Superb Korean BBQ (charcoal) at Pujim BBQ, Amoy Street!

👍 High-Quality meats grilled over charcoal, service was very good!
👎 Banchan (side dishes) weren't the best.

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of Korean BBQ places all around the island, so it's really quite easy to satisfy a Korean BBQ craving when you get one. Many of these places are quite mediocre, though: Either their meat is sub-par (typical of all-you-can-eat joints), or the grill is electric/infrared. So we were quite excited to visit Pujim BBQ over at the Telok Ayer area (Amoy Street, to be exact)!

The dining area feels quite industrial, with bare concrete floors and unfinished brick walls. The neon purple lighting does give the experience a bit of an edgy vibe. We're pleased to report that the suction/exhaust system in use is strong, so you don't get any lingering smoke in the air. You will still leave with a noticeable grilled meats aroma in your clothes, though, so keep that in mind if you're planning a lunch visit on a working weekday.


The banchan (side dishes) were perhaps a tad bit underwhelming, with only salad and fish cake complementing the kimchi and various pickles. But that's okay as we're really here to stuff ourselves on charcoal-grilled meat!


The cut of meat on the first page of the menu - and also the first thing we immediately ordered - was this amazing Rib Eye Cap (amusingly enough it's called "prawn" on the menu). If you've never heard of this cut before, picture a rib eye steak. The rib-eye normally comes with a large section flanked (and separated by a layer of fat) on the top and side by a smaller strip of meat. This smaller strip of meat is the "Cap" of the Rib Eye and is crazily tender, fatty, juicy, and beefy. It's the "tastiest part on the cow," and so it's pretty amazing to be able to order it on its own.


We also ordered some Boneless Beef Rib (Galbi/Karubi), which was really nicely marbled ...


... and Pork Jowl and Pork Belly for some variety.


Another huge plus point (for us) at Pujim is that the waiters/waitresses help you grill your meat over the charcoal pit. I know that grilling meat on your own is perhaps one of the fun parts of a Korean BBQ dinner, but sometimes it's nice to have the professionals take care of that for you so you can concentrate on eating.


We thought that the way they 'serve' the cooked meat - on top of a slice of bread - was quite interesting. Excess juices were soaked up by the bread, and the meat got just the right amount of indirect heat to keep it warm without continuing to cook more.


The resulting grilled morsels were - as you'd expect given the amount of marbling evident in all of the meats - absolutely delicious. Oh and the waiters/waitresses do ask you for your temperature preferences, too, so don't worry about getting a lot of pink and red everywhere if you prefer your meat on the well-done side.


Oh, we also do prefer the pork belly being 'thick cut' style rather than the thin, strip style that pork belly is normally served up at other Korean BBQ restaurants.


At around s$48 per person after taxes, the meal here at Pujim certainly isn't cheap, but in our opinions it was really worth it. I mean for comparison, going to a cheap Korean BBQ buffet place will cost you around s$30 anyway, but the quality of meat, service, and the overall experience is many orders of magnitude inferior to what you get at Pujim. Highly recommended!

Pujim BBQ is at 82 Amoy St. Non-Halal.

Look See Eat

Hanwoo (Korean Beef) BBQ at specialist restaurant Daedo Sikdang (대도식당)!

👍 Great, reasonably-priced seared Hanwoo Sirloin with pickled radish fried rice.
👎 The restaurant pretty much only serves this one dish.

Hanwoo (한우) is sort of the Korean equivalent of Japanese Wagyu: It's a breed of cattle native to Korea. It's a little difficult to get Hanwoo beef outside the country, though, so we've never been able to do a comparison ... until now!

We're not sure which of the gazillion restaurants in Seoul serve the "best" Hanwoo, but we eventually settle for the Mapo outlet of Daedo Sikdang (대도식당), which is a specialty franchise that really focuses on Hanwoo Sirloin, BBQ (cast iron pan) style:


Verdict? I have no idea what "grade" of Hanwoo Sirloin we had (or even if such grading exists), but it was delicious! The meat was noticeably less tender, and less greasy/fatty (and therefore having a far less oily mouthfeel) than an A4/A5 Wagyu, but on the flipside it also felt and tasted a bit meatier/beefier.

