Bornga Korean BBQ Restaurant @ City Square Shopping Mall [Johor Bahru, Malaysia]

The very first time i heard of Bornga, it was a negative review; not so much about the food but on the terrible customer service that my colleagues faced at their Vivocity branch.

I personally don't see the point of supporting dining establishments, especially restaurants, with bad customer service and was only mildly keen when friends suggested travelling to Johor where Bornga had another branch. Of course, Johor is in Malaysia with a likely different management.

Without further ado, let's start with the side dishes that often accompanied main Korean dishes and are usually refillable (at least in many Korean restaurants). Nothing spectacular except for the spicy strips of radishes which came with a fresh crunch.

Tray of fresh vegetables; a healthy necessity for any Korean BBQ!

Nothing beats charcoal as the fuel for barbecue! Please be assured that there would be minimal smoke and even if there is, a device would help to reduce the greasy stench on your clothes!

The smoke funnel - a helpful equipment that acts like a vacuum to suck in the smoke! Although quite common nowadays, i am embarrassed to say that it was my virgin experience with it..

Woo Samgyup

Bornga's signature meat - thinly sliced beef brisket in a pool of specially concocted sauce! Given its reputation (and that we have a total of six persons), it's a must to have at least two servings! 

They might look as if there were quite a bit of the meat.

Truth was, the slices shrivelled rapidly in the presence of heat and you should have seen the aghast expressions on our faces; one serving was hardly sufficient to feed even me! 

Whatever the case, it was indeed delicious with a marination that didn't taste as heavy as expected from most barbecued meat in Korean restaurants yet addictive enough to almost entice us to call for a third serving! 

Yangnyum Dwaeji Galbi

Change of grill pan in order to prepare for the grand arrival of a pork based BBQ item. 

Pork ribs marinated in yet another special sauce! Frankly, their dark appearance gave one the impression they were beef rather than pork! 

They were more yummy than the slices of beef brisket; maybe because the texture was chewier and every bite was an automatic generation for more of that delicious meat juice!

Mansinchang Samgyupsal

Bacon is bacon; even if you sprinkle bits of parsley on it. 

I was proven right when i took a bite. The parsley did add to the fragrance but was overall pretty negligible for easygoing taste buds like mine. 

Jap Chae

This was seriously so good that i almost wanted to ask for one plate just for myself! What's amazing was the palatable yet subtle flavour released as i chewed through the noodles; coupled with sesame oil, this should honestly be the signature dish for Bornga!

Budae Jigae

Want to guess what this is?

The popular army stew which came into existence after the Korean War! Ingredients that would give this Korean-American dish away; luncheon meat, baked beans, hot dogs and a slice of cheese! 

Do keep in mind that you might have to wait for around 10 minutes for the stew to come to a boil. 

The taste wasn't as weird as i thought it would be; the broth was darn spicy although the cheese helped by mitigating the spiciness and enhancing the flavour! The Western ingredients in fact went very well with the kimchi and spicy taste! My only complaint? Can we request to add in more ramen?! 

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Wait! Don't leave your table until you are given your complimentary bowl of cold vinegar-based fruit tea! Nowadays, even Ju Shin Jung serves this which was a tad too sour for me. Bring back the sweet rice tea please!!!

Location

106-108, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, MF-23, Level 3, 

City Square Shopping Mall, Johor Bahru

Website (Korean & Chinese)

http://bornga.co.kr/

Price

Woo Samgyup (150g) - RM42

Yangnyum Dwaeji Galbi (250g) - RM33

Mansinchang Samgyupsal (200g) - RM30

Jap Chae - RM30

Budae Jigae - RM65

[Subject to Goods and Services Tax]

Additional Information

Since our dining experience is in Malaysia, the question on many Singaporeans' mind is whether the food at Bornga is cheaper than its Singapore counterpart. 

Answer: it is! As a comparison, Woo Samgyup is S$28 a serving while Budae Jigae is S$42. Based on the current exchange rate of roughly S$1 = RM2.50, the saving to dine in Malaysia is about 39%. 

Foot Massager Vending Machine - The Cheap, Electronic Way @ Platinum Mall [Thailand]

The above cluster at the basement attracted my attention after an hour of walking around Thailand's premier (just because it was air-conditioned) clothing wholesale market; Platinum Mall! 

Known also as Health Chair, its function is unlike the electronic body massager we can find in some shopping centres in Singapore. The machine focuses only on one aspect of your body. Your feet. 

With just a rubber plate for you to place your feet, i am wondering on its effectiveness until Alex gave it a thumbs-up! At only 10 baht (less than S$0.50) for a 10-minute session, i guess it would be well worth the money!

