"Cheap but awesome!" That was the best phrase to describe Shin Dang Dong Korean Restaurant in Makati. Specifically, Shin Dang Dong was located at Unit 109 Ground Level, A.Venue Mall, Makati Ave. Makati (aka 1st Level, A. Venue Mall 7829 Makati Ave. corner Valdez St., Antel Lifestyle City Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.) Yes, the place is so nice as well as their food. Korean cuisine is their specialty, of course!


Shin Dang Dong Korean Restaurant in Makati

I, together with some friends went to Shin Dang Dong Korean Restaurant last December 2010. (This is really a LATE post!) And we had a very exciting and funny moment eating on their restaurant since that was the first time we are going to eat at a Korean restaurant (which I am always of dreaming of.) Their menu includes the spicy seasoned rice cake (떡볶이 - Tteokbokki or Ddeokbokki), Kimbap (김밥), Bulgogi Dupbap (불고기), Ojingeo Dupbap and Japche Dupbap.

It is also interesting that our favorite spicy seasoned rice cake (떡볶이) can be added with some of their delicious add-ons like yaki mandu (야기 만두), ramyeon (라면), odeng (오뎅 or fish cake) and a whole lot more! Oh, I almost forgot that with P100.00, you can add grated cheese to your tteokbokki; now that's heavenly cheese tteokbokki!!! By the way, you can choose whether you want it mild, regular or super spicy. The best part I guess was the tteokbokki being cooked in front of you or let's just say that "you cook your own tteokbokki"! So what can you say about that? Huh?


Tteokbokki being cooked in front of us along with unlimited nori soup and kimchi!

There's more! I also remembered that after eating all of the tteokbokkis we ordered, we also tried their Korean-style "halo-halo". (I forgot the real name so I just called it that way. LOL!) Unlike Filipino-style halo-halo, Shin Dang Dong's halo-halo was only composed of watermelon, gulaman, and cereals with crushed-ice on the bottom. It also comes with a big scoop of ice cream and a cherry on top.


The Korean-style halo-halo with sweet syrup. Highly recommended, promise!

How about the place? The place was so cool! Look on the wall and you will see that the store was almost filled up with photos. Not just any photo but "customers' photos"! Yeah! Their staff will take a photo of you dining inside Shin Dang Dong, and will then add it to their photo wall. And to ensure that you will also have a copy of that photo, they will ask you to give them your email address. That's the coolest concept I ever know!

There is also a free 1 liter of iced-tea for every order. I'm also sure that Kimchi lovers will really love this place because there is an unlimited supply of cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi, just ask the staff if you still want a "kimchi refill". Whew! (Take note that they are not selling kimchi to the customers but they can have it unlimitedly free when you eat at their restaurant!)

How much? For about P450.00 to P500.00 depending on the tteokbokki add-ons, 2-3 "Koreans" can enjoy the meal. I said Koreans because the staff told us that Koreans can eat more tteokbokki than Filipinos can. Meaning, 3-5 Filipinos can enjoy the same amount of order. (Remember: That idea is not mine. The Shin Dang Dong staff told us that. Hehehe.) They accept payment on cash-basis only. Mr. Kim - the owner, was there at the cash registers to receive the payment. (Hope he reads this!)

OK, that was our first visit to a Korean restaurant. (My bestfriend also blogged about this here.) I admit that it was a lot of fun! I really recommend that you visit Shin Dang Dong Korean restaurant in Makati. It is not hard to find because A. Venue Mall is just on the front of Great Eastern Hotel. That's all!