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If not for spam snail mail, ie. flyers, we wouldn’t have stumbled across Bonjuk, a Korean porridge restaurant. I was sifting through the mail last night, and this caught my attention as I’d seen the place at Desa Sri Hartamas, but never felt inclined to go in coz I thought it was just another *normal* Korean restaurant. But a porridge restaurant? This is new!

Anyways, after dropping hubby’s car off at the service centre this morning, we decided to try it out since the restaurant opens at 8am. When we arrived, two customers had already finished their breakfast…talk about waking up really early!

The restaurant is nicely done up in dark wood, with a tv on top of the entrance playing Korean music videos. There also appears to be a little corner to surf the internet, with some magazines for customers to read.

Hubby decided to try the Black Sesame Porridge, while I’d already set my heart on having the Mushroom and Oyster Porridge after reading the flyer last night. The porridge comes in two sizes, large and medium, whereby the medium size is about 65% of the large portion.

While waiting for the food to arrive, Andrew Kim, the owner, came over to chat for awhile and told us about the background of the restaurant. Bonjuk is actually a franchise…there are already 700 Bonjuk restaurants all over Korea, Japan and US, and this one here in Desa Sri Hartamas is the first one in South East Asia. The restaurant places emphasis on health and unlike many places, the porridge here is not pre-cooked. So while it might take abit longer for the food to be served, you can be assured that it’s freshly cooked.

Our orders arrived shortly, and boy…does it look good, especially to a tummy growling for breakfast! The porridge is served with kimchi, shredded slices of beef, and…I forgot what was the last thing…I think it’s chilli pickle(?). Ohh…and a small bowl of cold radish soup. We eagerly dug in…and it was GOOD. Hubby’s black sesame porridge was somewhat interesting…it’s like eating a non-sweet version of the black sesame dessert! It’s very smooth and creamy, me likey!

As for my mushroom and oyster porridge, it tasted like…come on…say it with me…mum’s cooking! It’s slightly sweet, probably from the mushrooms and oysters, and oh-so-very tasty. The cold radish soup threw an interesting mix to the dish. It’s slightly sweetish-sourish, and I tried taking one spoonful of hot porridge, one spoonful of radish soup vs. mixing the soup together with the porridge…it’s nice both ways!

In addition to porridge, Bonjuk also serves bibimbob, and according to Andrew, they also plan to have some healthy desserts as well. As for drinks, there are a few different types of tea to choose from…hubby had the Date Tea, while I ordered Aloe Tea. Both were equally good.

I would definitely love to come back here for dinner to try the Seafood Combination Porridge, while hubby already has his eye on the Sweet Pumpkin Porridge. There’s also a Vegetable Combination Porridge…I suppose this should be suitable for vegetarians.

Pricewise, some people may find it on the high side, especially for a bowl of porridge, but I think it’s quality over quantity…the ingredients are fresh, and the food is prepared when you order it.

Definitely two thumbs up for this place!

Bonjuk
No. 18, Ground Floor
Jalan 25/70A
Desa Sri Hartamas
03-2300 2302 (call 20 minutes in advance to order for takeaway)
http://www.bonjukmalaysia.com (do check out the website as they have droolworthy photos of all the different types of porridge served there!)
Open daily from 8.00am to 10.00pm, Monday to Saturday (close on Sunday)