Among these restaurants, the most popular would have to be Romantic Baboy. Established in 2018 with its first branch in Tomas Morato, Quezon City, Romantic Baboy is one of the first samgyeopsal restaurants to offer an eat-all-you-can menu. Now with almost a hundred branches all over the Philippines, it's no surprise that Romantic Baboy is a household name when it comes to Korean barbecue.
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| Romantic Baboy - the place to be for meat lovers. |
There are currently six Romantic Baboy branches here in Laguna, and thankfully, one of those branches is in my hometown. The San Pablo branch opened in July 2021. Back then, they were a lot more stringent when it comes to health and safety protocols, like doing temperature checks, filling out health declaration forms, and presenting vaccination cards. These days, they're a lot more lenient - they just ask you to fill out their log book with your name, contact number, and time of entry.
After logging in, you will be asked to wait a bit as they prepare your table. You will be ushered to your seat once they've set the table with banchan (side dishes), sauces, melting cheese, and lettuce. Likewise, the grill will be ready with fresh charcoal underneath, and seasoned egg on the side.
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| Ready to grill! |
Romantic Baboy's selection of side dishes includes kimchi, danmuji (pickled radish), coleslaw, pa muchim (scallion salad), eomuk bokkeum (stir-fry fish cake), and goguma mattang (candied sweet potatoes). I actually like their scallion salad, which reminds me of the pa muchim served in my favorite samgyeopsal restaurant in Hongdae. Their fish cake is okay too, but I do believe my version of eomuk bokkeum tastes better, haha.
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| Banchan galore! |
As for the dipping sauce, they have the traditional ssamjang, sesame oil, salt and pepper, and spicy sauce (which kinda looks like a watered down version of gochujang to me). I usually dip the meat in ssamjang and sesame oil, because that's how they usually do it in Korea.
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| The Romantic Baboy menu. |
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| They also have a seasonal menu. |
Speaking of meat, Romantic Baboy has eight types of meat in their regular menu. This includes Herb Samgyupsal, Woo Samgyup, Moksal, Daepae Samgyupsal, Yangnyum Galbi, Jeyuk Style Daepae, Bulgogi, and Spicy Beef. To start your grilling experience, you will be asked to choose three different types of meat which will be served in wooden platters. Marinated meats, on the other hand, are served in bowls.
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| Herbed Samgyupsal. |
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| Daepae Samgyupsal. |
I've pretty much tried them all, and the Herb Samgyupsal is my hands-down favorite. If you prefer a shorter cooking time, Daepae Samgyupsal is a winner too, since the meat is thinly sliced. Their marinated meats (particularly the Yangnyum Galbi and Bulgogi) are pretty good as well, but they tend to burn the grill faster and make the flames flare up.
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| Grilling! |
They also have a special menu and a seasonal menu. Included in the special menu are Cheese Scallops, Smokey Samgyupsal, and Bulgogi Chicken. Listed on their seasonal menu are Mak Chang (pork entrails) and Smoked Duck. The meats on the seasonal menu are hard to come by, while the Cheese Scallops are a must-try. They're chewy but super tender, and they taste like the sea, if you know what I mean.
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| First batch of meat. :) |
As I have mentioned earlier, it's eat-all-you-can at Romantic Baboy. Everything on their menu is unlimited, so you can always order for more. Even the side dishes are unlimited, too. (I usually ask for egg, cheese, and lettuce refills, hehe.) You can also ask for rice and gochujang jjigae (Korean spicy stew), which they will also refill if you ask for second, third, or more helpings. All these for only Php 549. Definitely worth the price, if you ask me.
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| Samgyup buddies. :) |
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| Lunch time at Romantic Baboy. |
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| Romantic Baboy at night. |
Romantic Baboy
2F Lynderson Arcade
San Roque - Sta. Monica Road
San Pablo City, Laguna
