#birthday bingsu as tradition stated

[explvrer]

what great timing that my therapy appointment is this saturday

[thehungrykat1]

Oori Korean Restaurant Opens at Sheraton Manila

Oori Korean Restaurant recently opened its doors last January 27, 2020 at the Sheraton Manila in Newport City. This upscale dining establishment is definitely not your typical samgyupsal place. It is actually a two-concept Korean outlet featuring a casual bibimbap bar and a more sophisticated barbecue restaurant serving high quality wagyu and meats.

You can find Oori Korean Restaurant at the second floor of Sheraton Manila. This is the third dining establishment that opened inside the hotel after its all-day dining buffet restaurant, S Kitchen and The Lounge Bar. The Hungry Kat was invited to be one of the first guests to experience this new authentic Korean venue and I was more than happy to oblige. Sheraton Manila officially opened last year in January 2019 so this is also a great way for them to celebrate their first anniversary.

Oori literally means “ours” so the restaurant is inspired by the refreshed Sheraton brand of being a gathering place for family and friends. This is the only high-end Korean dining establishment in Resorts World Manila but it is not intimidating at all. The first area you will encounter when you enter the restaurant is the bibimbap bar called Bibimbap by Oori which serves casual Korean favorites. This space has a mix of couches, long tables, and bar seats that can accommodate around 50 guests.

Oori Executive Chef Kibum Park is a Korean native who has much expertise on traditional Korean cooking. Chef Park has several years of flavorful experiences under his sleeves as he previously worked in Cebu before moving to Sheraton Manila. The menu he created at Oori represents the best of authentic Korean cuisine.

Bibimbap by Oori features fast and easy Korean comfort food suited for quick bites and casual lunch breaks. The highlight here, of course, is their assortment of customizable Bibimbap Bowls served with yachae (vegetables) and sauces on the side so you can toss and mix to your preference.

There are several bibimbap toppings to choose from. These are served over steamed rice with a set of vegetables and a soft poached egg. Just choose which items you want to put inside the bowl and mix it together as you please. You can also add their special homemade chili sauce to spice up the flavors. If you don’t feel like mixing the ingredients yourself, you can ask the friendly servers to do it for you, but where’s the fun in that? Each order also comes with two unlimited side dishes which varies daily.

Some of the bibimbap options include Bulgogi Bibimbap (P600) which has sweet soy sauce marinated beef for its topping. You can also try the Hoe or Fresh Sashimi Bibimbap (P550), and the Jeyuk or Spicy Marinated Pork (P600). Most of the ingredients are imported from Korea, including the rice, so it's as authentic as you can get.

Chef Park also made sure to include a special variant that he made only for the Philippines, the Sisig Bibimbap (P600). This comes with sisig-inspired ingredients like crunchy chicharon. You might even catch Chef Park preparing your orders at the restaurant’s live cooking bibimbap bar.

Aside from the bibimbap, there are other dishes you can find here as well. The Dakgangjung (P370) is Korean fried chicken cooked with a sweet and spicy sauce. This would go really well with your bibimbap rice. As an opening treat, guests can get a free bingsu dessert for every two orders of Bibimbap classic until the end of February.

If you are looking for a more sophisticated dining experience, then head further inside the restaurant where you will find its second concept featuring an upscale Korean grill. This area can seat 100 persons with its mix of communal barbecue tables, bar seating, and private dining rooms.

This place is more suited for dinners and longer business meetings where you can work on the grill while enjoying your drinks. The interiors here are made of raw burnt wood and Korean ceramic pots which are actually used to ferment their kimchi.

There are also several semi-private and luxe private rooms with their own personal barbecue stations. These would be great for birthday parties or special occasions as they can accommodate groups of 8 up to 24 persons. Some rooms also come with their own sofas and TV screens.

This semi-private room is where our small group shared a Korean barbecue featuring some of the finest wagyu and meats you can find in any Korean restaurant. This would be our second dinner for the night! Guests dining at the Oori grill area can order from the bibimbap menu as well, but not vice versa.

Let’s start with some of their signature Oori Cocktais or soju-infused creations. The Haengbok (P525) or Happiness cocktail comes with a combination of Jinro 24 soju, lemon juice, fresh banana, mixed berries, sugar syrup, and milk. As another opening promotion, guests can get a free soju cocktail for every order of the Grilled Set Menu.

The Mandu Jeongol (P1400) is a fiery appetizer to jumpstart our taste buds. This rich soup dish has a combination of pork, kimchi, and Korean dumplings which are good for two persons.

Oori boasts of a collection of 16 side dishes or "banchan." Each of these is carefully handmade and served fresh or fermented to its ideal maturity. Their kimchi is stored for 5 days inside the same ceramic pots used as decors around the restaurant. Guests ordering any of the set menus of premium meat will get unlimited servings of five of these banchan which rotate on a daily basis.

The main attraction at Oori Korean Restaurant is definitely the wagyu beef. This is 150 grams of their Australian Mulwarra Wagyu Ribeye A5 (P1700). Just look at the marbling on that beef! Oori offers both Grade 5 and Grade 9 wagyu beef which you surely will not find in other samgyupsal restaurants.

You can cook the delicate wagyu beef on the grill yourself or you can let the servers do it for you. This time, I’ll let the experts do the cooking. They also have a homemade meljorin sauce made from anchovy with soy bean paste that goes perfectly with their grilled meats. Oori uses a state of the art griller which absorbs all of the smoke underneath, so you will not come out of the restaurant smelling like barbecue.

The wagyu absolutely melts in your mouth with every indulgent bite. It is just so tender and flavorful. The meat is served with rice, fresh local lettuce, fresh mushrooms, vegetables, and onion pickle so you can choose how you want to eat it.

Another high-quality meat on the menu is the imported Duroc Spanish Pork which has one of the finest fat marbling in the world. The Duroc Collar (P830) has 150 grams of this prized pork that is also ready for the grill. There are other meat combinations and set menus you can order for bigger groups.

We ended our two-part dinner with bingsu or shaved milk ice desserts. The Mango Bingsu (P450) and the Chocolate Bingsu (P450) can also be shared by two or more persons and these are the perfect ways to cleanse your palate after a luxurious and indulgent Korean barbecue. Oori Korean Restaurant is a new and exciting venue in Resorts World Manila for those with a refined taste for high quality meats. Bring your friend or business partners over and they will definitely be impressed.

Oori Korean Restaurant

2/F Sheraton Manila Hotel, 80 Andrews Ave, Newport City, Pasay

7902-1800

www.sheratonmanila.com

Facebook Page