BAB Korean Restaurant opens in Garapan

Food, check. Ambience, check. Service, check. Location, check.
British real estate tycoon Samuel Harold coined the phrase “location, location, location” and that couldn’t ring truer to the luck BAB Korean Restaurant got when it secured the former Caesar’s Sauna property in Garapan.

Restaurant manager Lotesa Ferrer said it helps that the new restaurant with somewhat of a steampunk theme is situated along Beach Road, in plain view of island residents and a stone’s throw away from Saipan’s tourist district.

The 200-seat BAB Korean Restaurant opened last Jan. 4 and serves authentic Korean cuisine. There is no scrimping on ingredients, Ferrer said, so everyone who dines at the newly opened restaurant can be sure to taste Korean home-cooking at its finest.

The size of the property alone gives customers who have already dined in the many Korean restaurants on Saipan a completely new experience—lots of space. In fact, BAB Korean Restaurant is so enormous it has its own “kids zone” with flat-screen TV and several private rooms.

So far, the bestsellers are its jeyuk-bokkeum (stir-fried squid) served with rice and vegetables and dolsot bibimbap (hot stone pot bibimbap).

One quick look at its menu and it’s apparent that bibimbap dishes dominate BAB Korean Restaurant’s offerings. This is not by accident, Ferrer said. “Bab” in Korean is another term for “bap,” which means rice in their language. “That’s the reason why we named it BAB because we serve a lot of bibimbap.”

Other all-time Korean favorites in the menu include gaibi-tang (short-rib soup), bulgogi hotpot, japchae (mixed dish of boiled bean threads, stir-fried vegetables, and shredded meat), and dak-bokkeum-tang (braised spicy chicken).

While they’re currently serving ala carte meals for lunch and dinner, BAB Korean Restaurant will also soon offer world-famous Korean barbecue using charcoal.

“Probably this month we will start our Korean barbecue fare for lunch and dinner,” said Ferrer, adding that they have an especially designed adjacent annex for that function.

Other plans in the pipeline are setting up karaoke machines in its numerous private rooms, offering sushi dishes, and a buffet lunch and dinner.

Service is fast, with five waitstaff manning the restaurant and four cooks working their magic in the kitchen.

BAB Korean Restaurant is open Monday-Sunday from 11am to 2pm and 5:30pm and 9:30pm daily. For reservations and for more information, call 233-4222.