MIDO Korean BBQ Restaurant, SS2 Petaling Jaya

Don’t be intimidated by the double-barrel ancient-looking thick wooden door which guards the entrance to Mido – latest Korean restaurant that’s opened in SS2 Petaling Jaya. The exposed brick walls on both sides of the door reinforce the traditional ancient slant of Mido’s facade, as designed by one of its owners, Joseph Lee.

Push open the wooden doors – it’s like stepping into a traditional Korean house with warm brown tones everywhere. Bamboo blinds, Korean masks and other knick-knacks are hung against the hand-painted walls, worked over long hours by Joseph and his crew. Every painstaking detail in Mido is sketched and etched by Joseph himself with help from his staff. It’s truly a labour of love.

Once seated and orders placed, the free-flowing Banchans and salads came. The requisite tangy kimchi, pickles, sautéed vegetables and refreshing salads quickly filled up our table. As we were going to have BBQ meats, baskets of crisp lettuce leaves also appeared.

In between slurping their “house soup” made from creamy pureed pumpkin and sipping Makkoli (traditional Korean rice wine), we waited while the service staff placed Marinated Chicken (RM28 for 200g), Pork Collar (RM30 for 200g) and Marinated Pork (RM33 for 200g) next to the grill.

The smoke absorption and exhaust system has been carefully installed underneath tables and I must say it’s very effective as I didn’t get much of the smokey smells on my clothes.

The marinated meats had a concoction of sauces and premium fresh Korean soy sauce mixed in and the non-marinated meats had been aged for about a week to ensure the flavours are all compressed inside. The crew will grill the meats (unless you want to do it yourself) and serve them to you. The grilled meats were tender and juicy and I was happy to note the marinade was not overwhelming as various types of dipping sauce were also served.

While waiting for the meats to be cooked on the grill, my foodie friends and I had plates of Seafood Pancake (RM25), Korean Fried Chicken, both normal and spicy versions and a plate of glistening Spicy Pig Skin (RM20). Joseph taught us to dip the pieces of chewy pig skin in the accompanying bean powder and that altered the mouthfeel of this unexpected porky treat.

I liked the Seafood Pancake which had a good portion of shrimps and squids, made more enjoyable when accompanied by the makkoli.

I found the fried chicken wings to be average.

It was a cool and wet evening so the Bulgogi Casserole (RM48) and Kimchi Casserole (RM45) were welcome sights. Slivers of tender beef simmered in the sweet soy broth together with mushrooms, vegetables and glass noodles.

The Kimchi Casserole had lighter flavours with a punchy tang. We had our fill of vegetables, mushrooms, chicken sausages, Korean rice cakes (tteokbokki) and glass noodles which were bubbling merrily away in the hotpot.

Mido’s offerings are simple hearty fuss-free fares. The menu is not too extensive as they want to focus on serving tasty authentic dishes – the usual classic favourites like Sam Gyetang, Beef Galbi Jjim, Bibimbap and Naengmyeon are featured. For a tummy-satisfying meal in quaint traditional Korean ambience in the Petaling Jaya area, this is just the place for you.

MIDO
11-G Jalan SS2/64
47300 Petaling Jaya
Tel: 03-7865-9779
(same row as Pelita and across the road from MacDonald’s)
Open 11.00am till 11.00pm