Korean Eumsik

Korean Eumsik

Featuring 8 Korean BBQ (Clarke Quay Central), SBCD Korean Tofu House (Millenia Walk), Hansang Korean Family Restaurant (Square 2), Kimchi Dining, Daejim BBQ, OMMAS (Admiralty Place), The GogiJip, OBBA Jjajang Express (Woodlands), Oppa! Fried Chicken, Pocha! Korean Street Dining (Plaza Singapura)
Darren Teo
Darren Teo

Lovely and aesthetic vibes at this new Korean dining spot in town. There was a $55/pax set menu and Festive Specials, but we opted to go with the a la carte menu to hone in on the recommended dishes for this first trip.

Started things off with the Makgeolli Bread ($6), whose texture was not unlike the colourful steamed rice cakes I had in my childhood (the one where you ate it with grated coconut). The taste of the bread was also similar, but we loved it with the white bean butter which was sweet, creamy and oh-so-buttery. Almost licked the entire butter dish clean.

Served at almost the same time was the GamjaJeon ($19), which I swear was just slabs of rosti, but flatter and crispier. The rosti was topped with parmesan shreds, radishes, onions, and bacon bits, and served alongside and addictive truffle mayo sauce. Seriously, it's addictive. Pricey, but worth the hype.

For mains, we had the Jeju Pork Noodle ($19), which was light in taste but with a smokey aroma from the charred pork belly. Would have preferred a dish with stronger flavours and the pork belly was a little too tough for my liking.

To wash the meal down, we tried their Makgeolli Cocktail ($18 for 200ml) in their classic Jeju flavour. This was sweet, milky, and slightly tangy, but overall the makgeolli taste was underwhelming and I thought the price was a little too steep for the volume.

Final thoughts: Decent meal, price-worthiness was so-so. Service was good, the staff will patiently explain to you the menu and go into details when asked. They also allowed us to change seats to one that was beside the windows. One thing though, their seats are a little uncomfortable to sit on.

Back at my fave Korean joint, tried the pork combo this time round. Surprisingly good with equal ratio of meat to fattiness and the greens provided a satisfying crunch. Huge portion too. Combos are always good for sharing between 2 pax especially with the free-flow banchan, and don't forget to make a reservation else it'll be around a 30min wait at dinner time.

Creamy Shin Ramyun ($12.90+) was the favourite dish of the night, comforting like the ones we used to make at night after hours of studying. The Sundubu ($14.90+) was also rich and spicy, with a variety of ingredients hidden within the red hues of the broth. Though not as good as SBCD's version, this was still satisfying. The corndog ($7.90) was also a good started to the meal with a hotdog and mozzarella stick encased in a crisp breaded potato cubes-studdes layer topped with mayo and chili.

I don't usually eat KBBQs, but decided to pop by 8 Korean BBQ for Chope's June Exclusive Menu. For $88++, we got a 4 Colours Set (u.p. $68) inclusive of a choice of stew. We opted for the Army Stew (u.p. add-on $6). The pork belly came in huge slabs which the staff helped to cook and cut into bite sized pieces. We liked the Miso flavour the most out of the four we chose, the others being Herb, Garlic, and Kalbi. As for the Army Stew, it was decent but nothing outstanding. Lots of ingredients like kimchi, luncheon meat, and chicken pieces inside though.

There were also Jumeokbap (u.p. $9), Kimchi Corn Cheese (u.p. $16), and 3 drinks (u.p. $2 each). Overall a hearty meal and we were more than satisfied.

Came by this foodcourt several times and was attracted to Oppa Fried Chicken due to its bright orange signboard, the really enticing pictures of their chicken on the menu, and the multitudes of takeaway boxes churned out with chicken. Came by specially to try but left with a sour taste in my mouth.

Biggest issue: My one order of Honey Butter Half Chicken ($13+$3) took 40min to be ready. When I ordered at 6.47pm, the staff said that waiting time would be 15min. After about 20min, I went up to check on my order and was told it would be ready on 5min. But it was only another 20min later that my chicken was ready. Throughout this 40min, I saw other dine-in customers get their food and multiple takeaway boxes being sent off - perhaps my order was just way back in the queue but my gripe was that they seemed to receive their food really quickly (I was seated right in front of the store and observed the staff going back and forth delivering food to the other customers) and that I was the only one frustrated by the waiting time.

