GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Lunch Buffet

ABBEY: This is where we treated Ate Pres for lunch upon their visit. This Korean restaurant is at 4th storey of Orchard Gateway.

This is one thing to take note of : No food wastage. A 100-gram of leftover costs 20SGD. This is a good policy so guests will take only what they can consume. Anyways you can go back to the buffet anytime.

I had spicy rice cakes, jap chae and some kimchi. But what I enjoyed the most is their steamboat. Tofu, chicken and pork balls in collagen soup is delicious. I also made a dipping sauce with sesame oil, chili, vinegar, and soy sauce. I waited for their Korean chicken but only chicken nuggets were served. My dessert is sweet watermelon. One pax is $16.90++.

WILL: Nieces, nephew and in-laws surprised me here in Singapore. They visited the Little Red Dot with little time. Haha! So when they gave me a chance to plan for their Monday schedule I did not hesitate to look for available slots for a lunch buffet that is just right for my budget. 

And then I took the opportunity to finally dine in at Goro-Goro. This place is pretty famous with people who offers Korean Steamboat at a very low cost. They get their pricing lower "some more" if you are a student. Deal? Deal! 

Our group, consisted of seven,were entitled for 4 soup flavors: we chose Mala, Ginseng, Tomato and Collagen and get lucky that the collagen soup was served in front of me(Good for the skin).  

Their buffet offers not so much that time but I enjoyed the meal. Specially when I got their dumplings!! Tasty! I can eat those dumplings cooked at collagen straight for 2 hours. Haha! Then their fishball and their omelet. Juices are refillable too! 

Guys, guys! You do not need to spend a fortune just to eat to a buffet restaurant. Try GoroGoro and enjoy your Korean Cuisine food while watching K-Pop artists! :)

***

GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Buffet 

218 Orchard Rd #04-01 Gateway@Emerald

(T) 6385 7854

Lunch

(Mon-Fri)

Adult $16.90 ++

Child $9.90 ++

Lunch (Sat/Sun & PH)

Adult $25.90++

Child $16.90++

Dinner (Mon- Thurs)

Adult $25.90 ++

Children $16.90 ++

Dinner (Fri-Sun, Eve PH & PH)

Adult $27.90++ 

Child $16.90++

Paik's Bibim (Bibimbap) - VivoCity Singapore

ABBEY: We went to Paiik's Bibim in Vivo City to have dinner. It is a little shop that serves Korean dish bibimbap. 

I got their recommended item: Beef Bulgogi Bibimbap for 8.50SGD. It came in a big bowl and on the wall a sign shows how to eat it; very simple, just mix it all and enjoy it. It was sweet and delicious. From time to time I'm putting chili paste to make it hot and spicy. 

They only accept cash and NETS.

WILL: For almost 5 years of marriage we do not forget to unwind and have a dinner date. We frequently explore on food. Why not? Singapore has lot to offer. 

That night we went for Korean cuisine. Paiik's bibimbap is a fast food themed dining site. I went for Teriyaki Chicken Bibimbap ($8.50). It is flavourful. Any person that do not want spicy but like to try Korean's Bibimbap, this is the right place for them.

Chir Chir Fusion Chicken Factory – Korean Fried Chicken Restaurant

ABBEY: We're supposed to have dinner at another location, but since our hunger requires some big servings we headed to Chir Chir at their branch on 313 Somerset. This is to celebrate the anniversary of our blogsite.

We're lucky enough not to wait in queue and got a table within seconds; because the queue got long a few minutes after we came.

Most of the menu items are for sharing. So better go there with a tag-along. We ordered garlicky chicken and Chir Chir Mi Chir. They said it is for two, but actually it can be for 3 :)

The chicken is crispy and sweet on the outside and moist on the inside. It is mild spicy as well. You can eat this without any rice, pasta, pizza. Just eat it alone. 

The Chir Chir Mi Chir fried chicken tenders were soaked on creamy pasta sauce. It was delicious. We finished the paste and sauce to the last drop.

WILL: Chir Chir is the newest sensation in town. The queue is horribly long and it is very good that  we arrived early. 


They do not have an individual meal so we ordered first 2 sets of food... for sharing. I am expecting that they will serve us a small portion but I am wrong. We were shocked by the size of their servings. It's huge. 

I love their Chir Chir Mi Chir  the sauce is amazingly delicious and creamy. Their Garlicky Chicken is quite spicy but the flavour is just at the skin, the meat is quite bland. 

