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Ajumma's (Funan)
The brand new Funan prides itself as a creative intersection and opened with a bang a couple of weekends ago. traditional brands put in their best efforts to present themselves with new concepts to join the hipster vibe that this experiential mall offered. Not many may be familiar with a traditional Korean family restaurant tucked at the basement of The Cathay, but when you visit Ajumma's at Funan, the eatery was bustling with activity and attracting a queue at meal times.
designed somewhat like an Izakaya Bar (albeit Korean version) at basement 1 of Funan, Ajumma's serves up popular Korean dishes in a fast-serving concept. although the eatery is pretty much no frills, with a simple banchan set (not refillable) and largely bar-counter seating, it is starting to get popular for its affordable pricing and good variety of Korean home-cooked dishes, street snacks and drinks. 
If all things Korean carries the distinct bean paste taste, nothing would beat Jjajangmyeon or ramyeon with black bean paste and pork collar. the noodles are served warm and springy and is to be well mixed with the bean paste sauce to make it a flavourful noodle dish. for those who'd love their Kimchi fix for the spicy kick, there are also several Kimchi based stews and noodles on the menu for patrons to choose from. 
when it comes to Korean food, i'd always have a soft spot for Fried Chicken and Toppoki. this dish has both, chunks of mildly spicy Korean fried chicken served with popular street food rice cake. the dish is a tad spicy and probably a little starchy if consumed on its own, nonetheless, it has fairly generous portions and would have gone well with an ice-cold beer. all meals come with a simple rack of 4 side dishes including popular choices such as Kimchi and spicy seaweed. other street food favourites are also available on the menu, including traditional Korean pancakes and the Fluffy Steamed Egg. 
the restaurant offers all the essential drinks that'd accompany well with its dishes, including the common types of beer, soju and other imported sodas. we decided to try their Yakult Soju It was fairly light on alcohol and the Yakult has made the drink pretty sweet. It's a good touch to get beginners into Soju and we did notice that this was quite a popular choice amongst the customers here. In all Ajumma's simple and fast moving concept for affordably priced Korean food has attracted quite a following in just the 3 weeks it has opened. we observed native Koreans coming to patronize from the outlet and often this is a sign that the food served is authentic enough. the opening at Funan does indeed put this restaurant back into the spotlight, and we wouldn't be surprised if the store at The Cathay could reap the spoils of its strong following soon. 
Ajumma's (Funan) 107 North Bridge Rd Funan, #B1-31 Singapore 179105 Opening Hours Daily: 11 am to 10 pm Experience the bold and vibrant flavours of Ajumma’s Korean dishes.. Labels: #ajummas, #funan, #jjajangmyeon, #koreanfoodsg, #toppoki, #traditionalkoreanfood, #yakultsoju Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant
to train up for an upcoming visit to Seoul, we decided to have a little Korean fix just to get into the mood. at the heart of Singapore's central business district, Amoy Street and Telok Ayer Street is home to a mini-enclave of Korean diners and restaurants. while they are frequented by office workers during weekday lunches, the fact that native Koreans specially come for dinner and on weekends says much about their authenticity.
Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant has everything Korean written all over it. its newly fit-out interior and spacious setting makes this a cosy place for catching up and having a feast. the menu spread offers good variety, from the Korean BBQ selections to the traditional dishes and stews. Apart from the regular soft drinks and Soju, some of the imported drinks from Seoul such as the Korean Sprite is a popular choice here. 
the true Korean joints are really generous with their Banchan, or side dishes. over here, there is a wide selection to choose from and your favourite ones are even refillable. Kimchi lovers will go for multiple servings of the favourite Korean dish, for myself, i'd whack the spiced anchovies which i had always found to be a therapeutic snack. 
we went on to try one of their hotplate grilled dishes. Buldak or spicy cheese chicken, is a popular Korean dish that can turn out to be really spicy in some places. the preparation at Hyang Yeon is done back-end, so the dish comes served on a hotplate without much sizzle left on the pan. unlike western restaurants where they'd ask you how you'd like the meat done, you may want to be a little more specific with this one, as our chicken turned out medium-rare. but having said that, everything goes well with dollops of cheese and the degree of spice was just right. our mains for the evening was Budae Jjigae or Army Stew which would have been only more perfect if it was snowing outside. the portions were generous, with ample ramyeon, luncheon meat, rice cakes and kimchi. 
