Lovely Cafés in Asia-Pacific

The café culture is here to stay, both in Singapore and overseas. It matters not whether you are a coffee and/or tea drinker (or neither) but that we slow down our pace and take time to catch up with our thoughts, family and friends. We may plan to visit a café, a particular one even, or just need a place to rest our tired feet. Sometimes, we chance upon a lovely café with a decent menu at a reasonable price. What better way then, than to sip a cuppa and watch the world go by while nibbling on small and not-so-small bites?

Perth, Australia
It was a planned trip to Padbury's Café Restaurant for breakfast. I loved its interior and exterior – one of the oldest surviving commercial and residential buildings in Guildford, built in 1869. All the dishes we ordered were beautifully plated and deliciously fresh, from the sweet to the savoury such as Big Paddy's, Magic Mushroom and Padbury's Benedict. Of course, we had to order Our Famous Meringue Munro Pancakes. No complaints about the drinks and pretty latte art too.

Seoul, South Korea

As my travel companions and I did not manage to visit Garosu-gil during our first trip to Seoul, we decided to do so during the second time. Chanced upon SkinFood Café located above its concept store and settled on the quiet space with cheerful yellow accents against wooden furniture, white bricked walls and tiles. Did not expect much of its food and drinks since this is a cosmetic and skincare brand but they tasted surprisingly decent, and were also Instagram-worthy.

Taipei, Taiwan

My travel companions and I penned down in our itinerary that we would café-hop at Yongkang Street, just like we did in Garosu-gil. We were still full from lunch at Kao Chi when we walked past Smoothie House and gave it a miss. Continued walking down the street, saw 8% Ice Bistro and chose this as the sky was threatening to rain. Lovely place to chillax with good gelato and dessert, and enjoy coffee as-is, iced or in powder form – pour from shot glass onto lemon slice and have them together.

Coriander Leaf

There were noticeably fewer participating restaurants in Singapore Restaurant Week from 24 to 31 Mar. Decided on Coriander Leaf, a Pan-Asian restaurant on the 2nd floor of Chijmes. Could neither rave about its first course of pomelo and green mango in chilli-lime dressing topped with coriander leaf, nor fault the dessert of Alphonso mango sorbet with fresh fruit salsa and meringue. Thai mango salad was followed by second course of tiger prawn tempura, and sweet potato noodles with honsimeji mushrooms and edamame. Do not expect the tempura to be thin and crispy like how it was done in a good Japanese restaurant, or the sweet potato noodles to be springy and chewy like how the Koreans do it. But the sweet prawn and flavourful japchae made up for what this dish lacked, and I liked both the mushroom and edamame. Main course of tender Tandoori chicken, served with cucumber relish and mint chutney, was well-marinated and went well with the butter naan.

What to Eat in South Korea (Part II)

...continued from What to Eat in South Korea (Part I)

Jjimdak, japchae and juk
First tried jjimdak in Singapore (Andong Zzimdak has since closed) and found the braised chicken with carrots, onions and potatoes dish familiar albeit spicier. Was a tad disappointed with the one recommended by our hotel concierge though. Another dish reminiscent of homecooked food is japchae – sweet potato noodle similar to tang hoon, stir-fried with sesame oil, soy sauce and vegetables. If you cannot take spice, then try its juk or Korean traditional porridge. Tried its abalone juk but could not discern any abalone in the thick consistency porridge.

What to Eat in South Korea (Part I)

What comes to your mind when you think of Korea? K-pop and K-drama has shown that the Land of the Morning Calm has more to offer than kimchi and Korean barbeque, cosmetic surgery and skincare. Before my first trip to Seoul, I heard of many who came back from the East Asian peninsula complaining that they were sick of barbeque which they ate almost every day and kimchi that was served at every meal. But I discovered South Korea, or at least Seoul, has a lot more variety of food than that:

Budae jjigae and sundubu
My first time trying budae jjigae or army stew was in a foreign land when two Koreans cooked for the rest of us. They shared how this was comfort food in the army and could be cooked with easily available ingredients like instant noodles, kimchi and luncheon meats. Some places also add sausages, rice cakes, baked beans and/or cheese. Also like another stew – sundubu, made with soft and silky tofu, comes with choice of other ingredients such as mushrooms, meats and seafood.

