine. Notably, diners at Sogeum can order sets rather than pay a fixed price for unlimited food, so you can still find something within a tighter budget.

I aimed to evaluate my meal on three points: protein quality, variation and quality of banchan, and the wildcard — would I order anything else off the menu besides the meat-and-sides sets?

I’m really not too fussy about meat at KBBQ. You’re pairing chunks of beef or pork, marinated or not, with sides, lettuce and rice, so it’s often difficult to appreciate the meat properly. In terms of protein, Sogeum offered just enough quality for me to notice. The USDA High Choice Saeng Galbisal (boneless beef short ribs) was tasty and smelled amazing, though it was not as tender as I might have expected. The honey garlic pork was excellent — marinated for 24 hours, its flavor stood firm against whatever I paired it with.

The Sogeum Signature Salt Trio added fun dimensions to the proteins and took the beef to the next level: Cheon Ilyeom, a thousand-day aged sea salt, Nokcha Sogeum, or green tea salt, and Himalayan pink salt. The novelty of switching salts between bites made me pay more attention to each bite.

The sides were truly a cut above anything I’d had previously. The haemul pajeon (seafood pancake) was perfectly crispy at the edges but nice and soft at the center, with squid, shrimp, Korean mussels, and green onion still distinct in flavor and not lost in the batter. I enjoyed the rosé tteokbokki just as much — spicy, creamy, and built around rice cakes that had a pleasantly chewy texture better than any I’d had before.

Likewise, each banchan I tried reflected the premium setting. The kimchi, in particular, was memorable. It had that fermented funk often missing from cheaper joints’ ferments.

I was already satisfied with the usual KBBQ accoutrements, but the Bo Ssam prepared in their kitchen blew me away. This Korean classic featured slow-simmered pork, tender and delicately seasoned from its bath of soju and fermented soybean paste. It came with crisp lettuce and napa cabbage for wrapping, radish kimchi, and house-made saeujeot — fermented baby shrimp that added an intense umami note. Boiled meat may sound boring, but here it was anything but. The pork worked perfectly with either wrap, and the accompaniments made each bite customizable.

Their premium hotpot-style Mul Galbi, meanwhile, offered a different angle of attack for those interested in Korean cuisine but who prefer to keep the grill off this time. This dish combined US beef short ribs, mushrooms, 11 types of vegetables, flat glass noodles, and rice cakes in a collagen-rich broth made from marrow bones simmered for over six hours. The broth was rich and silky, the kind that clings to your lips, and the vegetables, noodles, and rice cakes gave it excellent balance, turning the pot into a complete meal.

I’m not too picky about ambience; it’s the food I’m after. That said, the restaurant fits right in with Opus Mall’s gilded columns and cavernous halls, managing to feel premium without crossing into tacky. The sleek, modern lines are warmed by inviting lighting, and for those seeking privacy, there’s a room that seats up to 12 guests.

Overall, Sogeum offered enough of an upgrade over the ubiquitous unli-KBBQ experience that I would come back, mainly for the menu wildcards Bo Ssam and Mul Galbi, and the specific sides like the pajeon and tteokbokki. The salt trio added some flair and brought out the superior quality of their meat. Next time, I might prefer to enjoy my meal here in contemplative, contented silence rather than chat with my mouth full.