Myeongdong Korean Food

Got to learn about the new Myeongdong Korean Cuisine that had opened fairly recently within the basement of Bukit Timah Plaza — the Beauty World neighbourhood is an area where there are quite a number of Korean dining establishments that have found home at within the island. Myeongdong Korean Cuisine is situated right beside Sherwood Snack Bar, having taken over the former premises of the now-defunct Prologue By C’rius Bake. Despite occupying a rather modestly-sized shop space, Myeongdong Korean Cuisine is still able to provide its patrons with a dine-in area within its premises; it seems that there is a fair bit of work being done within the interior where the space is decked in a slightly more colourful manner than before — while mostly a vibrant pink aesthetic for its space to match against the wooden accents for its furniture and fittings, one can also find traces of yellow, blue, orange and purple that provides a good contrast for the wallpaper that they have chosen. The dining furniture seems to be carried over from its former tenants however. Being a casual Korean establishment, Myeongdong Korean Cuisine serves up both Korean street food as well as freshly-cooked dishes — somewhat following the trend of Korean establishments such as Mom's Banchan & Food located in the nearby Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and Koryo Jeong at the ground floor of International Plaza. Some of its pre-cooked food packed in plastic containers, as well as Kimbap, Tteokbokki and Cup Fish Cake can be found displayed prominently beside the entrance of the establishment for grab-and-go, while the Banchan and Kimchi that they have to offer are kept in a display chiller right across on the other side of the entrance as well. Otherwise, the menu at Myeongdong Korean Cuisine is split across categories such as Tteokbokki & Fish Cake, Noodles, Kimbap, Bulgogi, Pancake and Stew.

Speak about Korean street food and one thing that cannot be missed would probably be the Cup Tteokbokki.
Myeongdong Korean Cuisine keeps its stock of the Tteokbokki within a metallic container on a table at the front of the establishment around the entrance — the same area as where one can find its pre-packed cooked food offerings in plastic containers, and is pretty much the same as what one would find at street food stalls in Korea. Myeongdong Korean Cuisine does not describe on the elements that one can find in their dishes on the menu; that being said, it can be observed from our order of the Cup Tteokbokki that the dish comes with elements such as fish cakes and rice cakes and a boiled egg — all that with Gochujang (i.e. Korean chili paste). There really isn’t anything that is out of the ordinary with the Cup Tteokbokki that Myeongdong Korean Cuisine serves, but it definitely does still hit the spot for those whom are itching to resolve their cravings for Tteokbokki in general. The Gochujang here does come a little bit more on the sweeter side than actually being spicy — probably one that even those whom are tolerable to lower levels of spiciness would be able to manage. The rice cakes are done with a chewy consistency, while the fish cake comes thin with a bit of a bounciness for a variation of textures — the elements all being pretty sufficient to hit the spot for us to satisfy our cravings for Tteokbokki which we had been having for a while.

During the same visit to Myeongdong Korean Cuisine, we had also decided to give one of their Kimbap a try — something which we usually would go for if we do notice it being served up at Korean dining establishments that we are visiting. Offering quite a variation of meats / seafood for their Kimbap, we found ourselves going for the Tuna Kimbap. One can observe from the Tuna Kimbap that it comes with fish cake, pickles, crab stick, omelette, carrots, tuna in mayonnaise, and beetroot(?) — all wrapped within rice and dried seaweed. The Kimbap comes with a firm bite; some elements like the carrots, beetroot and pickles did provide a crunch, while the tuna in mayonnaise does come with sufficient flavour without being particularly fishy — a good balance of flavours with the rest of the other elements within the Kimbap, while the pickles a tang that cuts through all of that giving a refreshing note to reset the tastebuds. The Black Bean Noodles at Myeongdong Korean Cuisine would essentially be the Jajangmyeon offering here — the version served up at Myeongdong Korean Cuisine would feature noodles, black bean sauce, minced meat, pickles, cucumber and half of a hard boiled egg within the bowl itself. Giving everything a slight toss before digging in, one thing that we noted about the Black Bean Noodles here would be how the noodles seemed to have been done with a softer texture while the black bean sauce itself came being a bit more savoury and less sweet when compared to most other renditions of the Korean Jajangmyeon that we have had elsewhere. Overall, Myeongdong Korean Cuisine does seem to be that sort of establishment that is more about serving up a rendition of Korean fare that feels fuss-free — sure; its offerings are not particularly gastronomical and do not attempt to change the wheel, but they do seem to still turn out well enough to satisfy the cravings at a decent price point with most of its individually-sized offerings being below $15. Its offerings do also make Myeongdong Korean Cuisine a spot quite suitable for individual diners as well; a niche since most Korean dining establishments are positioned for communal dining experiences. Overall, a decent spot that we wouldn’t mind dining at in Bukit Timah Plaza again.