KBBQ War: Romantic Baboy vs. Samgyupsalamat

by - Saturday, December 22, 2018

Let's talk about the Korean BBQ craze, shall we? 

I noticed that something I usually crave for is Korean BBQ, and it's probably because I see posts about it so many times a day, seven days a week, all over social media! (social media is the devil to my diet, really) And every time I give in to my cravings, I always find two of the most popular KBBQ restaurants with long queues. What is up with that? 

And with all the debates as to what the best KBBQ restaurant in town is, I decided to make a comparison of the two most popular ones: Romantic Baboy and Samgyupsalamat. Let's get started.

Why these two?
Well, these are the most popular KBBQ chains in Metro Manila. I always see them posted all over social media, and I honestly think that it's going to be a fair comparison between the two since they have lots of similarities, like the fact that they both offer everything unlimited and without a time limit. 

These chains will be compared based on three points: food, location, and pricing. 

1. Food - Sides

COMMON - rice, soup, egg, cheese, gravy, kimchi, scallion salad (in some Samgyupsalamat branches I've tried), lettuce

ROMANTIC BABOY - japchae, coleslaw, chicken fillet, fish cake

Romantic Baboy offers more variety in terms of side dishes, although the taste of these side dishes didn't really carry much weight for me to favor one over the other, except for the spicy soup, where Samgyupsalamat trumps Romantic Baboy. 

1. Food - Meat

Romantic Baboy offers 8 kinds of meat (pork and beef) with different marinades/ seasonings, while Samgyupsalamat offers 9. Their meat choices don't differ by a lot, although Romantic Baboy has one that the other does not, which is the curry beef. However, Samgyupsalamat wins this round (at least for me) in terms of taste, since I found their meats more flavorful compared to Romantic Baboy's, even the plainly seasoned ones. 

2. Location (branches)

Romantic Baboy currently has 19 locations in Metro Manila, most of which are located in Quezon City, and with only one branch down South (BF Homes). Check out a list of their branches here.

Samgyupsalamat, which was established years before Romantic Baboy existed, currently has more than 20 locations in Metro Manila. They also have branches in Tagaytay and Rizal. Check out a list of their branches in Metro Manila here.

3. Pricing

photo from Romantic Baboy's Facebook page

Romantic Baboy's unlimited pork and beef menu is priced at P499 daily, while Samgyupsalamat's varies:

photo from Samgyupsalamat's Facebook page

11am to 3pm
Pork only - P399 per person
Pork and Beef - P449 per person

3pm to 2am
Pork only - P449 per head
Pork and Beef - P499 per head


While it is true that you can get a different experience each time you dine at the different branches of both Romantic Baboy and Samgyupsalamat, I would have to choose Samgyupsalamat as the winner for this KBBQ war. 

Based on the comparison above, these two restaurants offer almost the same items with the same terms and pricing. It just all boils down to taste, an area in which Samgyupsalamat clearly leads. 

Read my post about Romantic Baboy here.
(Post about Samgyupsalamat to follow)

Hungry for more,

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