I haven’t had a free Saturday in a while (where I wasn’t nursing a hangover). My plan was to wake up early, clean the house and maybe get back to studying – but I overslept and woke up past noon. I normally browse through YouTube on my phone when I don’t want to get up and I ended up rewatching old 2NE1 music videos. So basically, I woke up today full-on Korean mode.

I’m fortunate to be living just a few steps away from one of Manila’s unofficial Korean town in Poblacion, Makati. With Spotify’s Korean Daily Mix plugged to my ears, I took a leisurely walk to KTown, making sure I was still aware of the cars behind me (these AKG earphones are good at cancelling noise, ISTG).

I didn’t want to eat something greasy, so KBBQ was not an option. I also still wanted something keto-friendly because I have been cheating a lot recently (I had a donut yesterday, too). I ended up choosing Galbitang (Beef ribs soup) at a neighborhood restaurant called Jumong.

Their Galbitang is at 350 pesos but it already comes with a complete set of side dishes. An advantage of eating alone is that you have all of those for yourself, and they’re refillable, too!

The Galbitang was perfect. The beef falls off the ribs and it wasn’t tough to bite at all. This would have been perfect for a hangover, too! The serving is already quite generous for one person. I skipped on the rice, but had a few refills of the side dishes. I took my time, there was no reason to rush on a Saturday afternoon like this.

While eating, I was listening to my old KPOP favorites from back when I was super into it (this was around 2008 to 2014). I tweeted some of my recommended songs so check my Twitter out for those. The music definitely added to the experience of feeling like actually eating at a neighborhood restaurant in Seoul. I didn’t want to leave the restaurant because it was so hot outside. I almost ordered a bottle of soju, too.

Jumong is at the corner of General Luna and Don Pedro Streets, in Poblacion, Makati. I advise you visit during off-peak hours because they’re usually full during dinner.