The price is pretty expensive to battle with many Korean Chicken that is serving a single meal. 

Spicy Fire Chicken with Cheese (Cheese Buldak: 치즈불닭) Recipe

Chicken breast (cubed)

Korean chili paste (depends on your spice level)

Chili flakes (depends on your spice level)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp cooking oil

2 tbsp honey or rice syrup

1 tbsp of ground black pepper

3-5 cloves garlic (minced)

2-3 tbsp minced ginger

Or use 2-3tbsp of ginger-garlic paste

Mozarella cheese (cubed or grated)

Mix all the ingredients except chicken and cheese. This is for the paste. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, throw in the chicken and mix again. Put in a pan, and add a cup of water. Then bring to a boil. Upon boiling, lower the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Transfer in a baking dish and top with mozarella. Put into microwave until the cheese is melted. You can also put in conventional oven.

VERDICT
WILL: Abbey and I love to watch cooking channels at Youtube. Yes! We are punishing ourselves in watching a sumptuous meal being tasted by the cooks. Haha! But Abbey is not only there to watch but also to study how to do those. So last Sunday Abbey cooked Cheese Buldak. 

How good it is? Even it is hot, I ate it non-stop! Creamy, spicy, yummy! This is quite a treat! Love you Abbey! Thanks for keeping on surprising me! 

Braised Pork/Mushroom Kimchi Recipe

Ingredients:

Kimchi (whole cabbage as this will be used for wrapping)

Slices of pork belly

Onion (1/2 of king sized-thinly sliced)

Pepper paste (depends how spicy you want)

3-4 tbsp sesame oil

3-4 honey

Ground black pepper.

Vegetarian version:

4-6 shitake mushrooms (soaked for at least 3 hours to be plumped- cubed or sliced)

2-3 stalks of green onion (chopped small)

Onion (1/2 of king sized-thinly sliced)

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2-3 tbsp sesame oil

Ground black pepper

For the vegetarian version, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

On a pan, layer the onions.

Wrap the pork belly with kimchi. Put a strip of sesame oil before rolling. This will give more flavor to the pork. Ensure that the roll is tight. Put it on the pan when finished.

Do the same with the mushrooms.

Once all the rolls are on the pan, spread pepper paste on each of them.

Sprinkle with ground black pepper; drizzle with sesame oil and honey.

Put a cup of water and bring to a boil.

Upon boiling, lower the heat and rinse the rolls with the soup base.

Simmer for 45-60mins. This will give delicious aroma to your kitchen. :)

Add water if needed.

Serve with freshly cooked rice.

VERDICT

WILL: Abbey slashed one our week's menu and announced that he'll be cooking the menu I was drooling for months whenever I am watching it in Maangchi's youtube channel. 

The cravings end when the Braised Pork Kimchi touched my tastebuds. It is way too hot and spicy but I can't hold back my spoon to stop scooping the food inside my mouth. 

It is not only taste good but also one of the healthy alternatives in our daily menu. :) 

Love my chef a lot! Next time "Cooking Time" post please!

Tteokbokki - Hot and Spicy Rice Cake Recipe (Korean Cuisine)

Ingredients:

Rice cakes

1/3 cup pepper paste

1 tbsp pepper flakes

1 tbsp sugar

Fish cake/balls (cut into bite size)

Kikiam

Hard-boiled eggs

4 cups water

Spring onions (cut into strips and small chunks for garnish)

Stock:

7-10 pcs of anchovies (without the head and guts)

A good amount of kelp or seaweed.

On a casserole, put the kelp, anchovies and water. Bring them to a boil. 

While waiting for the it, mix pepper paste, pepper flakes and sugar in a bowl until well incorporated. Once the water is boiling, remove the anchovies and seaweed and put in the rice cakes and the pepper-sugar mixture. Mix it gently and simmer for a couple of minutes. Next, put the fish cakes, kikiam, and eggs.

Put in more water if sauce is too thick as the rice cakes will absorb some of it. Adjust the spiciness as well to your desire.

Garnish with spring onion and serve hot with or without rice.

VERDICT:
WILL: "There is a reward to the one who waits."

I waited not days, not weeks, but months for my husband to cook this for me. Well, you can't force a chef to cook something, why? It will reflect to the food. When he decided to make schedule for spicy rice cake, I immediately affirmed on it. Haha!