The other dish we had in the video was the Kkakdugi Fried Rice (Kkakdugi: Cubed radish pickles/kimchi). It's cooked in the same cast iron pot used to sear your meat, so it's beefy, oily, and sour/tangy (from the pickled radish) at the same time. A great finish to the meal.


Daedo Sikdang is a small franchise and has a few outlets around Seoul. The main branch is near the Wangsimni area; use Mangoplate to find the outlet most convenient for you. As with many other Korean restaurants, English isn't spoken (well), but sign language and pointing to menus works well! Non-halal.

Korean BBQ Buffet in Bedok - Ssiksin 食神 Korean BBQ, Bedok Point

When we think of Korean BBQ restaurants here, there seem to be two distinct types of restaurants - higher end, ala carte joints where you have a choice of 25 different cuts of pork or 43 different marble grades of Beef ... and the BBQ Buffet. These restaurants are normally priced quite reasonably, and allow you to stuff yourself to your hearts' content at a (relatively) low price point. It's perfect for big stomachs, or for those nights where you just don't feel the need to pay top dollar for Grade A5 Wagyu roasting on a perfectly-heated bed of hot charcoal.


We're pretty stoked then that Ssiksin 食神 has just today opened its' doors in Bedok Point. It's run by the same Korean tai tai's as Ssikek over in Tampines 1. Decor is decidedly basic with monotonous wood everywhere - from the tables, partitions, floors and the furnishings. It does help that it's very 'open air,' so unlike the sister outlet further east it doesn't really get too stuffy/smoky/meaty in the dining area.


As Korean BBQ buffets go you do get the staple meats - pork belly, bacon, pork shoulder, some marinated beef, rib eye and short ribs. Over on the seafood there's decent sized prawns, squid rings and some chicken sausages sitting amidst fresh lettuce, onions and other garnish.


There's also a basic collection of cooked food - some pasta, some glass noodles, seaweed and beef/radish soups and an assortment of vegetable tempura. Nothing to get particularly excited about of course but not everyone can eat pure meat for an entire meal.


The buffet price includes free flow of drinks from the soda fountain.


As is par for the course for BBQ Buffet restaurants you do need to grill your own meat. We're actually extremely impressed with the new ceramic grill plates. They don't give out a lot of smoke - so you finish the meal smelling a lot less meaty than normal - but we totally dig how non-stick they are. The non-marinated meats hardly left any residue, and the residue left behind by the marinated meats was easily wiped off with a couple of tissues to reveal an almost-new plate to continue grilling! Awesome.


Overall it's solid and tummy filling but not particularly gourmet dining. At just $24.95 for a buffet dinner you really wouldn't ask for more. Open seven days a week on the 2nd floor of Bedok Point mall. Non halal.

* Apologies for the quality of photographs in this post which were snapped by mobile phone as we didn't bring our cameras

Soy Garlic Fried Chicken at Bonchon Chicken (Bugis+)

"It is not just Chicken, it's Bonchon Chicken" ... or so goes Bonchon's advertising tagline. Originating from Korea, the franchise has also spread its' wings to the Philippines, Thailand, and the USA, where it's been apparently garnering huge raves.

What we didn't know was that Bonchon has actually also set up shop here in Singapore - at the first floor of Bugis+ (formerly Iluma), so we hitched a train ride to Bugis and ordered up a Large Combo of 10 wings and 4 drumsticks for SGD21.90 to see if the food lives up to the hype!


There are two flavors available - Soy Garlic and Hot Sauce. What's interesting is that the flavors are incorporated into the deep-fried batter, so you get all the flavor but not-so-much of the mess. The large combo also comes with 2 side dishes - we go for edamame and coleslaw.

