A fairly recent addition to the campus of the Singapore Management University, O’dok Dabang is a new Korean F&B establishment which is situated just right beside Bricklane, taking over the former premises of the now-defunct Boyle’s Coffee x Love Bites. O’dok Dabang operates as a cafe serving up cakes and bread alongside specialty coffee all-day, but also do offer Korean Fried Chicken and Korean Ramen after 5pm — they are also one of the establishments that are opened till late in the vicinity, and is open up to 12:30am.

Making our trip there during dinner service, we just couldn’t give the Korean Fried Chicken a miss. Patrons are able to go for four different flavours of Korean Fried Chicken here (there isn’t an option to mix flavours, though an extra sauce can be ordered at $1.00 extra) — think flavours such as Soy Garlic, Sweet Spicy, Snowy Cheese and Honey Butter. There is a choice to opt for a set, which adds French Fries and Coke or Sprite at an additional $4 (Radish was a side order at $1.00, which was refillable). We opted for the set, going for the Soy Garlic and adding the Sweet Spicy sauce on the side. Thought the French Fries were decent though nothing much to shout about — the criss-cut fries were the soft and fluffy sort; doesn’t seem to be seasoned in much salt so they were a little plain but these do make for a good vehicle for the sweet spicy sauce which we went for on the side given how the sauce was manageably spicy for those with a lower tolerance for spiciness, whilst being aptly sweet also. There are a fair proportion of different chicken parts provided for the Half Chicken; noted that the batter isn’t particularly thick here so it does differ from those that are usually served at fast food joints specialising in Korean Fried Chicken, but it is still relatively crispy without being drenched in too much sauce — the Soy Garlic being aptly savoury whilst carrying a thick and dense consistency. What we really liked here was how the fried chicken wasn’t particularly greasy, and we were pretty surprised by how juicy and tender the flesh was.

For those looking for something that is more suited for an individually-sized meal here, O’dok Dabang does serve up Wings (3pcs), Drumsticks (2pcs) and Tenders (4pcs) that may suit those who are into sharing a smaller portion or dining here alone. Singapore Management University’s diversity of dining options is something that quite amazes me whenever I am here, and O’dok Dabang does bring this notion further by offering a slice of Korean into the campus — a spot that not only appeals to students in the area, but likely also those who are looking for a chill spot in town and office workers around this area alike, given how they seem to target both the students and the masses with their offerings here.