A-Won in Alabang: Your Favorite KBB-Q Grilled The Traditional Way
Updated as of October 11, 2019
If you’re one from the south then Alabang is one to consider for a quick food trip as the neighborhood exudes a relaxed community with high-end food centers one cannot resist.
One among them is A-Won, a Korean restaurant owned and overseen by a Korean eomoni or mother. It is a spacious and cozy place to enjoy various Korean delicacies that are centered on Korean home cooking.
The best items to enjoy here are the Korean meat barbecue. Compared to other restaurants and despite the modern design of their grill tables, A-Won upholds the traditional way of cooking Korean barbecue which is with the use of charcoal. They only use coconut charcoal produced in Davao. The use of coconut charcoal is said to contribute to the flavor and aroma of the meat.
Grilled Beef Ribs and Samgyeopsal
Some of the must-try barbecue meat items are Saeng-galbi or Grilled Beef Ribs (Php 550-Php 1050) for beef lovers and Samgyeopsal or Grilled Pork Belly which is a very reasonable treat at Php 350. Whether its beef or pork, any meat at A-Won is juicy and delicious as long as you cook it well on the grill. You can cook it by yourself or let the expert staff cook it to perfection while you watch and wait.
Saeng-galbi or Grilled Beef Ribs (Php 550-Php 1050)
Samgyeopsal or Grilled Pork Belly (Php 350 per order; minimum of 2 orders)
For each order of barbecue meat, different kinds of sides and leaves are served. For the uninitiated, the Korean style of eating the barbecue is by wrapping the meat in a vegetable leaf together with any of the sides served.
The usual sides are ssamjang (Korean spicy dipping sauce), gochujang (red chili paste), pajeori (spicy green onion salad), kimchi, garlic, and green chili pepper.
But even before samgyeopsal was a big thing, another popular, delicious and healthy dish to try is their Bibimbap (Php 350), which has generous toppings of vegetables, beef strips, and egg.
Bibimbap (Php 350)
If you’re craving for some Korean cuisines in a less crowded place, then A-won should be your next food trip stop! The place might not be as fancy as your go-to place for sangyeopsal but it doesn’t disappoint your cravings. A true embodiment of ‘don’t judge the book by its cover’.
How to get here:
- A-Won Alabang is at the Second Floor of Commercenter, Commerce Ave Cor. Filinvest, Alabang, Muntinlupa, City.
- By car: Head South on Metro Manila Skyway to Alabang/South Station toll. Exit on the left onto Alabang-Zapote Rd, then turn left onto Filinvest Avenue. Coffee Syndicate is located on the ground floor of Commercenter.
- By public transport: Take a P2P bus to Alabang Town Center. From there, walk south toward Commerce Ave, then turn left onto Commerce Ave. Continue walking until you turn right onto Filinvest Ave. Commercenter will be on your left.
This first appeared in Philippine Primer’s Japanese and English Magazine May 2019 issue and also appeared in October 2019 issue.
