Korean delights in Malaysia

POPULAR Korean restaurant chain Bulgogi Brothers have arrived on Malaysian shores.

Bulgogi Brothers is touted to be one of the top two South Korean casual dining chains and a frequent haunt of Korean celebrities. Its first outlet in Malaysia was recently launched in Paradigm Mall.

The launch was officiated by Kim Sang Mook, director-general of Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency in Kuala Lumpur.

Also present was Chaswood Resources managing director Andrew Reddy.

Big plans: Kim (left), In Tae Jung (second from right), and Mohammed Azlan (right) at the launch.

At the opening ceremony, Asiasons chairman Datuk Mohammed Azlan Hashim said, “The opening of the first Bulgogi Brothers outlet in Malaysia will give locals and tourists alike the opportunity to enjoy authentic Korean barbeque meat, once reserved for royalties, in a comfortable, casual dining setting.”

The newly opened restaurant can seat 80 pax and each table is equipped with a customised built-in table-top induction cooker.

To maintain the brand’s essence and hallmark food quality, most of the key ingredients for its specialty dishes including sauces and broths are imported and food are freshly prepared by trained chefs at the restaurant.

According to In Tae-Jung, chairman of Bulgogi Brothers, Korea, dining in a Bulgogi Brothers outlet in Malaysia is the same as dining in Korea as all furniture are imported from the land of morning calm.

“I did not expect Malaysians to like spicy dishes. At first we were worried that people may think it is too spicy. After asking around, I found out that people are okay with the level of spiciness and some even want it to be more spicy.

“It is confirmed that we will have five outlets in Malaysia but as to how many more we will have in the future, it depends our development plan,” he told StarMetro after the launch.

Tasty: Janchi Guksu, also known as the “party noodles” in Korea, was one of the items served to guests.

His plan is to have Bulgogi Brothers outlets in every country.

“We opened an outlet six months ago in the Philippines, we have customers all day long because they love spicy food.

“We plan to venture into Vietnam and China next year, I have also negotiated with partners for outlets in the USA too,” he said.

The brand was established with the opening of its first outlet in Gangnam, Korea in 2006. Since then, the Korean restaurant has grown to become one of Korea’s leading casual dining chains with some 36 restaurants under its belt including three in the Philippines and one in Canada.

Chaswood Resources Holdings Limited (Chaswood) secured exclusive development rights to operate Bulgogi Brothers outlets in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia in February this year. Through the terms of the agreement, Chaswood will develop at least 20 stores in the said countries by 2018.

Following its flagship outlet in Paradigm Mall, Chaswood will open three other Bulgogi Brothers outlets in the Klang Valley — one each in Pavilion KL, e@Curve and Mid Valley Megamall before the end of 2012.

Bulgogi Brothers is located at Lot G13, Ground Floor Boulevard, Paradigm Mall, Kelana Jaya. For reservations, call 03-7887 3543 or visit fb.com/bulgogibrosmy or www.bulgogibros.com.my