Fantastic Chef | A FUNtastic Unli Korean BBQ Experience

We’re not really a fan of Kpop but we definitely love Samgyeopsal because who doesn’t? It came to a point that we tried making our own samgyeopsal at home so we could enjoy it everytime we crave for it. But perspectives changed one day when we tried dining at this famed Korean Restaurant in Malate: Fantastic Chef. The quality of their food is no match with ours. It’s too unique and delicious that we cannot use our reverse engineering skills!

 

Food

Fantastic Chef offers 10 types of meat (Pork & Chicken) for P499 per person. You can add P50 if you also want beef.

1. Skirt meat
2. Rack
3. Jowls meat
4. Seasoned pork neck
5. Pork belly
6. Thin pork belly
7. Cheek
8. Spicy pork bulgogi
9. Seasoned chicken BBQ
10. Spicy chicken BBQ

Add 50 for:

11. Beef plate
12. Seasoned beef plate

 

 

I appreciate that they have a wide variety of meat selection and at the same time all of those were of good quality.

You don’t have to choose between QUALITY and QUANTITY because they simply offer both! How amazing was that?

 

 

My personal favorites were the Jowls Meat and Beef Plate. Jowls meat is a smoked pork cheek that I never thought I’d be willing to eat. It was just so good that you’ll not think it’s that part of the pig 😜. It was fresh and won’t make you feel too fed up. You will actually crave for more!

 

 

The Beef Plate was served in an appetizing setup and wait until you cook it and you’ll confirm it’s of premium quality based on its aroma and texture, just like all the other meats. What makes it stand out for me is that its beef and I love anything beef! Simple and delicious.

 

 

Segue:

By the way, Jeric and I came here with my mom, my brother Peng and his girlfriend Jeane. Aside from having a great Korean BBQ experience, we also had a memorable family bonding. See that Fantastic Chef also caters to big groups so don’t hesitate to bring your family and barkada here!

As a matter of fact, they have an ongoing 3+1 promo wherein for every group of four (4), one of them gets to eat for free! Promo runs until May 31, 2019, 11am to 4pm daily.

UPDATE: Promo extended until June 30, 2019!

 

 

The cheese dip was sooo good that I ate it as it is (judge me however you want). I can’t remember how many refills we had, and they (my companions) were all blaming me whenever it goes empty! Of course, I also tried it with meat and as expected, it perfectly complemented the taste of the meat!

The lettuce were fresh even in refills. That’s how consistent the quality is. I’m a lettuce person and I will never forgive anyone who hands me a wilted lettuce! (Don’t worry, that’s just an exaggeration *wink*)

 

 

Side dishes served were kimchi, coleslaw salad, fish cake, steamed egg, and japchae. They were all of great quality but what I liked the most were the fish cake and coleslaw salad. The fish cake tastes like our very own fish/squid ball but with a lighter flavor. It’s slightly spicy, not too hot for the tongue. The coleslaw salad was creamy and garden-fresh.

 

Ambiance

I can say that the quality of their food matches perfectly with the overall ambiance of the resto. The overall appearance of the place gives an impression that they serve premium quality korean food.

 

 

The resto has two dining spaces with different theme. The first one is what you’ll see upon entering the resto. It has dark brick walls and artsy appearance. This is also where you’ll see the big Fantastic Chef wall art.

 

 

The second one has an open-air-like theme, but it’s not really open-air as it is air-conditioned. The al fresco-ish impression was because of the huge glass window and indoor plants lined up along the window.

 

 

Both sections are air-conditioned and definitely Instagrammable. Just pick what suits your mood and style.

 

Service

The service is exceptional, no doubt about it. Upon entering the resto a staff readily assisted us. They are also attentive to the guests’ needs. We didn’t had to ask for refills as they were actually the ones who asks if we already need a refill. That’s a major plus point for someone who’s not comfortable calling the staff’s attention every now and then.

 

 

Location

The restaurant is strategically located just along Remedios Circle in Malate, Manila. Public vehicles frequent the location which means it’s commutable. It’s also correctly registered in Waze app so there’s nothing to worry about bringing your own wheels. They also have parking space in front of the store (Malate Branch) but only limited to 4-5 cars I think.

 

 

Address
Malate Branch: 1F 590 Remedios Circle, Malate, Manila
Taft Branch: 2472 Leon Guinto Street, Taft,Manila

 

Price

499php per person for premium quality unlimited samgyeopsal? Worth every penny! Being “unlimited” doesn’t always mean that the quality will suffer. In this resto, you will experience unlimited high quality food. No more no less. Quality and quantity were combined perfectly.

 

 

How I’d rate this resto

Food	★★★★★
Service	★★★★★
Location	★★★★★
Price	★★★★★
Ambiance	★★★★☆
Overall	4.8

 

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Acknowledgement: Many thanks to Sir Angelo of Fantastic Chef for inviting us!
Disclaimer: While our meals were courtesy of the owners, all opinions expressed in this post are my own honest thoughts and are not influenced or controlled by anyone.