The aroma of spiciness makes my tummy grumbles even more. He announced for lunchtime and my cravings was satisfied. Tsk! The sauce clicked really well to the rice cake and fishballs. 

Because the sauce is really delicious, I asked Abbey if I can have a bowl of rice. He explained that the rice cake is my carbo for that food but I insisted to have a separate rice for the spicy sauce. Yummmmy to the max! 

Crunchy Korean Fried Chicken and Mushroom (Dakgangjeong: 닭강정)

Ingredients:
Chicken wings/boneless thigh/drumsticks
Shitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water then cut into quarters)
Potato starch
Dried chili peppers (seeds removed and cut into strips)
Sesame seed
Soy sauce
Vinegar
Sugar
Garlic (minced)
Ginger (minced)

1. Put the chicken and mushrooms in a bowl and mix with ginger, salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Mix potato starch with water and let it settle in the bottom of the bowl and then discard the water. This will serve as your batter.
3. Coat the chicken and mushrooms with the starch and deep fry them. And then double fry. This will make the chicken and mushrooms very crunchy.
4. For the sauce, fry garlic and dried chili peppers. Then put 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar and 2 tablespoon sugar.
5. Once the mixture form bubbles, toss the chicken and mushroom and mix it until all of them are covered in sauce.
6. Top it with sesame seed and serve with hot rice.

VERDICT
WILL: I am big fan of Maangchi. Being the biggest fan of her youtube channel and even I am not the one cooking I always watch her videos. Then I stumbled upon this Korean style fried chicken... The Dakgangjeong. As usual, I asked Chef Abbey to do that for me. 

Lo and behold, Abbeys's Crunchy-Crunchy Spicy Chicken and Mushroom. Every bite is an explosion of spiciness in my mouth. 

Thanks Abbey for cooking! Love it a lot! 

Japchae 잡채 (Sweet Potato Starch Noodles)

Ingredients:
lean meat pork/beef (cut into strips)
shitake mushrooms (soaked in warm water then cut into thin strips)
3-4 cloves garlic (minced)
brown sugar
soy sauce
sesame oil
toasted sesame seed
1 large egg (yolk-beaten)
spinach (washed and drained)
dangmyeon (sweet potato starch noodles)
2-3 green onions (cut into 2-inch long pieces)
medium onion (sliced thinly)
1 medium carrot (cut into matchstick size)
1 medium red bell pepper (cut into strips)
ground black pepper

1. Marinate pork/beef and mushrooms with minced garlic, a teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper, 2 teaspoon of soy sauce and a teaspoon of sesame oil.
2. Boil 4-5 cups water in a pot. Once done, put the spinach and let it be cooked for 1-2 minutes.
3. Put the spinach in a strainer and wash in running water to stop it from cooking.
4. Give it a chop or two and then put it in a big bowl. Drizzle with sesame oil, black pepper and pinch of salt.
5. On the same pot, put the sweet potato starch noodles and cook as per package instruction. Upon cooking, put it in the same bowl as the spinach. And then put sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce.
6. For the vegetables, cook them separately from light to dark color with a pinch of salt and put on the bowl once done:
   a. onion, green onion
   b. carrot, red bell pepper
7. Cook the beef and mushroom on the same skillet.
8. For jidan (garnish), on a non-stick pan put small amount of oil and have it cover the whole pan. Put in low heat. Remove the excess oil and turn off the heat. Put the yolk and tilt the pan so the yolk will be thin. Flip it over to cook the other side. Upon cooking, cut it into thin strips.
9. Mix all the ingredients in the bowl. Top it with jidan and sesame seed when serving.

VERDICT
WILL: My husband/chef is going Korean! He was well inspired my Maangchi. 

When we went to Chicken Up, my boss ordered glass noodles. Because I am a shy type of person (maybe not, haha) I only took a small portion of Japchae. So to serve my cravings, I asked my handsome chef to cook it for me once we have time. 

2nd Sunday of 2015 arrived and he want to satisfy my drooling. He cooked Japchae. 

The noodles are perfectly cooked. Sweetness and saltiness of the brown sugar and soy sauce is quite nice combination. The aroma of sesame oil and sautéed mushroom is at its finest. 

Thanks Abbey. What will be the next Korean dish will he make?  