Verdict? While we enjoyed the crispiness of the batter and the Asian-influenced tastes, we didn't feel close to being blown away. To make matters worse, our batch of drumsticks were pretty badly overcooked. I'm not sure if you can see it in this photo, but the tops of the 'sticks were dry, hard and tough.


Overall, a pretty big disappointment, then. If they can adjust their cooking time and/or temperature I might give them another shot, but dry and hard chicken is inexcusable, especially on a juicy part like the drumstick. Having never tried the outlets in other countries I can't comment on how authentic the fried chicken here is; but for the Singapore version you'd be far more satisfied at 4 Fingers instead.

Also, while we tend to make huge concessions with regards to service in what is essentially a quasi-fast food joint, the service standards here are simply atrocious - standing in line for a good ten minutes being ignored by the entire wait staff isn't fun.

Bon Chon is located at #01-03, Bugis+ Shopping Centre, Bugis.

Great Value Buffet at Ssikkek Korean BBQ Buffet (Tampines 1)

I think this is the first time I've ever come across a Korean BBQ buffet restaurant. I mean, I've had my fair share of Korean BBQ over the years, but they've all been alacarte-style, pay for each portion that you eat. So when the darling and I chanced upon this new Korean BBQ Buffet place, we just had to go in and try!


With a decidedly unpronounceable name, Ssikkek Korean BBQ Buffet seems authentic enough in that it's staffed by a half dozen Korean tai tai's. There's a pretty decent variety on offer. On the seafood side there's just Shrimp and Squid, but the meat section more than makes up for it with Pork Belly, Bacon, Pork Shoulder, Beef Short Rib, Beef Rib Eye, Sausages and a few more other cuts, all replenishable as long as your stomach has room. Some of them even come pre-marinated.


The one glaring difference between this joint and a more traditional ala-carte one, is the lack of the customary banchan (side dishes). Instead, there's free flow of soup, kimchi stew (delicious), Korean glass noodles and Pancake.


So the drill is simple; Go to the counter in the middle, grab your meat, and bring it back to your table for grilling. Rinse and Repeat times however many times you want. If you get thirsty, the first (500ml) bottle of water per table is free; you have to pay for any additional bottles, though.

Ssikkek advertises its' BBQ grills as using some sort of state of the art smokeless grill. It uses infrared light or some other unknown technology. Sounds good in theory, but in practice the entire restaurant still gets smoky anyway, so lunch may not be your wisest choice if you've got a business meeting later in the afternoon - you will smell like grilled meat for a while.


I think the no-frills concept works good. Unlike normal BBQ joints where I normally try to order less meat and fill up on the rice and/or banchan (side dishes), I found myself eating easily three or four times the amount of meat. Unfortunately the first two batches were dry and overcooked (due to a lack of grilling skill on my part), but once I got adjusted, the meat is effectively no different from more premium places.

If you noticed from the pictures above, the cuts of meat do have quite a bit of fat on them, so lots of meat means lots of fat and oil - and it does get a bit "OMG FATS OVERLOAD" at the end.


What about the price? Ranging from 14++ Weekday lunch to SGD24++ Dinners, it's unbeatable value for money. You've got to turn up early, though, because the restaurant fills up fast (reservations not accepted), and the queue moves extremely slowly.

Ssikek is on the 4th floor of Tampines 1 shopping mall. The BBQ Buffet concept is a real winner - added bonus for it being fairly near my work place / home. Non-Halal.

Seoul Yummy - Casual Korean (Suntec City Outlet)

Whenever I think of Korean food, two things spring to mind: Korean BBQ and Kim Chi in various forms. Korean cuisine is a whole lot more than that, of course. I suppose in our corner of the world, Korean BBQ joints seem to form the majority of restaurants serving Korean cuisine.


The darling and I came across Seoul Yummy in Suntec City Mall, which presents itself as a casual Korean dining place. Menu prices seemed pretty reasonable, and well ... there was a huge (faux) tree in the middle of the dining area with bright orange leaves, making it actually quite inviting.


