Gela Korean Restaurant

The Gela Korean Restaurant is one restaurant that my friends and I go to whenever we feel the urge to eat Korean food.  We frequent this restaurant so much that the owners and the waitresses already know us.

Located along Kalayaan Ave. near Makati Ave., Makati City, Gela Restaurant has a homey feel that makes you feel comfortable whenever you are eating.  In fact, you could stay there for hours and the owner won’t even mind.

We visited the restaurant again this week to celebrate the birthday of our three friends.  It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other and for the first time, we were complete.  One of my friends even brought her boyfriend with her while my mom was with me since we did a little shopping beforehand.

So let’s get on with what we ordered.  We had sangmyeopsal, japchae, kimchi jigae, fried mandu, haemul pajeon, kimbap and rice.  That sounds quite a lot but well, there were twelve of us who ate these.  Add those to the seven side dishes (banchan) that they always serve us (they were refillable by the way) and we had a full stomach by the end of night.  Their food is authentically Korean and does not have the “commercialized” taste that Korean restaurant chains have.  Their kimchi is one of the best that I’ve tasted.  It’s perfectly fermented with just the right balance of saltines, sourness and spiciness.  We also felt the need to splurge that night and ate sangmyeopsal which is basically pork with fat that is roasted and eaten with lettuce.  Haemul pajeon or seafood pancake is an old time favorite of ours together with the fried mandu and kimbap.

Cabbage Kimchi

Banchan made with egg

Radish Kimchi

Tofu!!!

Potato Salad

Cucumber and seaweed kimchi

Another leafy banchan

Kimchi Jigae

Kimbap

Raw sangmyeopsal

Cooking sangmyeopsal

Fried Mandu

Japchae

Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake)

The price of their food is typical for a Korean restaurant.  The cheapest is around P250 ($5.00) while the special dishes may cost up to P800-P900 ($16-$18) which can be shared by five people.

So do I recommend this restaurant? The answer is obviously yes! We wouldn’t go back again and again and again if we didn’t like the food, ne?  And the friendly Korean owners definitely add up to the charm.