Bonjuk & Lunchbox Café
[Non-halal] Bonjuk 본죽, the popular Korean rice porridge franchise, has made a comeback in Damansara Jaya. Bonjuk used to operate as an outlet in Hartamas but had since closed down. Now it has reincarnated as a new outlet with the name Bonjuk & Lunchbox Café.
Bonjuk & Lunchbox Café
Located just above Boon Signature Roast Pork, Bonjuk offers a simple space for homely Korean food catered for the local community.
Aside from the popular Korean porridge offerings, this outlet also offers healthy lunchboxes and kimbap catered to the office crowd, and families in the vicinity. Bonjuk seems to be popular with the latter as it is located next to a popular tuition centre.
Bonjuk is also popular on food delivery apps, and offers catering service via Whatsapp.
Bonjuk offers porridge, lunchboxes and more
Priced at RM31-40, Bonjuk’s lunch boxes feature dishes such as Beef Bulgogi, Dakgalbi, Stir-fry Octopus, and BBQ Pork Belly, with side dishes and purple rice.
Kimbaps offered here include Beef Bulgogi (RM23), Cheese (RM21) and Ham (RM34).
Bonjuk also serves Korean fried rice, bibimbap, jeon and volcano gamjatang.
Here for the porridge
But we were here for Korean porridge.
There are 10 savoury porridge on the menu – ranging from the healthiest Vegetarian Porridge (RM29) made with five types of veggies, to Shrimp Porridge (RM32) and the most extravagant Samgae Abalone Porridge (RM46).
Depending on what you order, Bonjuk uses chicken or beef stock as the base.
Samgae Porridge is hearty and healthy
For something healthy and wholesome, the Samgae Porridge (RM36) hits the spot for us.
Made with chicken stock and boiled for more than an hour, the porridge is thick and creamy with a robust chicken stock taste. The porridge is made more wholesome with the generous amount of diced carrots, zucchini, dates, and a ginseng root added.
This porridge might be the best dish to cure an ailment, but it was good enough to enjoy on any occasion/temperament.
Octopus Kimchi Porridge
Nevertheless, it was the Octopus Kimchi Porridge (RM38) that caught our eye with its fiery red colour.
This porridge is not for the faint-hearted as the spiciness (thanks to the kimchi) builds up after a while. It’s spicy and addictive.
The octopus in the porridge were actually cooked well with a good bite, and it was not chewy or rubbery at all. We liked the bits of kimchi and sesame seeds/crushed seaweed to provide some earthiness.
Summary
We enjoyed the two porridge offerings, and would come back to try their healthy lunch boxes. Note that the space is quite small with only a handful of tables, as Bonjuk seems to mainly cater to deliveries.
Bonjuk & Lunchbox Cafe
Address: 75A, Jalan SS 22/19, Damansara Jaya, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Hours: 10am-3pm, 4pm-9pm (Closed on Wednesdays)
Phone: 03-7733 5533
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