Pyongyang Koryo Restaurant

I went to this North Korean Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur in Dec 2016 with a friend after reading about it. It’s established by the North Korean government, and it's located in a residential area. Based on the reviews and my research, this restaurant has shifted at least twice in the past 5 years. The previous 2 locations were at Lorong Palas, Off Jalan Ampang, and at Jalan Solaris, Solaris Mont Kiara.

The first thing I noticed when I walked in was there was a security guard at the guard post. We were the first customer that evening, so I was pretty suspicious when I first arrived. Most of the waitresses were standing around, and only 1 or 2 of them were the usual one serving us. There was a fish pond beside us, and it was turned on after my friend noticed it. We were wondering whether they were observing us.

All the waitresses there were young and pretty, except for the lady at the counter, who was middle aged. They have indeed sent the best of the best over. They were the prettiest ladies we saw that day, and for them to be working in a foreign land, I guess they must be very loyal to their country. They were talented – able to speak multiple languages (english, chinese, jap, korean), able to sing and dance.

Being a country bumpkin, we asked for their specialty and recommendation. We took their recommendation and ordered the glass noodles, pork belly, and kimchi. Our tables were also filled with other cold side dishes, which is typical of Korean food.

While waiting for our food, we observed many of the waitresses watching football at the back with some Korean guys. Initially I thought they were just putting a show. Later on the waitress told us they won the world cup, and she was genuinely very very happy!! I didn’t believe until I went back to check and they indeed did win the Fifa U-20 ladies world cup against France.

To our disappointment, the food wasn't to our liking. Everything was cold, including the tea and the pork belly. The meat and the noodles do not feel fresh at all as they were sticking to each other.

Fortunately, the experience of eating in a North Korean restaurant more than make up for it.

I have to say the waitresses are really pretty and well trained in the way they carry themselves.

Me: “Are you dancing later?”

Waitress: “Yah (walk away shyly)”

We were delighted that there were performances after our dinner at 8:30 pm. We bought a pint of beer each while enjoying the performance. By the way, they have a bar counter and seem to have quite a wide range of alcohol.

They performed a series of karaoke / dance / guitar with korean, english, and chinese songs. It can't be compared to a SNSD concert, but commendable given that it’s not their native language and they are multi-talented! Pictures / Videos of the performance was not allowed though.

As we ended the day, we attempted to request for a picture with the waitress but was turned down by her shyly.

While the food was pricey (we spent about S$30+ per person) by Malaysia's standard, the experience more than make up for it. However, there's also the ethical dilemma of whether to "support" these restaurants. The profit from this business is probably going to go back to their country, and I do not even want to imagine what it will be used for. As the performance only starts at 8:30 pm, it is recommended to go there about 7:30 pm - 8:00 pm for dinner.

They have similar restaurants in other countries such as China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand.

It was an interestingly bizarre experience.