Jin Joo Korean Grill is a modern Korean barbecue restaurant that serves an interesting mix of classic and innovative dishes. This restaurant is famous for their 8-flavored samgyeopsal including curry, herb, honey garlic, peanut, red pepper, smoky barbecue, soybean, and wine. Many of my friends gave recent positive reviews on their dining experiences at Jin Joo’s branch in Eastwood near our office.
So when I saw a promotion on Metrodeal, which by the way was immediately sold out a few days after, I quickly grabbed the chance and bought a voucher with the advantage of getting “a sumptuous samgyeopsal grill and unlimited side dishes for P149 per person instead of P470.” The promotion, however, was limited to one person per table only.
Following the promotion detail instructions, I made a reservation a week prior to coming. A day before, I called once more to confirm our booking and learned that senior citizen and PWD discounts cannot be used in conjunction with the promo. Since we have 5 senior citizens and 1 PWD with us, I didn’t bother anymore to present the voucher since the discounts would have a higher value to be slashed off our bill. Also, instead of availing of their unlimited samgyeopsal, we chose to order a la carte entrees as there’s plenty of interesting and exciting items on the menu to choose from.
We dined at Jin Joo Korean Grill at The Podium with our family for the joint birthday celebration of my husband and me. 🙂
Review of Jin Joo Korean Grill (The Podium, Ortigas, Mandaluyong)
Ambiance:
The restaurant’s brightly lit interior is mainly comprised of wood elements, contrasted by Instagram-worthy accent walls and pastel-colored chairs that exude a homey vibe. Basically, Jin Joo is for the most part a Korean barbecue spot that offers all-you-can-eat samgyeupsal (as a promotion), grill-your-own meat, along with a few add-on sides, in a welcoming, contemporary dinner locale with cooktop tables.
At the peak of lunch time, the restaurant looked reliably busy, buzzing with the full-throttle energy of friends and families chowing and imbibing in cheery excess. Good thing I had reserved large tables for our party of 15 people. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have gotten free tables at all.
Food:
The menu places emphasis on different flavors and types of samgyeopsal, so it’s a good sign not to miss it. Each of us had a generous slab of Samgyeopsal (PhP 390). An order already includes “banchan” or Korean fixings, such as kimchi, seasoned sweet potatoes, stuffed cucumber kimchi, seaweeds, stir-fried dried anchovies, bean sprouts, etc. and a bottomless basket of leafy green lettuce.
The staff facilitated the cooking and helped us cut the pork into bite-size pieces. And at just the right juncture, when the pork has been cooked to an irresistible crispiness, we dove right in and began eating. Each piece of meat had a good amount of lingering juiciness. However, when paired with either lettuce or the glistening fluffy rice, the grilled pork belly wasn’t fully impressive, especially when it’s not dipped into the soy bean paste and sesame oil. Perhaps it’s because it was only rubbed with salt and pepper.
Expecting a bit more than the plain and simple mainstay samgyeopsal, we ordered what’s supposedly their best offering, Jin Joo’s 8 Flavours (PhP 1560), for bolder flavors of marinated meat. It offered the familiar comforts of Korean grilled pork belly but with more exciting flavors and aromas. This is great to share with a group of 3-4 people. Imagine intense porkiness with various spices, with some parts of pork enveloped with fat. Yum!
Beef Bulgogi (PhP 390) was a winner for the mouth and the eyes. It came as a fusion dish of fried shrimp, vegetables, sweet corn, and Korean spicy bbq sauce. The thinly sliced beef were tender, juicy, and slightly sweet and salty.
Dolsot Beef Bibimbap (PhP 400) also came with beautifully arranged vegetables, mushrooms, fried tofu, and Korean spicy bbq sauce, all topped with fried egg cooked just right. The flavors were enough to please our palate. Mixed with rice, this dish can be addictive and very filling. On a hot pot, it was hot indeed from the first to our last bite.
Japchae (PhP 350) was one of our best-loved dishes. It came with a light and refreshing taste, made with sweet potato noodles, beef strips, assorted vegetables, and sesame oil. The stir-fried glass noodles had a bouncy texture, and the sauce was sweet and savory.
If you’re into spicy food, Jin Joo’s Fire Chicken with Cheese (PhP 890) is a must-try. It was served on a cheese fondue dish in a large cast-iron plate of barbecue-glazed fire chicken with sticky Korean rice cakes (tteokbokki), onions, sweet potatoes, and lots of shredded mozzarella and cheddar.
