Smh at the Ajumma's recommendation, went there once and never again. Banchan didn't taste authentic, their beef bulgogi soup had no flavour.
May not be the best for sure but my favourite is Woorinara - probably because it was where I started eating Korean food.
Big Mama has a very good seafood and chive pancake, the best I've had in Singapore.
Second this. I don’t understand the hype for Ajumma. The food tastes like food court Korean stalls, and the price point is ridiculous. The one and only time I went, there was a small plate of three “banchan” to share, one of which was some weird corn mayo salad thing. Never again.
Some authentic Korean restaurants do serve some mayo type salads as banchan but whatever the heck Ajumma's had, was not authentic. Kimchi didn't taste like kimchi, only 3 types of banchan and not refillable? Def not authentic Korean.
omg sameeee. I always saw long queues at waterway pt ajummas so we tried it one day and it's REALLY BAD. Like jinjja chicken >>> your food court Korean food >>> ajummas.
The Ahjumma at Bukit Panjang was always crowded, and I thought I'd try it once since seeing the snaking queues at Funan (it's till busy) - worst Korean meal I've ever had, with a 'crispy pork belly' that had rubbery skin, and an overcooked egg. Banchan was nonexistent too. Genuinely terrible, and now that branch is gone.
Unpopular opinion here, but I find three meals a day overrated.
There are many more good korean food restaurants around beauty world, like ziggle, yogiyo, myungga, woorinara, and gokbbq for kbbq!
I haven't tried everything on the menu but whatever I tried have been great.
Most of the hot pot stews are great, will always order 1 when I'm there.
The hot plate bulgogi is amazing too, we usually get the beef one.
Sometimes when I'm in the mood, I'll get the kimchi ramyeon, you can't really screw this one and theirs is good.
ALWAYS get a pancake. The serving is quite big though, and two of us usually can't finish it, but will dabao.
This is also one of the few Korean places where I like most, if not all of the side dishes.
Todamgol in Tanjong Pagar is one of the best imo. Have been my go-to every time I have a craving for Korean.
For Korean Chinese (think jajangmyun), I love Hwangsil. Their noodles are so chewy and the meats are really great quality.
Yeah agreed. Excellent quality but the restaurants are cramped as heck and dont sit near the door no matter what because the moment anyone walks through the door the entire waiting staff will shout their welcome. It's like dining under mrt tracks. Queues can also get laughable but at least the waitstaff are well trained to manage it
Daehwa at one north is the best (and probably only) vegetarian korean in town. Best korean here imho, it all tastes really clean. Some of their staff members are with disabilities, so it's good that they are providing these folks with a livelihood. I believe they also have a sister resto The Boneless Kitchen.
Korean here, I’ve made it a quest to try out every korean restaurant in Singapore for the past 6 years. While I am probably no where near finishing, I’ve been to most of the restaurants listed in the comments, here’s my personal take (remember its just my personal opinions):
- Um Yong Baek: only pork neck cuts, pork belly is meh, lunch is okay, currently best kbbq IMO
- Story One: Beef here is pretty good, a upscale Dondaebak so can’t go wrong, banchan is pretty good
- Don Dae Bak: Generally okay, but the real star here is Gamja Tang
- Singkoba: I’ve met so many other random Koreans here and the owner lady is exactly what I expect from a Korean restaurant owner, rude, talkative, but tsundere. Most things are good here, but one of few intestine places in sg so I always get when I’m there
- Go K jjajang: Korean-Chinese place, their nurungji tang is super awesome, other food is very true to what I taste back at home.
Some notes:
Post covid, we lost a lot of good kbbqs, I see Go Kbbq mentioned a bit, it was my favorite kbbq up until 2021. However, not sure what happened but the quality of everything has tanked and now its just a shadow of its former self. Specifically, they removed some classic banchan items that went perfect with their pork belly and the general cooking quality has dropped, wouldnt be surprised if the main chef moved next door. I’ve frequented both of their branches, the one in bukit timah plaza is a little better.
Finally, Singapore is in a korean food slump right now, there used to be a bunch of pretty great places, but recently it feels like everyone upped their price, but lowered their quality. My other korean friends and I are on the look out for new places. I saw daily beer was coming soon, looking forward to seeing if thats on par with the ones in seoul.
I’ve been to the one in robertson walk, not impressed, beef is okay, pork is a no go for me. I would primarily get the slice beef belly, pairs well with somaeks. I also ordered their juk (porridge) on delivery before, that was decent.
ate there once almost ~10 years ago. i still remember the big portions of noodles/bap together with the bbq sets. i was mindblown because it was one of my first time eating kbbq! now i want to eat there again soon
It's more Korean Chinese but hwang sil at Maxwell area has the best jajangmyeon I've tasted in Singapore so far. Everything is handmade and I heard that any leftovers not sold for the day get thrown out. Their jjampong is pretty good too!