We go for their weekend Set Lunch, which for SGD20 nett buys you a glass (or cup) of Hot / Cold Roasted Barley Tea and a choice of Starter and Main Course. Oh, and not forgetting the customary banchan (side dishes) that most Korean places serve.

Personally, I found the banchan rather lacklustre and forgettable. The kimchi was a particular disappointment, lacking in spiciness (heat) and overloaded on the sour.


Our first starter is the Steamed Kimchi with Pork Dumplings, which isn't too bad. It sort of tastes like a steamed gyoza with kimchi as the vegetable component. The dough is a tad bit on the thick side, though.


The Potato Pancake was a little disappointing. To be honest I'm not entirely sure how this pancake is supposed to taste. To me it was just bordering-on-tasteless starch, even when liberally dipped into the provided sauce.


The darling orders the Bibimbap (Mixed Vegetable Stone Pot Rice) with Pork - which ended being pretty run-of-the-mill stuff.


My Hotplate Spicy Kimchi Soup with Pork (and rice) fared little better. The soup itself was quite a bit more watery & diluted than I was hoping for, and lacked "ooomph." At least the ingredients were quite generous - lots of pork, tofu, egg and assorted vegetables floating around.


For the price that we paid, I think that the meal was satisfactory. It certainly wouldn't qualify as "gourmet," but then it's unreasonable to expect gourmet taste for un-gourmet money. If you're craving for Korean food and don't really want to break the bank, Seoul Yummy should satisfy, but otherwise you'd probably have more satisfaction elsewhere.

Seoul Yummy is located at the Basement Level of Suntec City Mall. Non halal.

Porcine goodness at Daorae Korean BBQ - Sri Petaling outlet.

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There are tons of Korean BBQ restaurants in and around KL (and its surrounding areas). Vast majority of them are single-shop outlets though; Daorae is the only one I can think of that operates on a chain-restaurant, many-outlets-around-town style. We're trying out the Sri Petaling outlet to see if it's any good!


I don't know if you feel the same, but when I first started eating Korean BBQ years ago, you had to grill your own meat. This gave a pretty good sense of "attachment" to the meat, since ... well you know, since you cooked it yourself. Nowadays almost all joints have foreigners cooking the meat for you at your table though. Perhaps the restaurants don't want you to screw up the cooking of the meat and then subconsciously think "ew the food here sucks."


Salt-spice oil, garlic, and other condiments. And a big jug of cold water without needing to ask for it. In my opinion all restaurants should do this, not just Korean ones.


Of course, no Korean meal is complete without the accompanying side dishes, or banchan. These are either "complimentary," or "priced into the bill" depending on how you want to look at it. We found that the kimchi was nice, but the rest of the dishes were very ordinary.


While we're snacking on the banchan, a waiter cooks up our pork! We hardly ever eat beef at Korean BBQ's - mostly because of the price. Pork belly and pork loin normally runs rm20-rm25 per serving, but beef rib-eye can be more than twice that. Why is beef that much more expensive than pork? I buy my rib-eye steaks at Jaya Grocer for rm8/100gm. But anyway, once it's cooked, grab a slice (or two), dip it in your sauce of choice, wrap it in a salad leaf, add whatever else you want, and voila! Heavenly bite-sized morsel.



We found Daorae overall solid but not outstanding. There are plenty of other Korean BBQ joints with better and more value-for-money food. Specifically in this neck of the woods, I'd prefer a short drive over to Taman Danau Desa to eat at Seoul Korea. The place is dirtier, warmer, and darker, but food's better - and if memory serves me right - a little cheaper, too!

Daorae is in Sri Petaling, along the same road as the Sri Petaling Hotel, and opposite the Shell service station. Non-halal (obviously).

