Reviews Chung Mi Rae Korean Restaurant

The staff is very accommodating and friendly. Their banchan is the best so far i ever tasted in all korean restaurant i ever visited. Their sogogi bibimbap is tasty but nothing special. I dont like the taste of the brown liquid they served me (i think it's powdered tea, taste like bland coffee) and best of all after your bountiful meal they will served you a vanilla ice cream! Yum! Affordable and authentic restaurant will try unli samyupsal next!

A Humble Hidden Korean restaurant that serves authentic Korean Barbeque. They have a choice of 5 meats: pork, Beef, chicken, marinated pork and beef. Some of the sidedishes were unique like raw squid! You get free ice cream at the end of the meal as well. The floor was quite slippery/oily though
Even the waiter had trouble walking on the floor. Will try to order ala carte next time.

My favorite neighborhood Korean restaurant! Been going here since childhood and still happy with the food quality and service. Food is nice and home-cooked and the chef/owner was friendly! Would def recommend.

The place was not a eye-catching to a non-Korean food-seeking person. The staff were attentive and the menu choices was better than other Korean restos around focusing on samgyeopsal. The banchan was generous. Primarily came here for soondae gukbap / sundaegukbap but also ordered kimbap which was unavailable so we replaced it with gunmandu and japchae instead. I noticed a picture of Tangsuyuk (sweet & sour pork) on the wall but not on the menu and asked if they also serve ith they do but they don't served jjajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce) which is usually paired with it. Anyway, we liked the non-spicy side dishes, mandu & japchae. Appreciated that my sundaegukbap had blood sausage AND instestines (gopchang) though I found the soup quite lacking in terms of taste. Not a Korean food expert here (as I am not into spicy food) but I'd still recommend this to people who want to try Korean food aside from samgyeopsal ;)

Didn’t expect that their food is great because the resto looks kinda old. Until i read about its history in the internet, it being one of the oldest Korean restos around Tomas Morato. I swear you’ll never regret it especially if you’re used to the taste of real Korean cuisine. And if you once lived in Korea for a long period of time you’ll know it when it’s authentic or not. And Chung Mi Rae’s food tastes authentic.

Chung Mi Rae is a nostalgic place for me as this is our go-to Korean place of my younger sister 10 to 15 years back when we are craving for hot, spicy comfort food that a Korean food gives. It is one of the earliest Korean restaurants in Timog area before Korean food became mainstream that it pops in almost every corner of that area.

The place is non-descriptive on the outside with glass door and wall covered with opaque white sticker that you cannot see what is inside. And its signage just has its name and a description of “Korean Delicacies” that you will doubt that it is a restaurant. And being in the dark corner of the street, it can be easily missed out. But it seems that this is one of the hidden gems of Koreans and Native Chinese in the area, as most of their guests are loyal Korean and Chinese patrons who go there for the food and not much of the ambiance.

Inside, the place looks like an old house that was converted to a restaurant with its walls covered with flowered wall paper. They used to have area in which you seat on cushioned floor to eat (like that of traditional Korean homes) but this were already removed and replaced with ordinary table and chairs.

You can sense that this may be a restaurant started by just a simple family and not the more corporate type owned restaurant (the owner used to manned the cashier but now she is nowhere in sight) and the servers are not in uniforms but they are friendly and know their menu well. And they only have 2 servers on the dining area and with the 3rd staff manning the kitchen thus the service is a bit slow at times.

But the food is deliciously homey. This time, I took my husband here after years of not being able to come back. We had Budae Ji Gae, as we wanted something hot and soupy on a hard rainy day. For P830, it is really good for 4 to 5 people. The soup is perfectly, spicy and kimchi soup that really warms you up on a cold rainy day. Good thing we were famished that day that we surprisingly finished it all. Every time you order, a set of banchan is given free and you can ask for refills for free as well. Their banchan you can say is a bit healthier with more veggie types. Love their Kimchi, sweetened tofu, spinach pancake and spinach banchan.

And what is pleasantly surprising at the end of the meal is that you also get free Korean ice cream for dessert.

Before Korean restaurants started popping up in Tomas Morato, there was Chung Mi Rae, probably the oldest Korean restaurant in the area. It is located along a small street and is quite dark so it is hard to find. Furthermore, the sign says Korean delicacies which one might mistook it for Korean desserts.

The interior is clean and simple, with so,e Korean artworks hanging on the walls. The second floor is where the kitchen is. Many Chinese and Koreans dine here as well. Service, although friendly, is super slow, so it is not recommended to enter here during a famished state. There are only 3 staffs, so it takes awhile before your food goes to your table.

The food, on the other hand, is delicious. They offer a lot of varieties for their banchan. I love the spinach pancake and the caramelized flattened tofu best. Since we are just two and we are craving for some soup on a rainy evening, we opted to order the Budae Chigae. The medium sized version costs about Php830, but the servings are good for 3-4. I remember each of us having three full bowls. The dish is very authentic and complete. I love the blend of ingredients which included: ham, sausage, bacon, tteokbokki (korean rice cakes), enoki mushrooms, tofu, and kimchi. When we asked for our bill, they also gave us free Korean ice cream.

Chung Mi Rae has been in the area for almost 10 years and with good reason. Food is delicious, and price is reasonable.

A korean restaurant that cannot be easily be seen but a good start if you are a korean culture enthusiasts. The place is quite small but the food will not disappoint you.