Gullible Travels

Manna Story

POSTED ON Sunday, April 19, 2015 AT 4:27 PM \ leave a comment (0)

In preparation for an upcoming visit to Seoul, we decided to get into the mood by having some Korean fare. Manna Story is considerably one of the more authentic versions to be found in a shopping mall setting, and is known to be good value-for-money too. The outlet at JCube actually brings a pretty unique dining experience, not exactly busy, brightly decorated, and over-looking the ice-rink. shades of the wintry feel in Seoul.

Originating from the shop-houses of Telok Ayer Street, the Manna brand till today attracts a steady clientele of Koreans and locals alike. K-Pop artistes such as Rain and Shinhwa have also supposedly visited the main branch, according to pictures found on the walls. Since moving to malls such as Plaza Singapura and JCube, the mainstream version of Manna Story have been bringing authentic Korean dishes to the masses.

i recall a hearty serving of 12 types of Banchan, or side dishes, the last time i visted Manna Story. so i guess the modest serving of 4 is a sign of current economic times. undaunted, we went ahead to order some of the Korean favourites. for someone like me with a more delicate tolerance for spicy Korean food, this was good training for the days ahead in Seoul.

we went for this Budae Chigae, which was a scrumptious mix of ham, sausages, tofu, vegetables and ramyeon immersed in a well-flavoured kimchi soup. it was quite a generous serving, suitable for 2 people and certainly no less satisfying than an army-stew hotpot. on top of that, we had a serving of pork bulgogi delivered on a hotplate and a dish of traditional Korean rice cakes or Topokki. the meats were well-marinated with the right kick of spice, although the Topokki tended to get a little drab after awhile (maybe too big portions of the same thing).

i'd always have a soft spot for Korean noodles and this ramyeon dish warrants some mention. nothing too fancy, just Korean ramen in kimchi with egg, seaweed and chicken. the spices within the broth and the texture of the noodles somehow makes this dish real comfort food. strangely, our much anticipiated Korean steamed-egg turned out to be the disappointment of the evening, overly soft and absolutely bland. what happened?

nonetheless, Manna Story remains a popular family restaurant at various shopping centres. the outlets are often packed and attracts people of all ages. though it may have lost abit of the hype that it started with, we'd still come back here the next time there's craving for a simple Korean fix.

Manna Story
2 Jurong East Central 1, JCube
#04-19, Singapore 609731

Opening Hours
10 am to 10 pm (daily)

Manna means delicious food from heaven.. fyi