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Makati eats: West 32 seeks to stand out in samgyupsal-crazy PH

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Jeeves de Veyra

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="West 32 is located at 8464 Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/interiors.jpg"/><figcaption>West 32 is located at 8464 Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- Korean-American restaurant West 32 has opened in Makati&#x27;s Población district to give a taste of its interpretation of Korean food.</p><p>While there are popular examples of other Asian-American restaurants like Benihana for Japanese-American, and Panda Express for Chinese-American, there really is no Korean-American restaurant that easily comes to mind.</p><p>So, what is Korean-American? Jeff Oh, the young restaurateur of Notorious Concepts, the company behind West 32, playfully remarked: “It&#x27;s basis is traditional, but the methods are irreverent. You bend the rules based on what you want. Basically, it’s me!”</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Restaurateur Jeff Oh of Notorious Concepts. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/owner.jpg"/><figcaption>Restaurateur Jeff Oh of Notorious Concepts. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Together with business partner James Thomas, who was behind several Michelin-starred restaurants in New York, they based West 32 on the Korean immigrant experience growing up in Brooklyn. In fact, it got its name from a street in New York’s Koreatown, while the interiors of this intimate space reflect aspects of his story from the white subway tiles and the metal supports shaped to look like Korean temple fixtures, to the concrete tables embedded with shards of green soju bottles.</p><p>Oh gets plenty serious when talking about his heritage cuisine and what they wanted to do at West 32.</p><p>“The heart of Korean traditional food is that a lot of it is borne out of hard times. A lot of it, like kimchi, is fermented food. The meat is a lot of thin cuts with heavy marinades that comes from when meat is very rare. Modern Korean is reflected in that heritage but applying quality and abundance to it,” explained Oh.</p><p>He observed that in the Philippines, there are basically two kinds of Korean restaurants: unli-samgyupsal and super traditional Korean restaurants. Oh and Thomas wanted West 32 to stand out by offering excellent food but with a relaxed ambiance where anyone would feel welcome.</p><p>Oh and his team seem to be at home at Población. Besides West 32, Notorious Concepts also owns a bar, a Filipino restaurant, and will soon open a Japanese-Peruvian restaurant just a few blocks away.</p><p>Here is a peek at the Korean-American menu in West 32.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Some of the drinks at West 32. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/some-of-the-drinks-at-west-32.jpg"/><figcaption>Some of the drinks at West 32. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The bar at the far end has nice drinks like the non-alcoholic Lychee Tofu Goji Berry Shake. But for those who want to loosen up or wind down with a bit of alcohol, West 32 has soju-based cocktails like the refreshing strawberry forward Umeshu Spritzer.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Rose Tteokbokki. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/rose-tteokbokki.jpg"/><figcaption>Rose Tteokbokki. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Rose Tteokbokki could pass for an Italian-Korean fusion dish. I thought that the gochujang cream sauce was tomato at first. This with the mozzarella and the al dente chewiness of the tteokboki topped with fish cake make this a must-order.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Yangneom. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/yangneom.jpg"/><figcaption>Yangneom. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>West 32’s Yangneom, Korean fried chicken, is nicely sweet spicy, with the crunch of the chicken still intact underneath that nice gooey sauce.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Soondubu Jigae. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/soondubu-jigae.jpg"/><figcaption>Soondubu Jigae. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>For fans of &quot;Itaewon Class,&quot; West 32 has its own version of the Soondubu Jigae, the soft tofu stew that the show made popular. This is loaded to the brim with pork, shrimp and clams.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Doengjang JIgae. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/doengjang-jigae.jpg"/><figcaption>Doengjang JIgae. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Doengjang JIgae, fermented soybean stew with beef short Rib, tofu and vegetables, is a popular traditional dish in Korea,</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Chicken Bulgogi. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/chicken-bulgogi.jpg"/><figcaption>Chicken Bulgogi. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Chicken Bulgogi is an example of how West 32 reinterprets the classics. This one is honey gochujang-marinated chicken thighs plated in a way that just would stand rout in anyone’s social media feed.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="West 32 Pork Samgyupsal. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/west-32-pork-samgyupsal.jpg"/><figcaption>West 32 Pork Samgyupsal. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>The West 32 Samgyupsal is perhaps the epitome of the Korean American sensibilities Oh was talking about. This is pork belly cooked sous vide for 10 hours to get it nice and tender then seared with cast iron.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Stone Bowl Bibimbap. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/stone-bowl-bibimbap.jpg"/><figcaption>Stone Bowl Bibimbap. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>It’s best to wait a while to let the stone bowl toast the rice at the bottom to give this bibimbap more texture similar to the socarrat of a Spanish paella.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Two of the desserts at West 32. Jeeves de Veyra" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/life/04/29/two-of-the-desserts-at-west-32.jpg"/><figcaption>Two of the desserts at West 32. <em>Jeeves de Veyra</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>For dessert, try out the Hotteok a la Mode, street food pastry filled with brown sugar syrup, or their version of Banana Milk Pudding</p><p>West 32 is located at 8464 Kalayaan Avenue, Poblacion, Makati City and is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Reservations recommended through their <a href="https://www.instagram.com/west32poblacion/">Instagram</a> </p>

Korean-American restaurant West 32 has opened in Makati's Población district to give a taste of its interpretation of Korean food.