To top off our evening, we had a round of Makgoli (Korean rice wine) served in this bowl. very ancient three-kingdoms-oath-style. the rice wine was sweet and smooth on the palette, good for washing down the very rich tasting dishes that we had. in all, our visit to Hyang Yeon was a very pleasant one and for those of us working around the CBD, we'd certainly be making plans to drop by again. 
Hyang Yeon Korean Restaurant 80 Amoy Street #01-01 Singapore 069899 Opening Hours Mondays to Fridays: 11.30 am to 2.30 pm; 5.30 pm to 10.30 pm Saturdays and Sundays: 5 pm to 10 pm Having time with precious people.. Labels: #amoystreet, #armystew, #budaejjigae, #hyangyeonkoreanrestaurant, #koreanfoodsg Captain K Seafood Tower
the area around Prinsep Street is becoming quite a buzz lately with bars, cafes and restaurants all sprouting up. You'd recall us talking about the artisanal cafe Curious Palette sometime back, and in stark contrast, the concept of Captain K Seafood Tower is alot more straightforward, yet unbelievably popular.
something pictorial to give everyone the idea first, this restaurant is essentially offering a steamboat concept. it's soup base supports layers of these aluminum containers, each containing a dish of steamed seafood stacked over. customers can select layers ranging from 3 to 9 tiers, depending on the group size and the idea is that the essence of the steamed seafood will simmer through the holes in these containers to add flavour to the soup base. 
we were fortunate to have a big group of friends on this visit, so we went for the jugular and ordered the 9-tier tower. amid the prawns, scallops, oysters, squids and shellfish, this Alaskan Crab stood out, for its freshness and meaty limbs. scissors are provided on hand to help us break through the thorny shell. the way that the food is steamed also enabled us to lick off the meat from the shell pretty easily. 
we also managed to try an experimental dish that is not-on-the-menu-yet, steamed crab with golden roe marinated in rock salt. at a glance, this looks like cold steamed crab on a bed of ice, but it turned out to be salt, which gave the crab a rich flavour. another interesting dish worthy of mention is the steamed squid wrapped with spicy rice stuffing. the combination is actually very fragrant, but it guess when it was stacked as one of the bottom few tiers, most of us were too stuffed to really lap up the whole stuffing. 
some special mention for the soup base, customers can choose from 3 types: Korean Kombu Dashi stock, Kimchi stew or Ginseng chicken. we choose Ginseng Chicken for its rich taste and this was where the real steambox truly begins. you can select a variety of ingredients from the counter ranging from vegetables, hot-dog to instant noodles. you'd be charged based on the colour plates just like a sushi bar. there are also a few sauces (mostly sweet or spicy) to complement the steamed seafood so this is truly the fun part of the evening. Steamed seafood generally doesn't come cheap at most restaurants today, however, Captain K further brings an experience of unraveling the layers, and enjoying all things Korean. It's really popular now, and making a reservation before hand would be advised. 
Captain K Seafood Tower #01-02 Income@Prinsep 30 Prinsep St, Singapore 188647 Opening Hours Mondays: 6 pm to 10.30 pm Tuesdays to Thursdays: 12 pm to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm Fridays: 12 pm to 3 pm; 6 pm to 11 pm Saturdays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 11 pm Sundays: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 5 pm to 10.30 pm Steering and pioneering new culinary creations for food lovers.. Labels: #captainKseafoodtower, #koreanfoodsg, #seafood, #steamboat |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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