A Korean meal is not complete without the banchan or side dishes.

I am an ardent fan of Ruth Kim’s Seoul Barbecue, located in the P. Burgos area in Makati. Housed at a building called Seoul Condo, the restaurant had no visible English name displayed outside.

Through Ruth’s convincing invitation, I again sought another restaurant which also had no visible signboard. Fortunately, the Chung Ki Wa restaurant in Manila was not difficult to find. It was right pass Remedios Church along A. Mabini St., in front of Ram’s House of Wine. Being a 13-year-old restaurant, Chung Ki Wa is one of the classic temples of authentic Korean cooking in Manila. Recently, Ruth, a long-time resident here and a graduate of UST took over and gave this restaurant another breath of life.

Chung Ki Wa, which means a special Korean-style blue roof, is very well known among the business community here. In its earlier days, I even had the chance to visit an anju or Korean pulutan place run by the same owner in the United Nations area.

The restaurant is divided into the second and third floor. The second floor is the tea house area and the third floor is where all the smokeless, infrared grill tables are located. It is good to know that one can have a tableside-grilled Korean meal at anytime of the day, because it is open 24 hours.

The menu presents a wide selection of choices and we did have fun discovering the regular favorites Ruth kept and the new ones she and her husband introduced.

For grilled dishes, recommendable is the U.S. rib eye steak or Deung Shim, which, according to the owners, has the right amount of fat for marbling. The right amount to not to turn off those who don’t want too much fat but want the juiciness.

Both rib dishes, the Seng Galbi (short ribs) and the Yangyun Galbi (marinated ribs) in a special soy sauce marinade were wonderful straight off the tabletop grill and dipped in the light sesame-based sauces or bean chili sauce accompanied by the numerous side dishes or banchan.

Of course, one of the classic banchan dishes is their paper-thin radish in a sweet sour vinegar and wasabi sauce, which is one of the specialties of Ruth’s mother.

One also cannot miss the grilled pork belly or Sam GyupSal wrapped in a fragrant sesame leaf. Since soup is an imperative course in the Korean table, Chung Ki Wa is famous for Kamjatang or hot boned pork with perilla seeds, a reddish, fiery broth of long-simmered pork neck, rich with connective tissue interspersed with meat.

On another day, we started with a Badaechigae with different kinds of meat, vegetables, and cheese. This red, spicy soup is a Korean gumbo of sorts with different kinds of sausages, luncheon meat, and vegetables with the tartness of kimchee and some creaminess from cheese.

The dish stems from the military, as this is a mixed Army soup. There are several lunch places, particularly in the business district, that specializes in this chow. Supposedly, this kind of grub will make you work stronger and sustain you longer. I find the spam to be a “cute” deviation from their very structural and classic styles.

Anyway, if we talk of classics one can always order the Galbichim or braised beef ribs on glass noodles such as chapchee and the basic Ojingeo Bokum or spiced squid. I did order the seafood pancake once, but I preferred the styles with gojuchang (chili bean paste) mixed in for a little more heat.

If one wants rice toppings, one can have the stone pot or Dolso Bibimbap served in stone pot to keep it hot until the last bite.

Regular toppings can be choices from ojingco (squid) to bulgogi (beef) or to a more provincial kalchi jorim (scabbard fish or espada). One presses the rice on the hot stone to create a crust called nurunggi, which is the Spanish counterpart of the paella crust called soccarrat. The soy and sesame fragrances mixed with the caramelized meat essences is of true enjoyment to rice eaters.

As a parting note, on the occasion we had visited this places, it had been rather difficult to stand up and leave. I wonder if it had been from the overeating or from heavily indulging in beer and their traitorous firewater called soju. Or it could have been from both those excesses, which we chefs practice on off hours… aside from other indulgences too…