Nam Moon Korean BBQ 南门 in Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru. Update 2019

Nam Moon Korean BBQ restaurant was the first post on Korean food in Johor Kaki blog. It was way back in 2012 when this blog was not yet ½ year old. Back then, I tried only their kimchi soup set lunch. This time, we tried their BBQ set. It was good, though pricing was marginally higher than average.

Nam Moon Korean BBQ was quite large inside, spanning two shop lots. There were normal tables and also those traditional sunken well type platforms for table top BBQ. I like the sunken wells where we can put our feet. Nam Moon doesn't have the "elephant trunk" type of exhaust.

Truth be told, I couldn't remember clearly how Nam Moon looked back in 2012. In those early days of Johor Kaki blog, I didn't take pictures of restaurant interiors.

I took a peek at Nam Moon's set lunch menu. The kimchi soup set which I had seven years ago was still there. Price have gone up a little from RM10 to RM12 - totally reasonable for the 7 year gap.

Today, I came with a partner in crime to tackle their BBQ set.

The ban chan (small side dishes) came very fast in a trolley. I counted 14 small dishes. They were all OK though none left any deep impression.

The set come with unmarinated pork belly and pork jowl.

The staff helped us with the cooking quietly and efficiently.

Customers have the option for the cooking to be done in the kitchen or right there at the table. Cooking in the kitchen spare the customers of cooking fumes and smells. Us? We want all of that lah 😄 already paid for it whaat..... 😝

The pork was cooked on a charcoal fired smokeless table top stove. We didn't feel the heat at the table and was quite comfortable.

Besides the unmarinated pork belly and pork jowl, the set come with pork spare rib marinated with a sweet savoury sauce.

The staff cut the meat into bite size squares once the cooking was done.

I liked the pork belly and pork jowl because I can taste the natural sweetness in the tenderly juicy meat and fat. There was also a bit of nice toasty taste from the lightly seared outside.

The marinated pork spare ribs tasted a bit sweetish like sweet char siew or bak kwa. They were lean (no fat) but tender.

Pro-Tip 1. We requested for a pause between cooking the unmarinated and marinated meats. The interval allowed us more time to slowly enjoy and appreciate the different meats.

Pro-Tip 2. We watched the cooking process and informed the staff when we felt the meat was already cooked to the doneness we like. We like it just done, so that the maximum tenderness and juiciness is retained.

The staff, through quiet, was very obliging and professional 👍

We enjoyed the grilled pork ssambap (lettuce wrap) style.

The set come with a seafood pancake. The slices of fried cake were tenderly chewy soft inside with a nice crisp outside. It was sweet savoury with a nice underlying crustacean umami taste from the shrimps embedded inside. Sweetness came from the batter and julienned carrot and chives. We enjoyed Nam Moon's seafood pancake a lot.

The set also came with a miso tofu soup (of which I forgot to take a dedicated photo 😂 ). It tasted really good - there were layers of savouriness, sweetness and mild spiciness. I especially enjoyed the complex savouriness of the fermented bean paste. The miso tofu soup went especially well with simple white rice and really whetted our appetite for all the BBQ meats.

Nam Moon still serve their customary traditional warm mildly sweet spicy honey ginger tea to customers after meals.

Information for you 👉 Nice convenient location in Taman Pelangi, tasty food, efficient service, slight premium over similar restaurants but prices still very reasonable. One of the good options for Korean BBQ (or a simple Korean set lunch) in JB.

Restaurant name: Nam Moon Korean BBQ
Address: 31, Jalan Perang, Taman Pelangi, Johor Bahru (beside Restoran Ah Kaw)
GPS: 1°28'55.0"N 103°46'25.5"E 🌐 1.481930, 103.773737
Tel: 07 331 5573
Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm

Non Halal

Date visited: 12 Jan 2019

Johor Kaki Korean BBQ list 👈 click

I needed a change from the heavy meaty stuff I had been eating lately, so I popped into Nam Moon 南门 Korean BBQ and ordered their kimchi soup set lunch to "detox".

The set lunch comprises 11 separate items neatly and beautifully presented in traditional Korean style. This whole set costs a reasonable RM10 (SGD4).

The kimchi soup came in a claypot and it was furiously popping hot steam bubbles when it was brought to the table. I had to wait a while for the steam to subside before I could take these photos. And, I have to show you two pictures of the kimchi soup in order to do justice to the generous variety of different fresh ingredients loaded inside. The hot broth tasted slightly sweet, sour, salty and spicy. All the flavours were subtle and just right - nothing harsh or biting.

Next, a parade of some of the different delicious side dishes or banchan in Korean, to feast your eyes.

Besides good food at reasonable prices, the service staff at Nam Moon Korean BBQ were very friendly and attentive.

Customers were also offered this complimentary chilled traditional Korean ginger tea 생강차. Made from ginger preserved in honey, the ginger tea was very sweet and slightly spicy hot - I love it.

Nam Moon 南门 Korean BBQ is definitely a good place for a tasty Korean style meal at affordable prices. The restaurant is also well equipped with several smokeless BBQ grills with comfortable sunken seating. I am coming back for these.