5 Favourites in Korean Restaurant Guide App

Ever since the broadcast of Korean dramas on local television, the Korean culture has slowly found its way into the heart of Singapore. Not only has it built up an undisputable reputation for having the best soap operas onscreen, Korean food has taken up an irreplaceable position in our hearts.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs in Korea and the Korean Food Foundation has launched “Korean Restaurant Guide Singapore · Hong Kong”, a Korean restaurant guidebook along with a mobile application in Singapore and Hong Kong to provide greater access to authentic Korean food for local residents.

Riding on the thriving Korean Wave in these two countries, the Korean Restaurant Guide and mobile application will allow fans and locals to conveniently decide on a restaurant that fits their liking and enjoy the true taste of Korea in their hometown.

A total of 20 Korean restaurants in Singapore featured in the guidebook were carefully selected from 150 restaurants operating in Singapore by a team of local food experts. I am very honoured to be one of them. Here are my 5 favourite picks!

A walk around Telok Ayer and I was surprised to find so many Korean restaurants. One of them is Dal-In at Boon Tat Street. At Dal-In, it makes me feel like I am in a traditional Korean eatery in Korea the moment I stepped in.

A must-try here is Jokbal, or pig trotter in seasoned soy sauce. Very light in seasoning, the tender meat goes perfectly well when eaten with garlic, bean sauce and green chilli. Now, if I ordered a bottle of Korean beer, I believe that will be the best combination ever. They also serve fluffy steamed eggs for appetizers too.

We were recommended to try Seafood Jjamppong Tang. Our seafood soup came in a pool of red broth and generous portions of seafood. Man, the soup was real spicy which sent down some sweat on my forehead. The fresh seafood is excellent and the combination of soup and rice was indeed tasty.

Ju Shin Jung is one of the bigger Korean BBQ restaurants we’ve patronized and there are two types of seating areas – one with traditional styled floor seats, while the other is the modern setup. There’s even a playroom with slides for kids, so parents can enjoy their BBQ meats while their kids entertain themselves.

For the price that we’re paying for the unlimited BBQ buffet per person, the quality and quantity given has exceeded our expectations. Each BBQ buffet comes with a main dish per person, of which, you can choose between fried saba fish, clear beef rib soup, spicy soft tofu soup, hot stone bowl rice, soya bean paste soup and cold noodle. The friendly and helpful staff will patiently BBQ the meat for you.

When you first enter Your Woul Korean Restaurant, you would be greeted with many “annyeonghaseyo.” The servers are all Korean and were very welcoming when we entered. The walls of the restaurant is decorated with posters of Korean stars, even Korean music was playing in the background.

The Gamjatang could serve 2 to 3 people but the portion was more than we could handle. You could tell that the meat was cooked over a long period of time over small fire as they were very soft and comes off easily from the bones.

We came back on a second visit as we were too full after having Gamjatang. This time we had Seafood Pancake and Dolsot Bibimbap. The Seafood Pancake was cone of the best that I’ve ever had. You could taste the spring onions within the pancake and the squid was very soft too. Dolsot Bibimbap was served with beef, and could have more tender meat but no complaints for its pocket friendly price. There’s also the option of having the server mix the bibimbap for you as it is very hot.

Big Mama is not a stranger to many Korean food lovers. Opened by a former tutor, she set up this restaurant after cooking for groups of Korean students in Singapore for years. Even though it is located in a more remote corner of Tiong Bahru, it is pretty crowded during meal time.

One of Big Mama’s specialty is Samgyupsal Suyuk which is a Korean dish of steamed pork belly. The tender meat is not oily as all extra fat is removed during the cooking, whilst maintaining its exquisite taste. It is usually eaten with Samjang, Kimchi and salted shrimp. You can also eat it with cucumber slices dipped in black bean sauce, with bean sprouts in spicy sauce or even in the refreshing Manel Nangchae (garlic) sauce.

The star of our lunch with Dakgalbi. Chicken chunks is marinated in a special homemade chilli sauce and then stir-fried with rice cake and assorted vegetables on a piping hot grill. The staff will quickly tossed around to cook this dish at tableside on portable cookers. The homemade chilli sauce makes this dish so yummy!

Wang Dae Bak is extremely packed even on a Monday evening. This would be a place we’ll pick for gatherings with friends as the environment is very lively and relaxed. Everyone just want to make merry and wind down after a hard day’s work.

The entire restaurant is brightly lit and has orangey walls so it’s relatively hard to miss this if you’re walking down Amoy Street. We were first served their appetizers and we really liked the spicy tofu, kimchi, the sweetness that came from their potato, as well as, their beansprouts which has a spicy-sourish taste, very appetizing indeed. Next, the egg mixture was poured onto our BBQ plate. We honestly feel that this must be the best dish that’s created on Earth! There is no buffet available but they offer BBQ sets. We tried one of the sets which consisted of marinated prime ribs, pork belly, spicy chicken and marinated shoulder. Their beef is tender and marinated to perfection. We wished we could have ordered more!

Being one of the few Korean BBQ restaurants in Singapore that only uses charcoal and no gas, we liked the original and authentic charred flavour of our meat. We also had fun due to their self-service BBQ style and enjoyed BBQ-ing our food to the level of charred-ness we prefer. Now we finally understand why people are swarming to this restaurant, especially during dinner time as their pricing is quite reasonable for the portion of BBQ meats they offer. Plus, we get the kick out of BBQ-ing our own food!

About Korean Restaurant Guide mobile app

Korean Restaurant Guide mobile app is a compilation of carefully selected Korean restaurants in Singapore, introducing them in English and Korean. The Korean restaurants recommended in this application are located in central city of Singapore. A total of 20 selected Korean restaurants from 150 operating restaurants in Singapore by a panel of judges are included in the guidebook to provide authentic dining options to Singaporeans

You can find a list of <50 popular menu selections in Singapore>, including details of the most popular foods among Korean restaurants in Singapore, as well as the restaurant list by theme which helps you to pick the favourite Korean restaurant depending on the occasion. Search “KoreanRest.Guide – HK, SG” on Google Play or “Korean Restaurant Guide – Hong Kong, Singapore” on Apple Store to download.

This post is brought to you by Korean Restaurant Guide.