Tangsuyuk (Sweet, Sour, and Crispy Pork: 탕수육) Recipe

Ingredients:

1/4 kilo of pork (lean meat)

5-7 pcs of medium-sized shitake mushrooms (soaked for 1 hour)

2 cups of potato starch (dissolved in water)

1 tsp ginger (chopped finely)

1 egg (egg white only)

Sauce:

1 medium-sized cucumber (sliced thinly)

2-3 rings of canned pineapple (cut into quarters)

1 medium-sized carrot

1 small apple (sliced thinly)

1 small onion (sliced thinly)

3-4 pcs woodear mushrooms (soaked and chopped)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp wiphite vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

3 cups water

2 tbsp potato starch (dissolved in water)

1. Slice the pork thinly and dry marinate it with ginger, salt and pepper. Put in fridge.

2. Have the dissolved potato starch settled at the bottom of the mixture for an hour and a half.

3. Cut shitake mushrooms in quarters. Put some salt, pepper and potato starch powder.

4. Mix two tbsp of potato starch on the pork.

5. Once the starch is settled at the bottom of water-starch mixture remove the water and mix the egg white, then pork and mushrooms.

6. Deep fry the pork and mushrooms until it turns light brown.

7. Put in strainer and set aside. Prepare the sauce now.

SAUCE

8. Saute onion, carrots, apple,  and woodear mushrooms.

9. Add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil.

10. Add vinegar, sugar, soy sauce and a little salt and pepper.

11. Mix the dissolved potato starch until the sauce thickens.

12. Re-fry the mushroom and pork. This will make them very "crunchy-crunchy"

Serve it separate or you can pour the sauce into the fried pieces.

If in doubt, visit www.maangchi.com and search for tangsuyuk.

VERDICT
WILL: Crunchy! Crunchy!

I can't count how many times Abbey watched Maangchi while cooking this cuisine. He watch over and over and it made me drool and asked my husband to cook it for me. Finally, first Sunday of year 2015 I got to taste this famous Tangsuyuk.

I can't control myself when I saw the first batch of fried mushroom and pork. I warned Abbey that I might ate it all before he prepared the sauce. But it is crunchier when Chef Hubby double fried it.

I am so surprised to taste the sauce. Delicious!

We will never forget to add this viand in our monthly dish. Healthy and yummy option. 

Chicken Up - Korean / Chicken Restaurant

ABBEY: First things first, this restaurant is only open after office hours; so no breakfast or lunch being served. We learned this the hard way. Not checking their operating hours, we headed to have lunch after our physical exam. Lo and behold, they're close. 

Second, be there early else you have to queue. No reservations. Chicken Up is located at 48 Tanjong Pagar Road and they are serving Korean cuisine. As the name itself, they focus on poultry. They have their chicken buffet for only S$25. 

We tried fried Soya chicken wings. This is very flavorful, delicious and finger-lickin' good. I enjoyed eating this with a cup of hot white rice. We also tried the normal fried chicken and hot ones. They look exactly the same. But once you take bite, then you'll be looking for water if you pick the spicy piece. This is also the case with their chicken stew. 

The glass noodles item is recommended. It is like Pinoy sotanghon but with thicker soy sauce-based sauce and more mushrooms. Each main item would start at less than 15sgd only. I also recommend their watrmelon juice.

WILL: We always wanted to dine at Chicken Up but we didn't get a good chance. I am so glad that Ford's farewell party was held there. 

They do not accept reservations but luckily Mondays are my husband's off. I begged him to queue for us. We arrived minutes before the clock strikes 6pm. 

We ordered for the flavors of soya, spicy up, yangnyum and andong chicken stew. Yangnyum stands out. Its sauce makes a difference; sweet yet have some spike of spiciness. Do not get deceived of Spicy Up, it looks the natural fried chicken but it will surely kick your butt. Haha! We almost forgot to taste the Japchae. The noodles are chewy. Very Korean. 

Instead of ordering soda, we got the Chicken Up's famous Watermelon Soju (a watermelon juice mixed with popular distilled drink of Korea). Sweet and have some hint of alcohol. Do not drink too much. Ok? 

The prices of this chicken is really expensive. If you want to get the value of your money go for chicken buffet $25 but only for 2 hours. :) 

See you next time Chicken Up. 

Bornga (Original Korean Taste) at VivoCity

ABBEY: We have dined in at Bornga Korean restaurant at Vivo City for lunch after a book hunt at Logos Hope. Feeling that I won and got my prized books, I ordered Chadol Duenjang Jigae. It will be prepared to you by their chef at your table. Unfortunately, I said yes when he asked me if chilli should be added. I'm not that a fan of chilli as my tongue gets numb and I'm not able to taste the food. The chandol taste sour and spicy; maybe its because of the kimchi. 