Essentially, the machine touches on two aspects; the vibration and your feet acupoints! Upon inserting your money, the pointy plate would start to vibrate gently before increasing its intensity.

For a more 'shiok' experience, stand up and hold the steel metal bar using your hands! Your weight will contribute to the 'pressure' on your feet and make them more 'comfortable' after the ten minutes are up.

The screen might occasionally tell you what to do, in somewhat broken English. Sometimes, it would be a video of the great nature although its relevance is questioned; a video still of birds flying would not help to reduce the discomfort!

Nearing the end of the session, the vibration would stop and an outlet would start to blow hot air! I have no understanding what the magic for this step was but it sure did relieve the stress on our feet while we continued with the never-ending shopping! 

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Location

Basement, Platinum Mall,

Bangkok, Thailand

Price

10 Baht per Session

Tom Yum Kungfu Mookata (Thai Steamboat BBQ) @ Serangoon Garden [Singapore]

I only heard the word "kungfu" and thought the Great Kon was suggesting "Kungfu Paradise" for dinner until he started mentioning "mookata"; the Thai steamboat BBQ that i was pretty obsessed with at one time! 

Anyway, Tom Yum Kungfu, decked out in cheerful Thai style decor coupled with Thai music, was apparently quite popular among diners despite being a new face at the food-competitive Serangoon Garden area. With the premise filled with patrons, we were hopeful this would be a good meal. 

Siam Chicken

There were quite a number of side orders on the menu and since our food was mainly concentrated on the barbecued and boiled, it would be nice to have "deep fried" added to our guts. 

Similar to KFC popcorn chicken, these were quite good with an added spicy flavour that set them apart from the fast food version. 

Garlic Squid

Thinking this would be similar to the fantastic fried cuttlefish at Taste at Thailand, we were disappointed to find the batter to be on the thick, puffy side; obviously not the type i like. 

Mookata

Using traditional fuel (as in charcoal) for the steamboat, this would be welcome by those who insisted that charcoal based steamboat / BBQ brings out a better flavour in the meat and broth!

Our meat ingredients for the 3-4 persons Mookata; marinated pork, pork belly, scallops, fish cakes and tiger prawns! They were sufficient for the Gang of Four although you may opt to top up the meat (squid, chicken, venison etc) for a nominal fee.

The non-meat in a basket; seasonal vegetables, mushrooms, fried beancurd skin and a pack of Thai Mama Instant Noodles! My mom's friend actually bought us a whole pack and we were delighted with the well-balanced tom yam broth that wasn't too spicy yet sufficiently flavoured to deliver a punch on our taste buds.

Soup at Tom Yum Kungfu needed improvement as it was a bit thin on flavour even after the meat juices from the barbecued items had flowed into it. The flavour improved marginally after the instant noodles were added though.

Oiling the convex metal pan with a natural lubricant; pork lard! 

Here goes the meat and vegetables! At this point, i was anticipating a taste that would be comparable or even better than the ones i had at New Udon Thai Food and Pure Restaurant.

Sadly, i was less than impressed; marination of the pork was very normal tasting and almost alike to what i had at home (to be honest, mom's meat marination was passable with hardly any excitement). Seafood also didn't come by as being super fresh.

I did mention normal; hence, we still managed to clean up everything on the tray and basket. Would we be back again? Nope, i don' think i will. 

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Location

56, Serangoon Garden Way

[Opposite Chomp Chomp Hawker Centre]

Map

As above (red star)

'

Opening Hours

Closed on Monday.

Tuesday - Friday Lunch*: 11.30am -3pm

Tuesday - Friday Dinner: 6-10.30pm

Saturday - Sunday: 11.30am-10.30pm

*serves only set lunch!

Mookata Menu

As above

Price

Large with Tiger Prawns and Thai Mama - $50.90

[Subject to 5% Service Charge & GST]

Pineapple Custard Apples (鳳梨釋迦) - Best Fruit Ever!

Given the numerous postings i have made pertaining to the thorny fruit in this blog, many people assume the fruit i love most is durian. The answer is actually custard apples, specifically the hybrid ones known as pineapple sugar apples that hailed from Taiwan! 

Since we could hardly get them in Singapore, i took the opportunity to 'import' a whole box when i was in Taiwan a few months ago (some of you might remember reading about it in my recent posting).  

Although they have an appearance similar to soursop, the texture was vastly different with a smoother consistency. Eat them only when they are pudgy; unripe sugar apples (as they are also known as) have a grainy bitterness that is a terrible turnoff for my taste buds!

The taste of a good pineapple custard apple should be juicy added with a hint of pineapple sourness that would rightfully be overcome by the overwhelming sweetness shortly after. By the way, one of the ways to gauge the ripeness of the fruit is when the skin could be easily peeled off.