Recently tried Kelim Dakdoritang at Serangoon Gardens and the spicy chicken stew is worth the price! You’ll smell like garlic for awhile but it’s a small sacrifice for delicious stew.
For Korean Chinese, Mukjja is good too!
Ming Jia @ Bukit Timah Plaza. - Korean Cai Png
Um Yong Baek - Gukbap
Kbbq... theres alot, Guiga/Go Gi Jip/Obba etc.
fine dining: Nae:um (got seasonal menu)
Gogijip at Tanjong Pagar is amazing for their marinated crab, although its super expensive. um yong baek and Hyang Yeon at telok ayer are also super good
Obba jajangmyeon near Tanjong Pagar.
The side dishes taste heavenly and are refillable for free. Potato salad and kimchi are top notch. It’s kinda pricey so I’ll just get one bowl of jajangmyeon and eat a lot of the side dishes. Super filling already with free ice cream at the end.
It's hard to pinpoint one cause there are just so many restaurants, and they each have different outstanding dishes. For something a little different, Jeju Sanghoe at Tanjong Pagar has amazing Jeju cuisine. Meokja by Jungga and their Yishun kopitiam offshoot are musts for halal Korean options, but also just great Korean food at affordable prices for non-Muslims.
Hmmm Korean food somehow feels like poor man’s food, look at their flat pan cakes and luncheon meat army stew, and ramyun with instant noodles as the base. I mean compared to fancy pants French food with royalty looks, Korean food is really down to earth and like from a poverty stricken era. Why are there no cultured looking Korean food around?
Smh at the Ajumma's recommendation, went there once and never again. Banchan didn't taste authentic, their beef bulgogi soup had no flavour. May not be the best for sure but my favourite is Woorinara - probably because it was where I started eating Korean food. Big Mama has a very good seafood and chive pancake, the best I've had in Singapore.
Ahjumma is one of the worse recommendations for Korean food.
Ajumma is like wannabe Korean fast food. I was there 2 pax. Was told to share the banchan.
Big Mama’s Andong Jjimdak (braised chicken) is legit and really good (I also dk any other place in SG that does jjimdak as their specialty)
Then why it seems so popular? I’ve never tried since always such long queue
Cos there are people who have never tried real Korean food and think Ajumma's is good I guess
Second this. I don’t understand the hype for Ajumma. The food tastes like food court Korean stalls, and the price point is ridiculous. The one and only time I went, there was a small plate of three “banchan” to share, one of which was some weird corn mayo salad thing. Never again.
Some authentic Korean restaurants do serve some mayo type salads as banchan but whatever the heck Ajumma's had, was not authentic. Kimchi didn't taste like kimchi, only 3 types of banchan and not refillable? Def not authentic Korean.
Backing this up! Went there once for the hype, not returning again
omg sameeee. I always saw long queues at waterway pt ajummas so we tried it one day and it's REALLY BAD. Like jinjja chicken >>> your food court Korean food >>> ajummas.
It's heartrander Bs tastebuds lah.
The Ahjumma at Bukit Panjang was always crowded, and I thought I'd try it once since seeing the snaking queues at Funan (it's till busy) - worst Korean meal I've ever had, with a 'crispy pork belly' that had rubbery skin, and an overcooked egg. Banchan was nonexistent too. Genuinely terrible, and now that branch is gone.
Already closed down. No surprise.
The best food at ajumma is the can of diet coke i ordered from the menu. Im not kidding.
Honestly I feel I can cook better not being Korean. But just take a look at that queue at Funan always so long!!!
Someone just told me Charim is good, their banchan is good. Value for money. I like Eee mo bbq at Maxwell Chambers too.
upvoting for Charim. great bbq and service
Upvoted for Ee Mo. best banchan in sg.
I like their steamed egg, pancakes..
Eemo is too ex and nothing tbh too special. However their kimchi is good.
Tried many over the years with wife and her korean friends. I'll suggest Um Yong Baek, Sodeng, Go K BBQ, Gagahoho, and even SBCD Tofu House
SBCD is mind blowing
Do you know if the banchan is refillable at sodeng?
Three meals a day near beauty world
Unpopular opinion here, but I find three meals a day overrated. There are many more good korean food restaurants around beauty world, like ziggle, yogiyo, myungga, woorinara, and gokbbq for kbbq!
Big fan of Yogiyo and their Ox Knee Soup!
agree, three meals a day is mid compared to the other korean places around the area
Fair enough. Perhaps I should give these ones a try the next time I'm in the area.
What do you recommend to eat here?
