Hyang to Gol

I love Korean food... but unlike most Singaporeans, my favourite Korean dishes are not anything BBQ'd but rather it's kimchi and soondubu (spicy tofu stew). My love for Korean food is all thanks to Janelle, who first introduced me to soondubu when I visited her in LA in 2001. Since then it's been a neverending search for good Korean food in Singapore...

Puiming told me that the food at this restaurant is not bad, and since her husband, Kisu, is Korean-American, I think her opinion is definitely to be trusted :)

I love it when all the side dishes are served... somehow the table is never big enough to hold all the dishes and it always spills over to the next table! The dishes here were just ok... I think the best selection I've had so far is at Ju Shin Jung.




For the BBQ we ordered Yangnyeom Galbi (Marinated Prime Rib) $30+++. Here it is all laid out on the hot plate bbq -


And here it is nearly cooked -


The meat was quite yummy. What bothered me was the obviously non-Korean staff working there. The waitress who took our order was Chinese (as in from China) and repeated our orders in Chinese. She was obviously a trainee and was fumbling while laying the beef on the grill... thank goodness another more experienced waitress took over from her.

We also ordered Gochujang Samgyeopsal (Chilli-paste marinated Pork) $22.00+++ -


And it wasn't as spicy as it looks.

Of course I had to order Soondubu Jigae $13.00+++ -


It's been a while since I had authentic soondubu so I can't say for sure how good this was, but it was spicy, and lots of ingredients in it and served piping hot, it's such comfort food.

The place looked expensive from outside but the prices were reasonable for Korean food. We ended eating so much that we were still quite stuffed the next day. The food was good, but not spectacularly so... if I need a Korean food fix, I'll probably go to Ju Shin Jung instead.


Hyang To Gol Korean Restaurant
165 Tanjong Pagar Road
Level 2 Amara Hotel
Tel : 6220 7160

Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ

The Korean obsession continues!

I mentioned in a previous post that my friends and I are currently obsessed about all things Korean - so when MP & I were meeting the others for drinks at the Esplanade, we decide to take the opportunity to try out the Korean restaurant here.

Of course I was super excited when the waiter started serving all the side dishes -

Like all Korean BBQ restaurants, the side dishes are "free-flow" as in you can order as much as you want... which I think is something they have factored into the price of the rest of the dishes...

The side dishes here were not that great - I much prefer the ones at Ju Shin Jung. Always want to order more but normally end up being too full after eating everything else we ordered.

For the meats, we had the Grilled Brisket Meat $28++ -


And a Pork dish $22++ (sorry can't remember the exact name) -


The brisket was really good, the pork was just so-so. I realised that Korean BBQ tends to be pretty expensive - I end up spending at least $30 per person each time. Which is about the same as a Japanese buffet - but for that you get lots more food...

Apparently they brought Rain here for a late dinner when he was in town recently... well, if it's good enough for Rain, it's good enough for me ;)

By the way, this is the 100th post on my blog!!


Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ
#01-13A/B
Esplanade Mall
Tel: 6337 8880

Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant

My friends and I are currently obsessed with all things Korean - Korean shows (My Lovely Samsoon! Full House!), Korean guys (Hyun Bin! Rain!) and Korean food. My love for Korean food started in 2001 when on a visit to LA, Janelle brought me to Korea-town and I had my first taste of sundubu (spicy tofu soup) and since then I've been a real fan of Korean food...

The Korean wave has hit Singapore as well, and I have heard rave reviews about this Korean BBQ restaurant so I was quite eager to check it out.

The moment you walk into this place you know you’re in an authentic Korean restaurant – many of the customers are Koreans and quite a few of the staff all are Korean too.

My favourite part of the meal is when the waitress comes to the table and starts laying out all the side dishes – it seems to be a never-ending process! And when they are done, there is barely space on the table for anything else! Just take a look at the number of dishes served –


Next to sundubu, this has got to be my favourite thing about Korean food... I love love love kimchi. When I’m having Korean food at the food courts, I normally order extra servings of kimchi :)

Some of the dishes were not at all familiar, but I enjoyed nearly everything… If I’m not wrong, you can ask for more servings of the side dishes without additional cost, but like me, you’ll probably be too stuffed to have any more than what was served to you.

Now authentic Korean BBQ is totally unlike what we Singaporeans are familiar with (i.e. Seoul Garden Korean BBQ). Here, the waitress will prepare and cook the meat for you – but you are also free to take over the cooking if you wish. Best of all, the hotplate here never gets very dirty – our’s was changed about 3 times throughout the course of the meal. Unlike at Seoul Garden where at the end of the night, there is a thick layer of carbon on the hotplate.


From the BBQ menu, we ordered Galbisal (short rib) $32.00+++ and Bulgogi (marinated beef) $25.00+++. It also came with Korean rice cakes which were really chewy and not all that tasty (at top of picture). You will also notice that they put slices of onions on the hotplate… while the onions are totally edible, you are actually supposed to place the cooked meats on top of them so that the meat doesn’t get overcooked but is still kept warm. How did the meat taste? Absolutely yummy! :)

How can I come to a Korean restaurant and not try the Sundubu $12.00+++?


The sudubu wasn’t all that great. I have a feeling that it was modified for local tastes… either that or it’s been a while since I’ve had it and I’ve forgotten what authentic sundubu tastes like… sigh, I would love to make a trip to Korea just to eat truly authentic Korean food :P

Like I mentioned, my friends and I are Korean obsessed right now, so look out for a post on another Korean BBQ place coming up real soon… but between the two, this one is much better. I think they also recently opened a branch in the east. I really liked this place – go try it out!!


Ju Shin Jung Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant
27 West Coast Highway
#01-18/19 YESS Centre
S117867
Tel : 6464 0872
www.junshinjung.com

Mario Kitchen Korean Restaurant

My first taste of authentic Korean food was in LA in 2001. Steaming hot spicy Sundubu (tofu soup with clams, eggs and meat) is the best thing to have in cold weather. Since then, I've been trying to find good Korean food in Singapore. Unfortunately, LA has some of the best Korean food in the world so the Korean food here does not come close at all to what I'm craving... but you never know when a good Korean place will open up so the hunt continues...

I noticed this place while having dessert at Ji De Chi right next door. Also read it about it on mr brown's blog so I thought it might be worth checking out.

We ordered the Medium BBQ (Beef) and Steamboat set which cost $33++.













The beef was quite tender and relatively tasty. The soup in the steamboat was not as spicy as it looks. Lot of stuff in the steamboat - pork ribs, potatoes and veggies. It was quite a lot of food for two people...

What I love most about Korean food is the side dishes - kimchi, ikan bilis etc. I find that most Korean places in Singapore never give enough side dishes, compared to the huge variety and portions that you can get in LA *sigh*

The place was casual, seemed like a popular hangout for SMU students. And there was no air-con - thank goodness it was not too warm that night. Oh, and the grammatical error in the name bugs me too! Should it not be "Mario's Kitchen"?!?

Good-sized portions for that price and the food was not too bad but I'm unlikely to go back unless I'm in the area and totally craving kimchi.

Mario Kitchen Korean Restaurant
8 Liang Seah Street
#01-04 S189029
Tel : 6333 9379