it's been a while since i've been back to ssäm- my last visit was sometime late last year. i've gone back several times since my last post, always ordering the bowl, but switching to kimchi rice instead of the mild tasting cilantro lime rice. the bowl has been the thing i was craving every time i go back, so i've never been tempted to try the burrito.
knowing L and her liking for korean food, i've always wanted to bring L along, but ssäm's only open on weekdays, and only until 6 pm at that. it's only now that L's working in raffles place that i've been able to introduce her to the place.
we took a quick walk over from republic plaza. it was nearing the end of the lunch rush, so even though there were still only two tiny tables, we managed to grab a table after waiting around for a bit. it's more of a grab-and-go type of place (what with the high, not really comfortable stools and limited shop space), not somewhere to linger over lunch, which suited our purpose fine. the other table, however, was occupied by three girls who seemed to have a leisurely lunch in mind- even after we left, they were still there. i remember having to share a table almost every time i was there, and this time, it was no different.
i, of course, ordered the bowl. they're pretty flexible about the base- i got half kimchi rice and half salad. and because i was starving, i got the beef and chicken as protein. happy to say that they're still as generous with servings as i remembered them to be! even L, who is as much of a bottomless pit as i am, was taken aback by the size of the bowl. the toppings remained the same, as were the prices ($11 for mine). L was less greedy and got just the beef bowl.
the food was just as gloriously yummy as i remembered. it was a delicious explosion of korean-mexican flavours- who knew korean and mexican could go so seamlessly together? i was especially fond of the seaweed topping. we were both equally enamoured with the beef. thinly sliced (kind of like those for shabu shabu), with just enough fat to make it flavoursome, and well marinated.
standards were just as high as i remembered- rare, really. and i'm so glad that L liked it just as much as i did! definitely going back for more of the bowls with L (i should probably try the burritos next, but the rice bowls are just so good).
ssäm
#b2-45
marina bay financial tower 1
https://www.facebook.com/ssam.est2014
vatos urban tacos has been filed away on my to-try list for ages, but i have so many places on my to-try list that i clean forgot about this place. korean-mexican sounded like a good fit for my dinner with X, so finally! i get to try it!
it being a wednesday night, i didn't think that we'd need a reservation (though i usually just make reservations in case- don't know what i was thinking that day. probably feeling lazy). man, was i wrong. we reached at about seven-thirty, and the place was PACKED. the guy at the counter told us that it was fully reserved (!) and we were looking at a wait of about one to one and half hours. ridiculous really. since it was raining, we decided to just stay put, wait and try our luck. also managed to snag a copy of the menu to peruse, and the more we looked, the more tempted we were. so i guess it was lucky that we managed to get a table after about twenty minutes, even if it was a (makeshift looking) table outside the restaurant. reminder to self: make a reservation next time.
while waiting, we'd already half-decided what to eat, so we didn't take long to place our orders. i got one of the signature burrito bowls, the fat bastard ($21) while X got the galbi short rib tacos ($12 for 2). because i was feeling greedy, we got the spicy chicken quesadillas ($16) to share. X also got the passionfruit makgeolita ($25) which came in a seriously HUGE glass, taking both of us by surprise. (luckily X has a separate stomach for liquids... and she was determined to prove it to me.)
we got complimentary tortilla chips with dips as starters (necessary, given that our mains took quite a long while to appear).
the quesadillas came first, toasty and cheesy. i was halfway through my first slice when i realised that, strangely enough, the meat inside was brown and totally looked unlike chicken. upon closer inspection i realised that it was actually beef. to be honest, i liked the beef, and didn't really mind that they'd served us wrongly, but X was adamant on getting the chicken one (because she wanted to try the chicken) so we sent it back. a new plate came slightly later- tasted more or less the same, but i liked the beef more, though X didn't agree. i found the chicken bland, overpowered by the abundance of cheese, so all i could taste was cheese. the beef, on the other hand, held its own against the cheese. oh well- at least we got to try both, i guess.
the tacos came slightly later (why do they not serve everything at one go?!). for some reason, X was expecting pork (even though the menu very clearly showed a picture of a cow next to the item...), so she was taken by surprise when she realised it was actually beef. given that she doesn't usually like beef, it was a rude shock. so i decided to trade half my burrito bowl with her, in exchange for one taco. i ended up really liking the taco, actually! after picking out the raw onion bits, that is. the freshness of the slaw combined with the well marinated short rib and soft tortilla was good, though a messy eat- i think there's no way to eat a taco glamourously. the next time i come by, i'd want to get the tacos.