Korean BBQ in Holland V - Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue

Harlow from Singapore! And specifically, from that expat & yuppie hang-out area, Holland V. Absolutely no relation to anything Dutch. But anyways, we had a hankering for some charcoal bbq'ed meaty goodness, so we headed over to Hansang Korean Charcoal Barbecue Restaurant for our fix!

What sets Hansang apart from all the other Korean BBQ places we've been at are the choices of 'higher-end' meat available on offer - if your wallet's up for it, there's black angus and wagyu beef on the menu.


We're can't shake the sgd/myr exchange rate off the back of our minds though so we settle for an order of Sam Gyub Sal (pork belly meat, SGD25.00) and an order of Kurobuta Loin (Black Berkshire pig loin, SGD35.00).


Drinks - Roasted Barley (SGD1.50) and Yuja Tea (SGD4.20) with the side dishes that are ubiquitous (big word power) at any Korean BBQ meal.


Dinner turned out to be very satisfying - the pork was fresh and nice. We thought it was a bit odd that the waiter started off the grilling of the meat and then just disappeared without saying anything - leaving us to flip and cook the pork. I suppose on the bright side you're able to control how well done you like your food.

We also thought that the restaurant was a bit kiam siap overall. For almost $40/pax, no free flow roasted barley, or even cold water? And not to mention the uber mini-sized side dishes, each one finished in two chopstick grabs and have to ask for refills.

Hansang is in Holland V, at the moment it's not accesible by MRT, so you'll have to either use the Route Planner to find out which bus to ride. Or just take a cab!

Kim's Korean BBQ in Bandar Mahkota Cheras - Set Lunch

Just a really really short mini-post about Kim's Korean BBQ in Bandar Mahkota Cheras. I'm here not for the Korean BBQ, however, but for the very reasonable set lunch at $10.00.


It seems that it's a Korean thing to always have many many different side dishes to go with the mains. For the set lunch here at Kim's, there are 5 sides (which is a very low number for Korean restaurant standards). The kimchi was quite nice! I don't know why they insist on serving the sides in these mini dishes though. Must be a nightmare for Koreans when they're washing up after dinner - just imagine washing like 30 plates for a family of 5 ...


Anyway back to the topic: I have the Dae-ji Bul-go-gi (Spicy Marinated Pork). It's actually pretty good, and not too spicy - some Korean places can really go overboard in upping the chili level in their dishes.


The MYR10.00 for set lunch also comes with drinks, and if memory serves me right, a slice of fruit, which is a very reasonable price. Definitely worth to check it out if you're in the area and have a hungering for Korean food.

Kim's Korean BBQ
29, Jalan Temenggung 9/9
Bandar Makhota Cheras
Cheras, Selangor

Seoul Korea - Korean BBQ at Taman Danau Desa

I love Korean BBQ, and when my mum suggested a place (fairly) nearby in Taman Danau Desa, I immediately said yes even though I was nursing a bit of a sore throat. Fast forward - and the darling and I reach the restaurant. Like many other Korean BBQ joints it's on the second floor:


Even at 8.45pm on a weekday the restaurant is full. After queue'ing up for a table and waiting for the rest of the family to arrive, and after placing our orders, the waiters distribute over 10 different side dishes. Of particular yummy notes are the kimchi, the tofu wrapped in egg, and the steamed egg, but the rest of the dishes are pretty good too.


We order two different kinds of pork (apologies to my Muslim friends). Here's the pork sizzling on the bbq:


And here's a shot of the 'finished' product - plain BBQ pork:


And the special chili-marinated BBQ pork. I love the chili one better, but the taste is a bit salty and strong and could be a bit overpowering for some.


I don't remember what the exact name of this dish is - if memory serves correctly, it was Boiled Pork with herbs. Delicious as well.


Sadly I didn't pay and so I don't know the exact breakdown, but the dinner cost slightly under MYR200 for 9 people, so it's very value for money. Seoul Korea is in Taman Danau Desa - drive around the shoplots and if you see a Korean restaurant above a Mamak and beside a Cosway - that's the one.