Korean Cuisine

I’ve had my fair share of satisfying Korean stews. This Pork and Kimchi Stew ($25) was no exception, for it wasn’t too light or overly sweet. Sitting in a crowded restaurant abuzz with chatter (mostly in Korean!) and tucking into a spicy, boiling hot stew packed with pork, tofu and vegetables wasn’t a bad way to spend my Saturday night.

You can use Burpple Beyond for BBQ meats, bulgogi, sharing-portion stews, pancakes and some ala-carte items. Unless you prefer chewy Korean pancakes with a higher ratio of batter to ingredients, I wouldn’t recommend them. I like mine crispy-edged and a little more charred.

Spicy tteokbokki can be found almost anywhere, but restaurants specialising in tteokbokki stew aren't too common a sight. After torturing myself by rewatching the tteokbokki stew scenes from Korean drama series "Let Eat", a visit to Red Holic was inevitable.

The Beef Brisket Tteokbokki gleefully bubbles away, a pot of red: tteokbokki, ramyum, glass noodles, mandu, leeks, cabbage, tender beef. It is the stuff of my dreams. It is one I willingly embrace, over and over again. It is a messy affair, but I don't care.

You can ask for the sauce to be "extra sweet" or "extra spicy" but I think it's perfect just the way it is. Don't forget the side of fish cake soup ($8), for that extra special touch of authenticity.

Wanting the 'full Korean dining experience', I also ordered the tangsuyuk ($23/$25) aka Korean sweet & sour pork. I think I very much prefer the typical 'gu lou yok' sweet & sour pork you get in Chinese zi char restaurants. While I enjoyed the tangy tomato-based sauce, I wasn't the biggest fan of the thick batter encasing the fried pork (which was on the tough side). I guess it's also more advisable to dip the pork pieces into the sauce instead of pouring it all over, for them to remain crunchy, but that may incur more wastage in my opinion....

Although I've had way too little jajangmyeons in my lifetime (a fact I intend to change), this Jajangmyeon ($10/$12 - it's cheaper during lunchtime!!!) is definitely one of the best I've tried, with a thick black bean sauce that was neither too salty nor starchy, and a decent portion of minced pork and onions. Sauce to noodle portion was also pretty spot-on.

Plus points for their handmade noodles, which retained a delightful chewiness and texture, even when cold, as I was struggling to finish......

This somewhat hidden gem in Katong serves up a decent selection of no-frills Korean comfort food. If 'chimaek' is what you're here for, the Yang Nyum fried chicken ($16 for half, $32 for whole) is indeed finger licking good, doused in a generous serving of delectable sweet & spicy sauce (more sweet than spicy though), and crunchy chopped peanuts. One thing to note is that each portion comes with quite a lot of breast meat, so go for the mid joint wings ($10-$12 for 7) if that's more up your alley!

I didn't fancy the bland Original fried chicken ($14 for half/$28 for whole), but you should go for the Soy fried chicken (unpictured), boasting a honeyed crispy exterior and tender meat. Best washed down with a bottle of Hite, of course. 😋

Decided to pop by on an uncrowded weekday to try this customisable budae jigae: opted for the cheese and mussels stew, which already had tteokbokki, odeng and kimchi ($13.90/pax with a min. of 2 pax) and added fried squid rings (mediocre), eggs and two portions of ramyeon ($3 each). The stew was spicy and comforting with a hint of sweetness, and the melding of flavours was delightful as it thickened into a rich, warming gravy. If only they were more generous with the tteokbokki, since Mukshidonna is a 'tteokbokki stew' joint......

Tip: don't leave the stew boiling for too long as you may find stuff sticking to the bottom of the pot!

I feel like tteokbokki (only my fav Korean food item in the entire universe) is so overlooked, since it's served in the majority of Korean restaurants. The tteokbokki ($5.90, added cheese and an egg for $1.90. Let me live!!) here certainly lived up to my expectations, with the right amount of flavour, spice and chewiness, without being overly sweet, tough, or having diluted sauce (#tteokbokkiproblems101).Would've preferred it to be in a more practical bowl instead of a large mug! 😂

Thoroughly enjoyed the jajangmyeon ($10.90), which was liberally topped with cucumber strips and fried 'anchovies' - a generous serving of wheat noodles (sutamyeon), diced potato, cabbage and mushrooms all doused in a flavourful, not overly salty or jelat black bean sauce. Will definitely satisfy classic Korean comfort food cravings!!

When you have massive Korean food cravings to satisfy, you satisfy them well. Had the naengmyeon ($14.50), which is PERFECT for extra-hot days, the osam bulgogi ($19.50 - essentially a flavourful mix of grilled spicy pork belly + squid + vegetables), which we relished with lettuce leaves and gochujang, and the simple yet endearing rabboki ($13.50) for all you street food/K drama fanatics out there (me)!!

Definitely worth a try if you're in the area ☺☺☺

This a true blue comfort food - a large pot of bubbling hot army stew ($36.90), or budae jigae, with a kimchi broth full of ramyeon, cabbage, spring onions, tteokbokki, spam, sausages, fish cakes, tofu, pork belly slices and mushrooms.Added more ramyeon ($2.90) and mozzarella cheese ($2.90) for an even heartier stew that was warming to both the body and the soul. Best shared between 3, or 2 hungry people!

Spicy cheese dukbokki ($12.90) - extra chewy rice cakes, fish cakes and cabbage doused in a fiery yet sweet gochujang sauce and topped with melted cheese!!!! Personally felt that the sauce could've been thicker + more cheese needed but that's just me being greedy.....😋

The most value-for-money Korean BBQ in my opinion ($14.90++ for weekday lunch) and it's a great place for a fun catch-up with friends as you messily feast your heart out on the free-flow meats, sides and drinks!!!