Food Blog | Gamtan Meat Shop | Korean BBQ | Sri Hartamas | Mont Kiara

In an area already crowded with other Korean restaurants - namely Busan Zip, Dae Sam Sik Dang, and Buldojang, I was quite surprised to see another new challenger, in Gamtan Meat Shop. It is a seriously popular new Korean BBQ restaurant in Sri Hartamas attracting large crowds and long queues. Here’s what I thought of it!

Is it Halal

No. Highly recommend avoiding this place if you’re looking for halal food because all their signatures - and the reasons for which I will be recommending this place - are pork. Hence, I won’t even bother telling you what is potentially halal here.

Where it Is

It is located right beside the chicken rice restaurant - 1977 Ipoh Chicken Rice, on the same row as Ice Cream Bar and Cor Blimey Fish & Chips. I came here on a weekend - I generally advice coming here earlier, as that’s when you won’t have to queue. From what I see, the queue starts building up around 6pm. This was when the first group of customers had to wait for a seat.

Address: 74, Jalan 27/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur

Operating Hours:

Weekdays | 12 - 3pm ; 5 - 12 midnight
Weekends | 12 noon - 12 midnight

What it Costs

Whilst I will generally recommend the food here, I will admit. The prices here are a bit steep. A meal for two would be roughly RM90 per person - and this is considering that we didn’t order any drinks (they have free water, as with most other Korean BBQ restaurants). Here’s the breakdown of what we had for two:

Most people who will go in a group of 2 would be tempted to order their Gamtan Set (Butcher’s Cut + Collar) - RM136, which they say is for 2 to 3 people. Generally, I will say that you don’t really need to order this set. I think the meat from the 300g is more than enough, if you want more, I think it’s probably more worth it to order other dishes like the pajeon and the tteokbokki.

The additional note to make would be that you will only be able to order 1 portion of that Butcher’s Cut 300g per table, so I can’t help but feel that this way of ordering is probably the most efficient way to sample most of their menu.

You can see the full menu below:

Just as a reference point for price range. For two, my meal came up to RM110 for Dae Sam Sik Dang and RM178.65 for Busan Zip.

How it Tastes

I think the simplest way to describe the experience here is that it is very Omakase-esque. The idea is that they have different cuts of meat, and different ways for you to enjoy the meat. What’s nice is that they will have one of their staff members cook all the meat and the mushrooms before telling you what cut of meat it is and how to enjoy it with their selection of toppings / seasonings.

What you’ll see here is probably my favourite among their offerings: their tonkatsu variant. It is a sauce that you dip it in before you dredge it in tonkatsu flakes. A really interesting way to enjoy Korean BBQ. I really like the pairing of the tonkatsu flakes and the BBQ meat. A unique combination that I’ve never had before, and that sauce really has that zing that ties the two together.

The next one they showed us was a more simple one, just with salt. A simple combination that most people will naturally enjoy.

Another one that is really unique is their squid topping. Honestly, really loved this combination, but I can understand why those that are more health conscious might want to steer clear of this dish. Really savoury, really full of flavour! Another really unique way to enjoy your Korean BBQ meats!

One thing I’m not sure about though, is why they gave wasabi. It wasn’t really mentioned to be trialled with any particular meats, so I can’t really explain the reason for giving the wasabi other than the fact that they just wanted to fill the sauce plate with one more thing.

I do think that this is a place where the lettuce is almost needed. Otherwise, the meat feels a bit filling on its own. Their mix of sauces and toppings make it a really nice place to eat with lettuce. This is one of the few times that I’ve gotten a refill for lettuce.

Overall, I like their selection of banchan. They don’t discriminate anything - you can refill everything (of course within a reasonable limit) - so technically you can still get your noodle fix with their Japchae. In many ways, I was a bit surprised you can refill on their eggs, because normally that is one dish that is nearly always banned from refills.

Their seafood pancake / pajeon is pretty nice, but I was very slightly let down by the lack of seafood flavour within the dish. What stands out about their pancake is definitely their dough more than the seafood. It’s nice and crispy - which is because they use smaller pieces rather than one big piece - as they normally do in Korean restaurants.

Their tteokbokki is not that thick compared to many that I’ve tried. Not that heavy, but taste-wise, I would say it doesn’t particular stand out nor does it taste bad, just alright. I think it is definitely on the sweeter end of the scale compared to few others I’ve tried as well.

Star Rating

7.5/10. Although I have given 7.5 to Dae Sam Sik Dang and Dubu Dubu, I couldn’t really bear to give Gamtan a full half star lower than the other two. Realistically, what pulls it down vs those two would be the price. This is much more in the Busan Zip price range - but note, this is a lot better than Busan Zip at the same price (at least for me).

I think the uniqueness of this experience - in the tonkatsu version, coupled with the squid variant make this a place that is really worth at least one try. This is one of those places that I don’t foresee many people visiting multiple times, but definitely in that “worth a try” category where you try once just for the experience, because I can confirm the second time you visit won’t be as worth.