a BLUE dinner

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My friends have a knack for discovering new restaurants in the vicinity and sometimes invite me to eat there with them. For this occasion, Krishna and Ate Mary asked me to join them for dinner at Blue, a Korean restaurant that I can't believe I didn't even notice when I traverse the route to and from IRRI. 

I was quite curious as I parked in front of Blue Hotel and Resort because the name of the place is still Korean House. I was also wondering if the food here is comparable with Seoul Kitchen.


The entrance to the restaurant was impressive. After parking our cars, we were faced with a set of stairs which led to a space surrounded by glass... the warm lighting definitely helped get me excited about the food.

Once inside, however, I was struck by the mismatch of the decor with the cuisine being served. The furniture suggested that we were in a restaurant that serves tea and crumpets. It was enough to get me confused... we were ordering Korean dishes after all.

Photo by Krishna
When the food came, we were happily surprised that we could get vegetable refills as many times as we wanted and that we didn't need to because the first serving had a big portion of veggies already. The pork we ordered was also delicious. 

Although the food was good, I was still disconcerted by the surroundings. This made me realise why restaurants really take ambiance and choice of flatware and silverware into consideration: mismatch can lead to lost appetites and non-returning clients. To me, therefore, Blue still needs to come into its own. That is, the restaurant management needs to figure out what experience it wants to convey to its customers; it can't be just good food after all. 

I'd probably return. But I'll wait until the restaurant matures, I think. Until then, I'll find my weekly Korean cuisine fix elsewhere.

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