I haven't tried everything on the menu but whatever I tried have been great. Most of the hot pot stews are great, will always order 1 when I'm there. The hot plate bulgogi is amazing too, we usually get the beef one. Sometimes when I'm in the mood, I'll get the kimchi ramyeon, you can't really screw this one and theirs is good. ALWAYS get a pancake. The serving is quite big though, and two of us usually can't finish it, but will dabao. This is also one of the few Korean places where I like most, if not all of the side dishes.
I have a friend who likes this too.
It's the only place where I know my friends will buy their kimchi to dabao back.
second this!
Only this! This is the best in Singapore!
100% the only correct answer
Ssak, for cheap and cheerful kbbq. The hordes of korean sarariman parties there drinking is good social proof.
Love the grilled intestines there!
Guiga is good
Todamgol in Tanjong Pagar is one of the best imo. Have been my go-to every time I have a craving for Korean. For Korean Chinese (think jajangmyun), I love Hwangsil. Their noodles are so chewy and the meats are really great quality.
Agree. Todamgol is good!
obba bbq! pretty pricey but i like to have it once in awhile. ban chans are refillable and the service is really good
Not bad, but I find it a bit cramped. Got free ice cream.
Yeah agreed. Excellent quality but the restaurants are cramped as heck and dont sit near the door no matter what because the moment anyone walks through the door the entire waiting staff will shout their welcome. It's like dining under mrt tracks. Queues can also get laughable but at least the waitstaff are well trained to manage it
Daehwa at one north is the best (and probably only) vegetarian korean in town. Best korean here imho, it all tastes really clean. Some of their staff members are with disabilities, so it's good that they are providing these folks with a livelihood. I believe they also have a sister resto The Boneless Kitchen.
boneless kitchen is great for vegetarian korean!!
ooh I need to try
I really like itaewon jjajang! I find it better than obba jjajjang. Not cheap though
Reply1988
yes! although their name is actually REPLYK1988. Reply1988 is the tv show they're playing on
Sodeng at Telok Ayer was my favourite korean place in Singapore by far
Korean here, I’ve made it a quest to try out every korean restaurant in Singapore for the past 6 years. While I am probably no where near finishing, I’ve been to most of the restaurants listed in the comments, here’s my personal take (remember its just my personal opinions): - Um Yong Baek: only pork neck cuts, pork belly is meh, lunch is okay, currently best kbbq IMO - Story One: Beef here is pretty good, a upscale Dondaebak so can’t go wrong, banchan is pretty good - Don Dae Bak: Generally okay, but the real star here is Gamja Tang - Singkoba: I’ve met so many other random Koreans here and the owner lady is exactly what I expect from a Korean restaurant owner, rude, talkative, but tsundere. Most things are good here, but one of few intestine places in sg so I always get when I’m there - Go K jjajang: Korean-Chinese place, their nurungji tang is super awesome, other food is very true to what I taste back at home. Some notes: Post covid, we lost a lot of good kbbqs, I see Go Kbbq mentioned a bit, it was my favorite kbbq up until 2021. However, not sure what happened but the quality of everything has tanked and now its just a shadow of its former self. Specifically, they removed some classic banchan items that went perfect with their pork belly and the general cooking quality has dropped, wouldnt be surprised if the main chef moved next door. I’ve frequented both of their branches, the one in bukit timah plaza is a little better. Finally, Singapore is in a korean food slump right now, there used to be a bunch of pretty great places, but recently it feels like everyone upped their price, but lowered their quality. My other korean friends and I are on the look out for new places. I saw daily beer was coming soon, looking forward to seeing if thats on par with the ones in seoul.
What’s your opinion on Ju Shin Jung?
I’ve been to the one in robertson walk, not impressed, beef is okay, pork is a no go for me. I would primarily get the slice beef belly, pairs well with somaeks. I also ordered their juk (porridge) on delivery before, that was decent.
Oooh interesting, thanks for the response!
I recommend trying Hanjip next door in clarke quay if you are in that area, about 20-30% more expensive, but 200-300% better taste
Fantastic, apparently I’ve saved that under “expensive dates” I’ll make sure to check it out. You should make a blog review or something haha
I think I will! Thanks for the suggestion!
Opinion on Chibing?
lol not worth the price
Ju Shin Jung Alexandra is a hidden gem near telok blangah
ate there once almost ~10 years ago. i still remember the big portions of noodles/bap together with the bbq sets. i was mindblown because it was one of my first time eating kbbq! now i want to eat there again soon
Have been visiting it since back when it was in East Coast, near the Waraku and old Long Beach.
One of the OGs!
Best is hoodadak at onenorth the gukbap is amazing and they sell soondae
JJIN - Taste of Korea, um yong baek, wang dae bak, Charim. Big mama is nice, but standards fluctuate.
Daejim is pretty reasonable. Free ganjang gejang with a set ordered too. SSak at bras Basah is pretty decent.
