Cho Dong Jib Korean Restaurant @ Gurney Paragon Mall

Cho Dong Jib Korean Restaurant has been established in Penang food market for some time, operating two restaurants in Gurney Paragon and Queensbay respectively. They serve great Korean dishes with strong Korean influences, albeit we felt the taste has been fine tuned to cater for locals' expectations (which we felt was alright). The price point is slightly on a high side, and they offer more dishes than just Korean conventional grilled meat. It is one of the decent place in Penang to satiate the crave for Korean food.

Haemul-Tang

Gochujang Bulgogi

We were definitely caught off-guard when we saw the red hot colour for both Gochujang Bulgogi (Spicy Stir Fried Pork with Onions and Hot Chili Pepper Paste, 辣椒酱猪肉 RM 30) and Haemul-Tang (Spicy Seafood Stew, made by boiling a variety of seafood in spicy broth 海物汤 RM 65). Anyway, do not be deceived by its red hot colour. It was not as burning as we thought, nor the heat will build up gradually. The taste was rich yet mild without causing any numbness on the lips. Gochujang Bulgogi was more on a sweet side, while Haemul-Tang packs a generous quantity of a variety of seafood, which includes small crabs and prawns. The soup offers a nice scent of seafood though its murky appearance might turn you off.

The Grilled Saury (烤秋刀鱼 RM 16) here is an exemplary of great execution. Unwanted odour is absent, and the fish taste goods with its flaky texture with nice seasoning and a mild pleasant charred scent. 

Complete your meal here with a variety of Korean pancakes here. We tried Haemul Pajeon (海鲜葱煎饼 RM 28). Pancake is thin and comes with a lot of scallions and sliced octopus. It would have been a great pancake if the texture is slightly crisp.