To be fair, the staff was apologetic about the wait and he explained that they had to fry a new batch of chicken when I asked. Whatever the real reason was, the long wait time marred my eating experience. But the chicken, being from a new batch, was hot and crispy and juicy, although the honey butter powder wasn't to my taste. They allow mixing up to 2 different flavours, although the pricing doesn't make sense - for e.g. if I wanted just Honey Butter it's $13+$3 but if I wanted to mix Honey Butter and Soy Garlic it'd be $13+$3+$2, even though technically you're getting less sauce compared to if you just choose one.

To his credit, the staff did perform some service recovery which helped to alleviate our 40-min-wait hunger. However, I am still hesitant about going back for fear of a long wait time again. Perhaps in far future when this bad experience is less fresh in my memory.

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Hawker franchise of the Tanjong Pagar outlet. For its price, nothing too special with regards to the broth or the noodles. Seafood portion was also pretty little. Overall, might try the other options but wouldn't order this again.

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USDA Beef/Pork Set ($108) - Don't let the single platter of meat fool you - with the Steamed Egg and Stew included in the set, this was a substantial amount of food for the 3 of us. Kurobuta Pork Belly wowed us the most, even moreso than the Beef Short Rib and Beef Brisket. Otherwise, this set would be a good option if you wanted a mix of both beef and pork.

Added on the Wagyu Karubi Short Plate 150g ($48) which was so delicious and tender. Recommend to try one of the Wagyu options. Possible to ask the service staff to help with cooking it (although they were a little busy and was rushing about as the night passed, not sure if the meat were perfectly cooked)

Side dishes were delicious, especially the kimchi. Steamed Egg and Stew (from the set) was nothing to shout about, just stomach filler. They currently have a promo now where you can get free 2pc Raw Marinated Crab with every BBQ set ordered, but I felt that the crabs were dull in colour and didnt taste fresh.

Ommas Fried Chicken Rice Bowl (Spicy) - $7.90
Beef Kimchi Ramyun - $8.50
Fried chicken came as a huge chicken thigh, delightfully crunchy and gloriously brushed with the delicious spicy sauce. This was a joy to eat together with the accompanying short grain rice and salad. Only thing was the chicken meat was a tad pink closer to the bone, so could've have used another minute in the fryer.
Beef Ramyun was average, nothing much to talk about. You can probably make this at home.
Overall, space was a tad squeeze and manpower was clearly lacking - food took about 30min to be ready and a staff had to juggle between kitchen duties and table clearing.

Their Sundubu is rich, thick, hearty, and chockful with ingredients. Honestly one of my most favourite places to fulfil my Sundubu cravings. If you're here as a pair, get the combo set and add on one rice - it's more than filling and the servers will still refill your side dishes. For the grills, tried the grilled chicken and orange chicken which were both great and can't wait to come back to try the others.

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The price might turn you off but the set came with a substantial amount of food - free flow iced tea and banchan, and the main star of the show, the crab. Carefully squeeze out the flesh from the body and slurp up the juicy flesh and briny roe. Some might find the marinade a tad to salty but after wiping off the excess I thought it was a perfect umami bomb (eat with rice for maximum enjoyment)! Texture was somewhat like scallops but softer. Might be an acquired taste for some but I certainly I'd enjoy it.

For the banchan, standouts were the Kimchi, sweet potato chunks, and the tofu. Seaweed soup was also delicious, but not sure if it's refillable. Also ordered the Black Soybean Ramyun ($12) as 2 pax couldn't share 1 lunch set, but we didn't enjoy it at all.

Spicy Seafood Sundubu Lunch set ($14.80). Soup wasn't hot and was very clear-tasting i.e. not as rich and savoury as I hoped. My benchmark for Sundubu is SBCD till now, and this is nowhere near. Also, their waiting time can be crazy long - my boss waited 45min for his pork collar.

Adventurous and always looking for new flavours on my tongue!

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