Tummy Prosperity: Colorful Korean Dining Spot by Gamsul Jakarta

I've heard of Gamsul before they opened their door for public for the very first time. Yes, passing the venue, I knew they're coming soon into the gigantic family of restaurants in PIK area. Looking from the outside only, the interior seemed awesome regardless it didn't look that much Korean to me.

Today I was finally exposed to the colorful contemporary design, providing a cozy and spacious spot. It was actually a great idea to bring totally new ambiance for a Korean restaurant since for me it became one of the distinctive points for this restaurant.

Consisting of two storeys, the first floor of this 3-day-old restaurant had a long bar table at the center where you could enjoy the live show from the barista crafting the beer, while sipping from your beverage cup. Whereas the second floor was made as dedicated smoking area, but I could see some people also utilized it for private events including meeting up with friends in large group.

As you might have known, there were several types of Korean restaurants based on the type of dishes they served. Gamsul was the one providing a la carte dishes cooked in the kitchen and served for the guests, so it's not those DIY Korean barbeque :). The selections included Korean noodles and rice, as well as grilled and fried pork, chicken, and beef; simply said the menu you commonly found in any other Korean restaurants.

Having my orders served on the table, I honestly thought it's too pricey considering the portion wasn't as huge as typical ones I usually had with similar price. Luckily, they were still in their opening promo period, for which they had 30% off if you posted your food pictures on Instagram. Nonetheless, let's wish the taste to go beyond expectation so I at least got satisfied with the pennies I paid *fingercrossed*.

I started the course with their Cheese Buldak (IDR 169k) or what's more commonly known as Fire Chicken with Cheese, blending fried chicken, veggies, and (supposedly) tteokbokki or Korean rice cakes in sweet and spicy Korean traditional sauce. You might spot that I put 'supposedly' there, as yes I indeed expected to have those scrumptious rice cakes mixed in this dish yet I couldn't find one. Well, yes I was indeed sharing the dish with my friends so at first I guessed it's just me being unlucky thus I couldn't get it. However as I called it out, apparently only one of us got the tteokbokki and actually even for that piece, he was still doubtful if it's indeed tteokbokki as it's quite small. Yeah, kinda disappointing as we didn't order any additional tteokbokki, expecting that we would have it in this dish. Some of you might think I was stingy (yet I believed some would be in the same boat with me LOL), but sorry to say I wasn't expecting myself to pay this much just for this. It's still fortunate that the chicken was not bad with tender texture and scrumptious taste, but I wanted my tteokbokki please :(.

Cheese Buldak (IDR 169k)

Being typical Indonesian that time, we wanted to have our meals with rice so we ordered their Joo Muk Rice (IDR 89k). For those proclaiming themselves as Korean food lover, you're surely familiar with its ingredients featuring mushroom, various veggies, and seaweed. These fist balls couldn't suit my palate better with its tantalizing flavor and super rich mixture. I rarely loved rice-based dishes yet this one would surely be an exception. If only it didn't cost that much, I would call it the best Joo Muk Rice you would regret for not trying. *PS. 1 portion consisted of 5 pieces with bigger size than the picture; the waitress told us that they intentionally changed ours into more pieces with smaller size as they noticed we're sharing.

Joo Muk Rice (IDR 89k)

Not yet satisfied by the first main dish, we went for another one, Woo Koo Mi (IDR 179k), the pairing of beef and octopus cooked in sweet and spicy sauce as well. Simply said, it was another yummy one with juicy beef slices and decent texture of octopus. I could easily chew it and all the spices were perfectly blended into the whole dish. Voila!

Woo Koo Mi (IDR 179k)

In a nutshell, it was actually a palate-spoiling early-dinner, especially with the second and third dishes being there. If only it could come with more affordable price, I had no doubt to call this new comer as recommended!