Eight Korean BBQ

Eight Korean BBQ opened its 1st branch on the 2nd floor of Central in 2013 and has since expanded to Shaw Centre. My dining companions and I visited the former for lunch on a weekday, and was surprised there was just another two tables occupied. According to the website, it is named after its 8 Colours Set – pork belly slices in wine, original, garlic, smoked, herb, curry, miso and gochujang flavours (from the lightest to the heaviest). Decided to order its Flower Pork Set of flower pork belly, pork neck steak and pork jowl to try different parts of the Mangalitza hog used here. A rare pig of Hungarian origin often mistaken for sheep due to its thick woolly coat, it can withstand harsh winter as low as -30^oC. Is this why the raw meat was red like beef with marbling twice that of regular pork? Was apprehensive about putting a piece of 100%-fat-looking jowl into my mouth but am glad I did as fats had never taste so good, possibly due to Mangalitza fats melting at a lower temperature than regular pork fats.

There was no gamely smell to both the fats and meat which were tender, juicy and sweet. Every set comes with raw leafy greens that you can use to wrap the grilled meat and mushrooms with kimchi and bean sprouts. And Seafood Bean Paste Stew that started a tad bland (though a dining companion thought it was flavourful enough), was just nice in the middle of our meal but too salty and thick at the end. Could neither rave about the clams nor fault the squids in it though the mussels were not fresh which the staff kindly changed for us. We also ordered a comforting White Ginseng Chicken Soup – taste of the chicken that could be easily torn apart with the Korean metal flat chopsticks and spoon, was accentuated with a dash of the salt and pepper that was served alongside. Of the banchan, our favourite was the thin slices of preserved radish. Oh, and did I mention that the grill plate was tilted to drain away the oil and that you can spray fabric freshener on your clothes before leaving the Korean restaurant?

Tokyo Sundubu

While Sundubu is a Korean tofu stew cooked with vegetables and meat or seafood, I first ate it at a Japanese restaurant that has since closed. The dish supposedly gained popularity after a Korean opened a sundubu restaurant in Los Angeles. There are two branches of Tokyo Sundubu, Japan's largest sundubu restaurant chain, in Singapore – Raffles City Shopping Centre and Suntec City's Eat @ Seven. Though my dining companions and I visited the former on weekdays (once for lunch and once for dinner), waited very long for our orders to arrive if our food was even served. We had Mushroom Sundubu, Kuro-Buta Sundubu, Kuro-Buta Mushroom Sundubu, Seafood Sundubu and Cheese Sundubu. Among us, we also tried different combinations of all its soup bases and levels of spiciness. I liked the salt and ginger soup base at level 1 as its taste was not overwhelmed by the miso and/or spice. Found the portion too small though, and its price a tad high.

sbcd

Happened to be in Tanjong Pagar area over the weekend when we were hungry. As most places are only opened on weekdays and it was still early for dinner, our choices were limited. Found sbcd tucked away in a corner at B1 of Tanjong Pagar Centre, and decided on the Korean Tofu House. Other than tofu stews that contain pork (except for the vegetarian option) and vegetables, it also offers mains such as bibimbap, bulgolgi and teriyaki chicken. Appetisers include mandu or fried dumpling, japchae and jeon – prawn tofu or seafood pancake. Sundubu, or soontofu as it is spelt here, means soft tofu in Korean and is handmade daily for adding into the stew served with an egg.

Big Mama Korean Restaurant

Do you know any authentic Korean restaurant in Singapore that is not located within the Korean enclave in Tangong Pagar? Heard rave reviews of one in Tiong Bahru and have visited the simply-furnished place with wall stickers and posters, many times since it opened in 2012. Located along Kim Tian Road with Coq & Balls and Lee Tai Fu, Big Mama Korean Restaurant serves homestyle dishes with no MSG. There is another branch at Biopolis near Buona Vista MRT station – Big Mama BBQ & Beer, which I have not tried as it is a BBQ restaurant. So who is Big Mama? Owner Namgung Ji Young, an ex-tutor who used to cook for Korean students in Singapore. Reservations (6.30pm or 8pm for dinner) are recommended as the place is usually packed. For last minute craving, your best bet is to go earlier as most people tend to eat dinner around 8pm. It is opened from 5.30pm for dinner. The specialties here are Dakgalbi and Suyuk, both not commonly found elsewhere.

Andong Zzimdak

Read about Andong Zzimdak, located at the basement of Raffles City Shopping Centre, and have wanted to try the Korean place despite its limited menu. The name plays on the word "jjimdak", a braised chicken dish from Gyeongsangbukdo, Andong. As I have never tried jimdak before and the smallest portion here is good for two to three people, have been apprehensive in suggesting the place to my dining companions in case we did not like it. Until I recently found out about its $12.90 lunch sets, and decided to visit on a weekday. Had the Andong Jjimdak set, which is one of the four main dishes on the à la carte menu (the rest are boneless, seafood and spicy versions) and also one of the four lunch sets available.