The staff helped us cook the dish on our table, and we saw how the cheese melted into a delicious golden lava. How can you say not to a generous amount of melted cheese on top of spicy caramelized chicken chunks? It’s like comfort food taken to a whole new level!
Jin Joo Korean Grill isn’t vegetarian-friendly. For my dad who’s a vegetarian, we ordered Hameul-Pajeon (PhP 380) but we asked for the assorted seafood ingredients to be removed. It turned out to be a plain pan-fried spring onions pancake with special dipping sauce. We’re glad they accommodated our request even when it wasn’t on the menu specifically.
Price for Value:
Order your heart out at Jin Joo Korean Grill at The Podium where a dazzling variety of Korean food awaits. It’s not the cheapest and prices could use some sprucing up, but for decent samgyeupsal and tasty banchan without having to travel to Korea, it’s the place to go. Call ahead to reserve and brace for variable service depending on the crowd.
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
Hubby and I love Samgyeopsal and truly enjoy the cuisine from appetizer down to the last grilled entree. We will check this out when we visit Manila this year.
What a beautiful restaurant! I love the decor and the booth seating looks so comfortable. Of course, the food looks amazing too.
I love Asian food but never had Korean. Samgyeopsal sounds great and I would love to try it. I am sure there pork and beef are amazing.
I love Korean food. I would love to visit this place. I recently discovered a Korean supermarket near my house and i now visit it weekly.
Great review! Love the ambience of this restaurant. I also love that the prices are affordable and your food looks delicious.
Don’t know if I have ever had real Korean food. All looks so delicious. The restaurant looks wonderful.
I love Korean food and don’t get to eat it often enough. This looks like a place worth bookmarking if I ever make it to Manila.
What a great atmosphere! It sounds like their are some really tasty things on the menu to choose from.
I miss eating Korean food. I sometimes cook a dish similar to what we used to eat in Korea.
It looks like a good restaurant overall, even though the plain pork wasn’t that impressive. I would like to try it out one day.
Oh my goodness that looks so good. I’m hungry right now but you’re review made me want to go there.
I can totally see why this place would get so busy… especially during lunchtime! It looks absolutely charming and the food looks amazing!
Sounds like a fantastic place to enjoy Korean food. Love the ambiance, it’s super comfy to eat there and just enjoy your time with family and friends. The food looks good too!
The food looks amazing and so does the atmosphere…but the coupon deal isn’t so great. Everyone should get to take advantage of such a great price!
Wow, this restaurant looks awesome. My husband would love to eat here, al the pictures look delicious!
Wow I am so impress that there so many good restaurant now in the Philippines. Last time I was there , not much selection when it comes to good food and ambiance. I love this rest!
Korean cuisine is so delicious! I would love to check out this spot if I am nearby!
I have never been to the Philippines and I have read so much about your country. I love that there are so many great food finds there too. I wish I could visit Manila probably this year. Will add Podium on the malls to visit.
Jin Joo Korean Grill
The Podium, Second Floor, ADB Ave, Ortigas Center, Pasig, Metro Manila
Korean BBQ
Cheeezzy Corner
21 points
6 hours ago
I’m very disappointed sa serving nila, nag dinner kmi ng hubby ko podium branch. Then nag avail kmi ng 30% discount sa eatigo, pag ba nag avail ka sa eatigo kailangan limited lng ang serving.? Tinipid kmi sa lettuce Naka dalawang serving lng sila at take note manager pa yata nila yung nag sserved samin. Pero bago pa mag start nag sabi naman sya na bka isang served lng daw ng lettuce ang mabibigay nia at rice nlang daw ang kapalit pero sa ibang table marami pa silang siniserved na lettuce, bkt unfair??? so ano yun porket nag avail lng kmi sa eatigo kailangan konti lng ang serving???? Then nag order din kmi ng beef Chadolbegi pero ang konti lng! 12 pcs lng! Dati nasa 17pcs binilang talaga nmin kasi nag taka na kmi bkt ganun lng 😢. Sayang favorite ko pa nman si Jinjoo actually pang 4 na beses na nmin kumaen ng asawa ko sa Jinjoo 3 beses sa Podium branch at 1 sa Eastwood. Pero habang tumatagal hindi na nmin naeenjoy kasi ang konti na ng serving nila!!😢 actually hindi kmi nabusog kasi ng tinipid lng kmi. 😤😤😤😤😤
Rooooooccch!! Subukan namin ni GF ‘to mamaya! hehehe :)))
Regards din kay Louie! 😀