Christa finally meets Korean food x Dumaguete. I’ve actually discovered my first Korean barbecue restaurant in Dumaguete, though surely it’s only the first that I’ve met and not the first that’s out there. Me and my cousins, after trying out a wall climbing session in nearby Foundation University, decided to have dinner, and by pure coincidence we ended up at Blue Pearl Meat after deciding not to go to another restaurant.
Initially, I was a little surprised to find that this restaurant, which I had seen in passing over Christmas, was actually a Korean restaurant. A house that was turned into what it is now, the Korean BBQ place opened just last March and is more or less still in its soft opening stages. Also, this Dumaguete restaurant is actually a branch of a restaurant located in Cebu.
The restaurant itself still retains most of its original house’s structure. Coming inside, you’ll find rows of tables with electric stoves installed on them, while others have a separate gas stove with a grilling pan on top. We wanted to opt for the electric stoves as the tables had more room in them, but discovered that they weren’t yet functional. We ended up where everyone else was eating – in small tables with not much room for eating as the stove and pan took up quite the space. The restaurant itself has no airduct system installed, and relies on the open-air feature of its window grills for the steam and the smell to waft out. Sadly, there’s not much of a view outside to appreciate. Hopefully they’ll do something to the outside to make it look more visually appealing.
What the working tables looked like
Yet unfinished area, separate from where we were dining
When we finally got to ordering, we found there weren’t a lot of choices to choose from, not surprising as the restaurant is focused on its Korean BBQ theme. One side of the menu had a list of the various kinds of meat cuts you can order. Of course, servers were there to help explain some of the korean terms and what it meant, which was good since we wanted to get a little bit of the fatty parts and also some of the leaner ones. The menu also offered rice meals (but only a few), for those who wanted to get orders such as the typical Korean bulgogi.
Korean sidedishes were served fairly quickly after our orders were brought to the kitchen. One thing to note though is that the restaurant only offers one set of unlimited sidedishes, per one full order, instead of one set per customer as what I’m used to seeing at Korean restaurants. Our order for example, consisted of 3 meat dishes and 1 order of bulgogi, while there were 5 of us in total we were only allowed to receive servings for 4 people. (Edited, Aug 1: On our recent visit, it seems like they’ve changed the way they serve sidedishes. Me and my group ordered only 5 meat platters, but were served with about 6 sidedishes.)
Cooking meat
When we started cooking the meat, we realised that the meat itself takes time to cook as it depends on its own oil rather than actually adding oil to the plate. Some of the meat cuts were big, so we decided to cut them up with scissors that were provided on the table. We also included in the garlic and onions that were provided by the restaurant, which were quickly refilled by the servers when we asked for more servings.
Taste-wise, the cheapest orders of meat – which were about Php200 a plate, were okay but didn’t have a very strong flavor. The more expensive one, which were these thicker slices of meat (see the photo above – its the one on the upper left part of the table) that cost about Php260-300 (i can’t recall the exact price) were of course more flavorful and filling. The one thing to remember whenever eating Korean BBQ, and I tell myself this all the time, is that you have to pair it with rice or you won’t find yourself satisfied with just the meat. A bowl of rice here costs Php50, which is a little on the expensive side by Dumaguete standards.
As far as the overall experience goes, and this was on my trip to Blue Pearl around the 3rd week of March, I’d give it a grade of about 6 or 7 out of 10.
- In terms of experience, I really enjoy Korean BBQ, and I think it’s a nice restaurant experience to add to the Dumaguete dining scene. As the restaurant is still pretty new, and testing the waters in a Dumaguete landscape, there is still so much room for improvement.
- Food-wise, the food is not bad but it could be better.
- Servers were also so-so, mostly still struggling with the menu and how to properly serve customers (even though there weren’t a lot of customers around then), and even what to do when just standing by and waiting for a customer to call their attention. During the time we were eating, I noticed that a lot of the staff (kitchen staff included I think) were just standing around on the opposite side of the room, which I personally feel was a little disconcerting.
- The ambiance of the restaurant leaves much to be desired. It is very basic and simple, and it barely gives a feel of what a Korean restaurant should be like. I am very much hoping that they improve on their interiors, as well as fix up the outside (garden area which customers see when they’re seated at the tables).
- With the price, I feel like it’s a little on the expensive side for Dumaguete, and many might feel it’s not really “bang for their buck”, but seeing as I’m used to Manila standards it doesn’t seem that bad. The food and the service and the feel of the restaurant just have to step up so customers will feel like they’re really getting what they’re paying for.
Still, I would still consider coming back here, and I plan on going back sometime soon. Maybe the second time around, the experience would feel much much better.
(This post has been edited on August 1, 2016 to accommodate additional images from a recent visit)
Blue Pearl Meat Restaurant
Address: Tugas Street, Piapi, Dumaguete City (coming from the downtown area, it’s about 150 meters before the Absin house/Sta Theresa restaurants).
Business Hours: Sunday-Saturday, 10AM to 10:30PM
Telephone Number: (035) 522-4024
Mode of Payment: Cash Only