We were also given small bowls of side dishes like soy sprouts and anchovies. It was a new experience to have dined in a Korean restaurant. Next time I'll try their bulgogi.

WILL: After our hunt for discounted price books of Left Behind Series at Logos Hope, we decided to splurge on our lunch. It was the 2nd day for 2014 Chinese New Year holiday and we understand that almost all of restaurants will be packed by hungry people.We set our foot at Bornga. Well, I have a craving for Korean cuisine for that day and Bornga will be perfect.

I asked for Dolsot Bibimbap. They poured in a complimentary bottmless hot tea and the side dishes starts settling on our table. I was so shocked that was really a lot! I jokingly told to the server that the side dish can fill my tummy and hope that I just ordered a steamed rice, haha. 

Dolsot bibimbap is very good specially partnered with kimchi. Oh, I love kimchi a lot. 

This is a very recommended place to dine. The place is very relaxing and the attendants are very accommodating. 

Thanks a lot Bornga Team, you made our holiday so great! 

NeNe Chicken Singapore - Star Vista Branch

ABBEY: We have tried BonChon and now is the time to tickle our taste buds with delights from Nene Chicken. 

We dined on their branch at Star Vista mall (nearest MRT is Bouna Vista). The place can accommodate 20-25 pax. Save your chat with your friends and place your order. It will take time to get ready and wait until your coaster lights up. It's worth the wait. 

I've got Green Onion. The chicken is crunchy outside and moist and flavorful inside. It is mouth-watering and absolutely you'll ask for more. The soy sauce mixed with rice have a hint of wasabe and really complimented the chicken. Their fries is a bit different as they are thin but delicious. You can either eat your meal with bare hands and get messy or you can ask for a disposable gloves on the counter. Depends on how you want to enjoy your experience.

WILL: Sorry… I chicken out to try the freaking hot flavored chicken! Huhu! NeNe Chicken originates in Korea, so popular in that land that found its way to cater the cravings of their Singapore fans.

I first saw their branch here in Star Vista, their place was well lit but constricted. I then asked Abbey to set a date to dine at this place and that was planned to be with my very good friend / blog model… Chat. Haha!

We met, sat and ordered. As I told you, I backed-out to taste the freaking hot when I saw some of diners keep on gasping for an air when they take a bite on that piece of red chicks. I went for Snowing Cheese, Abbey for Green Onion and Chat for Swicy. My order, of course, pact with cheese, not so salty but quite sweet. The serving is too big for me. As usual, I asked my husband to eat the rest for me.

Their french fries oh I mean their Buffalo Sticks tastes so good that if I am not that full, I will buy for tapao. I like the pickled radish too.

Go ahead and visit their Star Vista branch, their service is quite slow but I am sure that it is worth the wait.



Kkongdon Korea BBQ SG

ABBEY: JP Pepperdine has a lot of food chains and Kkongdon Korean is one of them. Wilma told me that she won a 20sgd voucher from JP Pepperdine Facebook contest and asked me if we can redeem it at Marina Square. 

So we went there for dinner after office. The staff warmly greeted us and showed us our table. We were advised to try their meal for two at 19.80 per pax. A choice of 2 meats (chicken, beef, and pork), kimchi cake, egg soufflé  and soup. It also includes buffet of kimchi and veggies.

WILL: Since Korean culture hits the Asia so hard, people goes berserk from fashion to food. No wonder why JP Pepperdine group brought Kkongdon Korea Bbq here in Singapore. As they want to be known to diners, they held a contest and a $20 vouchers were up, blessed, we are one of the lucky beneficiary of that contest. Ha! 
      Abbey and I just met at Esplande MRT station after office hour. Just 150 meters away, we walked to Marina Square branch, their lovely people approached us and immediately guide us on to our table.
      We ordered their BBQ Special Dinner Set for $19.80++ per person. Griller was ready and I am so thankful that they have exhaust fan per table. We set the meats and spices to our griller and while waiting for it to be cooked, we munched up their unlimited Korean side dishes. I am not fond of DIY cooking, luckily my hubby was there to wave his magic on our foods. This package came with my favorite kimchi pancake and chadol. 
      Visit their Facebook Page for more information.