Portion was substantial with generous amount of bulgogi. Service was good, side dishes were also refillable.
Caught wind that the Ajumma’s at The Cathay is ending its operations on 12 December 2020; hadn’t actually been there ever since I started working in the area, and so it became a lunch plan considering how long ago my only visit to Ajumma’s was.
Did not really want to go for the usual rice and noodle dishes that I tend to opt for at other Korean establishments; and that was how I ended up getting the Kimchi Pork Belly Stew — a relatively adventurous option for me considering I rarely order stews at Korean establishments. The Kimchi Pork Belly Stew here came with elements such as Kimchi, Pork Belly Slices, Tofu, Enoki, Chili etc. swimming in a pork broth. While the pork broth is rather thin, I appreciated how the Kimchi provided a rather light, yet apt sourness to the entire stew — the element which very much powered the dish itself. The cabbage still carries a soft crunch for some variance of texture, while the tofu gives a very soft bite; the Enoki mushrooms giving a good bouncy bite. That being said, the Pork Belly cuts are a tad too thick and a little dry for my liking; would appreciate some nice Bulgogi-esque pork slices that are often served at Korean-Japanese stalls at food courts or coffee shops which would suffice — those are often more tender and juicy being on a hotplate than they seem, and much so when compared against the pork belly here.
I have heard of other dishes which people enjoy being here for; can totally see the reason why some folks would be sad knowing about their exit out of The Cathay given how its a pretty decent establishment to dine at for Korean food at a respectable quality. There is still one at Funan for those who are looking to fix their cravings at Ajumma’s, but north-western residents would be stoked to know of an outlet that is opening soon at Bukit Panjang Plaza — definitely a decent option to have in the heartlands!
Price: $15.90
Quite delicious with various ingredients: toppoki, spam, sausage, enoki mushrooms and CHEESE! Taste was generally good. However, the amount of ingredients was a bit little with only very thin slices of toppoki and spam. Would have prefer thicker ingredients. A hearty soup for the meal! Overall: 7/10
Price: $10.90
Fried chicken was nicely fried, crispy with the sauce over it even after a while. Toppoki was crispy too. Amount was perfect for the price.
However, there was only a few pieces of toppoki and more chicken. It was also not spicy but mainly only sweet. Overall: 8/10
Was craving something sour and spicy - and this always leads me back to kimchi and all it’s stews. This bowl was really filling, with a generous amount of ramyeon. The chicken bulgogi has a nice marinade, which added a nice carnivorous touch to a usually vegetarian dish. However, I did feel like the soup could do with more spiciness, especially because they declared that it was going to be spicy; and it really wasn’t. So that was a bit disappointing. It came with free sides, which was a pleasant surprise :) it’s a decent meal that did not make me go ‘wow’, but it does serve some comfort eating it.
Rate:🌟🌟🌟
If you eat beef, these shortribs are a must-order. Juicy and full of flavour. There hasn't been anyone I introduced this dish to that hasn't loved it. It's so good you will struggle to order anything else when eating here.
Price: $14.90
#halfeatenblog #ajummas #beef #ribs #burpple
💵: $16.90
📈: 6/10
🤔: Not bad but also another dish which left me thirsty. Would recommend adding the kimchi in to give it more flavour.
💵: $5.90
📈: 7/10
🤔: Eggs were indeed fluffy and made for a great sharing dish. This left me quite thirsty, think it might have been because of the presence of MSG.
While the Toppokki had a texture that was a tad too soft and sticky for me ( i like those really fat and chewy ones haha) the cheese top-up (+$2) was really quite shiok. Was half expecting to be presented with a sad slice of cheese (you'd be surprise at how often i get that😟) but what came was instead a thick blanket of melted mozzarella that went perfectly with the spicy sauce😋 .
A pretty light-tasting dish with barely any other flavour besides that of steamed eggs. I wonder how many eggs went into this, as the portion is generous for sure, with the stone pot being deeper than I thought it was, and the fluffy cloud of steamed egg didn't sink as i thought it would😹 The creamy consistency of the steamed egg was enjoyable, though only in the initial part because it gets cooked more as you leave it in the stone pot (the parts of the dish in contact with the stone pots were entirely charred because we were too slow haha😅) .
Korean honey pancake. The outer layer is very crispy but a bit oily. If you’re a fan of crispy fried food then this is your thing! Also the filling is sweet honey with a bit of cinnamon. I got this for free by reviewing for the restaurant on Google.
Boneless tender ribs marinated in their secret sauce. Comes with rice and 4 banchan. I really like the juicy and tender meat. The sauce is nice too.
Can be topped with chicken bulgogi! Comes with 4 banchan (side dishes).
A side note from the restaurant service: the staff can only speak Chinese so it was quite difficult when we ask them certain dishes or promotion details in English. Also, the 20% off is only for delivery and the 10% off for member’s 1st time order is for the next order.
Crispy fried chicken and rice cakes tossed in a sticky sauce for only S$9.90!
Can be shared between a group of 2-3 friends!
PRICE:
Seafood Pancake $11.90++
Jjajangmyeon $11.90++
Japchae $9.50++
(1-for-1 deal on main dishes, Tuesdays 6-8PM)
* Iced water is served F.O.C
WAITING TIME:
Queued at 7.40pm, ordered at 7.55pm, all dishes arrived by 8.30pm
NOTES:
- Loved the Seafood Pancake
- Jjajangmyeon portion is huge but...seriously does not taste authentic. Could not finish and will not order again
- Japchae flavour was good but noodles were overcooked and lacked chewiness
- Banchan was served in little plastic disposable cups. Both the corn and kimchi smelled bad and tasted off, so we returned to the staff. The sesame seaweed Banchan was good. Mixed it into my Jjajangmyeon to try to mask its weird herby taste.
The bulgogi soup was amazing and the egg was huge and fluffy. No regrets coming here to eat! Price wasn't too expensive either.
This is probably my 10th plus time back here but I am totally SOLD on Ajumma’s Signature Beef Kalbi ($14.90). The sauce is very flavorful and the beef has nice chunks of fats. Also tried the Chicken Bulgogi ($8.90) which was pretty good as well. Highly recommended!
5/5
Beef was well seasoned and the stew was a generous portion packed with ingredients. Price wise not expensive, but there are other substitutes you could try (Concorde hotel Korean).
Army stew doesn’t come with rice though. Had to buy a bowl of rice to satisfy my hunger :((((