Guksu

Met up with two dining companions for dinner on a weekday and was asked to choose between Mad for Garlic and two Korean restaurants, all on the 2nd floor of Suntec City. As I am not a fan of garlic, we checked out the menu for Guksu and Kimchi Korean Restaurant by the same owners. Both had stews and while the former is the first homemade Korean noodle house in Singapore, the latter's offerings included ramyeon and barbequed meats. A dining companion was enticed by the Hankook style hotpots at Guksu, which features a fiercely protected handmade Korean noodles recipe that was passed down two generations since 1945 in its Executive Chef Kang family line, though we did not order that in the end. Were tempted by the Korean fried chicken with options of having them classic (honey mustard sauce), soya or spicy.

Togi BBQ & Salad Bar

Togi Korean Restaurant started a decade ago as a small restaurant in Mosque Street and has since opened a 2nd branch in Singapore. Located on the 2nd floor of TripleOne Somerset beside Daruma Ramen House, Togi BBQ & Salad Bar does not look like a typical Korean restaurant. Simply furnished with white walls and high ceiling, it is spacious and not filled with smoke. Clean-looking with vertical gardens on walls and overhanging from above, the place has wooden tables and chairs both indoors and outdoors. Having walked by a couple of times, I finally visited on a weekday evening and was seated immediately. First to arrive was a complimentary small bowl of porridge I could neither rave about nor fault. This was followed by six different types of banchan, of which I liked the anchovies or ikan bilis and fishcake reminiscent of local yong tau hu best.

Supulae

On a Friday evening a few months ago, my dining companions and I met up for Korean dinner. Walking down Tanjong Pagar Road, a banner with the words "Naked Waitresses Serve You" caught our eyes. A closer look read "the naked truth about our waitresses is that they only serve you to make you regular". Still, we decided to check out the place packed with Korean customers and left our name. Then, we continued exploring the area and tried our luck at Todamgol where we managed to get a table for four. In the end, we ordered and ate there without receiving any call from Supulae (yes, that's the name of the restaurant where we left our number). Fast forward to last Friday and I was back with a different group at the restaurant. Opened last year, extendable exhaust tubes hung above gas-ignited charcoal grill at wooden tables paired with wooden benches and chairs against bare walls and concrete floor. Reaching before 7pm, my dining companions and I were seated immediately.

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken

4 Fingers Crispy Chicken opened a few years ago in Singapore but I have always been put off by the long queue at Ion Orchard. Set up by four foodie friends who saw and tried several eateries in bustling New York selling Korean-style fried chicken, this is not a franchise from South Korea. Other branches include the one at Plaza Singapura (there was no queue when I passed by after eating at Tim Ho Wan), another three in the Philippines and four in Indonesia. Located at basement 4 opposite the first overseas outlet of Sydney-based burger heavyweight Charlie & Co, the queue was not long enough to deter me from joining after I saw the snaking one at Krispy Kreme. Still, it took me about 10 minutes to reach the counter. Was given a "buzzer" that would light up, sound and vibrate when my order was ready for collection and a good 20 minutes passed before it was my turn.

Bornga

The brainchild of renowned Korean Celebrity Chef Jong Won Paik, Bornga is Korea's leading chain of barbeque restaurants with almost 50 branches worldwide since it was established in 2002. 33 of these are in Korea with the rest in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. Following the successful debut of its 1st foray here (last November at The Star Vista), a 2nd has opened on the 2nd floor of VivoCity in May this year. My dining companions and I waited for more than half an hour on a weekend evening before we were seated near the back with a view of Sentosa and its fireworks. Dimly-lit and spacious but a tad smoky despite extendable black exhaust tubes hanging from the ceiling, which could be pulled down to just an inch above the grill. With the exception of kimchi as well as broccoli and cauliflower with accompanying sauce, complimentary free-flow banchan were mostly salty and nothing to rave about or fault.

Paris Baguette

Seems it is not just the local coffee scene that is booming but also the bakery scene with Tiong Bahru Bakery and Drips Bakery opening their 2nd branches at Raffles City Shopping Centre and along Sunset Way respectively. Within walking distance from French's Paul bakery at Takashimaya and Japanese's Maison Kayser at Scotts Square, is Korean's Paris Baguette at Wisma Atria. Brought in by SPC Group with more than 3,000 outlets in Korea, this is its 1st concept merging the bakery's offerings with menu items from upmarket restaurant Passion 5 in Seoul. The 24-year-old European-style Korean bakery chain also has presence in China, the United States and Vietnam. Do not be misled by the stand with a menu near its front (no entrance to speak of since the café is not enclosed with passers-by gawking at you eat) as customers are supposed to find their own seats. This involves Lady Luck shining on the right table and breathing down others' neck while waiting, no different from a food court.