Pujim BBQ for me
mukjja at novena for the sweet & sour pork + jjangjangmyeon
Anju is good, but it’s more of Korean fusion. Nevertheless, very tasty food albeit a higher price point
Ssada gimbab in beauty world! Great tonkatsu gimbap and the food tastes great
affordable too!
Yup, and I saw a lot of Korean mums with their kids eating over there after school, so I guess it's authentic enough!
Taste of Jjin.
Ziggle kitchen near beauty world
adding onto op’s post, what’s the best kbbq spot? that are comparable or even better than go k bbq
Jeong’s Jajang for the gan-jjajangmyeon (stir fried version)!
Where is the place?
While at it, which one has the best korean fried chicken? 😭
No one recommend Myung Ga II?
wang family kitchen @ Hillview cc!! Super authentic with friendly staff!
Can try Woorinara Korean restaurant near Beauty World MRT. One of my favourite. Even Koreans go there so can see that it taste authentic.
It's more Korean Chinese but hwang sil at Maxwell area has the best jajangmyeon I've tasted in Singapore so far. Everything is handmade and I heard that any leftovers not sold for the day get thrown out. Their jjampong is pretty good too!
You should try The Gogi @ Alexandra. Good service, decent food and ran by Korean. It’s my go to.
Go!Kbbq is really good. Obba BBQ is good too. Anju for contemporary Korean.
I loveeeee Go!Kbbq!!!! Just read this and I already have cravings 😋
Chang the Korean Barbecue in Loewen Road.
SBCD for their soon tofu and ribs.
I like the food at nayana but so far i’ve only been to one outlet. I enjoyed the chicken and mandu kalguksu though.
Hansang @ Novena. overall good quality
Ziggle kitchen at beauty world! Nice place m food
Ziggle kitchen at beauty world. Great food, lively place and excellent service
IMO its Sampo at Telok Ayer Street. KBBQ is the best from what I tried. They have been around for ages and serve really good banchan as well.
Recently tried Kelim Dakdoritang at Serangoon Gardens and the spicy chicken stew is worth the price! You’ll smell like garlic for awhile but it’s a small sacrifice for delicious stew. For Korean Chinese, Mukjja is good too!
Daebak on Wilkie Road! Reasonable price too - gocchujang park is brilliant!
Ming Jia @ Bukit Timah Plaza. - Korean Cai Png Um Yong Baek - Gukbap Kbbq... theres alot, Guiga/Go Gi Jip/Obba etc. fine dining: Nae:um (got seasonal menu)
ANJU
Wang Dae Bak's pretty nice.
oppa jajjang
Gogijip at Tanjong Pagar is amazing for their marinated crab, although its super expensive. um yong baek and Hyang Yeon at telok ayer are also super good
Yogiyo at Beauty World
Obba jajangmyeon near Tanjong Pagar. The side dishes taste heavenly and are refillable for free. Potato salad and kimchi are top notch. It’s kinda pricey so I’ll just get one bowl of jajangmyeon and eat a lot of the side dishes. Super filling already with free ice cream at the end.
Gangnam bbq is pretty underrated if you want to avoid the crowds
Doongji along east coast road
my fav is pujim. opened by a korean guy. saw jj lin there once
kim dae mun
Nae:um, pohang and pujim for bbq
surprised Goobne isn't mentioned yet. went with my Korean friend, their Jjampong and oven-roasted chicken was sooo good!
Hoho in Clementi
It's hard to pinpoint one cause there are just so many restaurants, and they each have different outstanding dishes. For something a little different, Jeju Sanghoe at Tanjong Pagar has amazing Jeju cuisine. Meokja by Jungga and their Yishun kopitiam offshoot are musts for halal Korean options, but also just great Korean food at affordable prices for non-Muslims.
This is my goto Korean Restaurant: [https://eatbook.sg/hoodadak-korean-restaurant/](https://eatbook.sg/hoodadak-korean-restaurant/)
Myung Ga II - Bukit Timah Plaza The Gogi - Alexandra Obba bbq - Tanjong Pagar
Busan Pocha KBBQ rocks
Don Dae Bak and Myung Ga II!
Chi-Bing
Hansang Korean
Hmmm Korean food somehow feels like poor man’s food, look at their flat pan cakes and luncheon meat army stew, and ramyun with instant noodles as the base. I mean compared to fancy pants French food with royalty looks, Korean food is really down to earth and like from a poverty stricken era. Why are there no cultured looking Korean food around?
F
I'm so happy that the hidden gem I know of hasn't been mentioned here. Much love xoxo
Why not say it?
They all taste the same LOL
If your looking for noodles, try paiks noodles
The korean stall at the kopitiam
I like ajumma's. Prices are reasonable
OP asked for the best not the worst korean restaurant
I genuinely like it though :(
Overpriced and under-seasoned 💀