the burrito bowl was way easier to eat. it was full of toppings- steak, pulled pork, grilled fajita vegetables, guacamole, beans and salsa atop mexican rice. it also came with two tortilla chips, which X practically inhaled. it was pretty yummy, but way too much rice (i think that's just me, though).
i quite liked the food, though not the wait. i'd come back, but with a reservation next time.
vatos urban tacos
36 beach road
https://www.facebook.com/vatossg/
needed to pick up a quick and light lunch, and this sounded like the perfect thing. i was there pretty early, so the shelves were mostly empty, and it made me wonder if those items were unavailable. also because i was in a rush, i decided to just pick one that was available, so that i wouldn't have to wait for them to roll. chose the anchovy & almond roll ($5) because i really liked the one from house of gimbap, and i was curious to see how it compared.
turned out that i still had to wait. the woman started rolling a new one instead of taking the one already made- i suppose i should be happy that i got a fresh one, but i got slightly antsy waiting.
it was a tiny kiosk, so takeaway only, coming packed in a paper box. the roll itself was a pretty hefty one, filled with egg, crispy anchovies, cream cheese and vegetables. in fact, it was such a big one that i had some trouble fitting a whole piece into my mouth.
it was delicious, but because i had a comparison with the one from house of gimbap, this paled in comparison. this was a slightly less refined version, with not as much careful balance of flavours- i felt that there was too much cream cheese, actually. still, i would come back to try their other flavours.
seoul roll
raffles city
#b1-58
http://www.seoulroll-sg.com
i've been to house of gimbap three times now. the first time, on a regular visit, where i ordered the dry anchovy and nut kimbap ($11.50).
was initially aiming for the special set that they were promoting on their facebook page- one of each flavour of kimbap (perfect for an indecisive person like me) but it just so happens that it wasn't available that day. grr. the korean lady boss (?) was nice enough to offer me a free doenjang soup as an apology.
i've never had kimbap that i've liked- this was the first one. loved the crispy anchovies, offset by the crunchiness of the fresh vegetables. what set it apart from sushi, though, was the use of sesame oil in the rice instead of vinegar. it gave a delicious fragrance. there was also an interesting spicy hit from the cheongyang spicy pepper slices. loved it- all the elements went well together.
for $11.50, it's on the pricey side, though i really liked it. so when i saw that they were having a groupon promotion, i jumped at the opportunity.
the groupon set came with two kimbaps and two noodles ($27.80).
i liked the dry anchovy and nut one so much that i ordered it again. my friend picked the bulgogi beef, which was delicious as well.
there were two noodles available to choose from, so we just got one of each.
i preferred the spicy bibim noodles to the doenjangmari soup noodles, while my friend, being sick, felt differently. i felt the soup noodles were on the bland side. for both noodles, though, i felt that there could be less noodle and more of other ingredients. but that's perhaps just me, since i'm not such a noodle person. definitely prefer their kimbap to noodles.
came by a third time with X, and this time, i got my wish! they'd run out of flat noodles, so they were serving the dish with regular noodle instead. i requested to swap the noodles with kimbap instead, and they agreed to let me pick one of the lower value kimbaps. i got the egg roll and vegetable kimbap, which was just egg roll, pickles and vegetables. X got the spicy pork, which was one of those i've been eyeing on the menu. but since she got it... it gave me the opportunity to grab the dry anchovy and nut again.
i've never been interested in kimbaps up until now. they've changed my perspective, and i'll definitely head over again, especially since they're having the promotion.
house of gimbap
millenia walk
#01-103
https://www.facebook.com/houseofgimbap/
not much of an ambience to speak of- located just at a open space right outside some retail shops, and simply decorated. if i'm not wrong, i think that space used to be fruit paradise- i remember eating there several years ago (and not liking it much).
we were there after an early dinner, so the place wasn't that crowded. quickly decided on the injeolmi ($12.90). self service only- order at the counter, and collect it at the pick up counter. water was provided, self service as well. we barely had to wait- we'd just placed our orders and were expecting to wait for a while, but our bingsu was ready for collection very quickly.
came with a variety of nuts- cashews, almond flakes and almonds. yum! it was dusted with a generous layer of soybean powder as well. also loved the big mochi pieces on top (i'm just a sucker for mochi) and the hidden mochi bits. excellent variety of textures, though i would've loved more mochi (yeah, i'm just a sucker for mochi). based on that alone, i would still pick bing go jung as my favourite. but still, this comes a close second (and at a more central location to boot). definitely better than nunsongyee, at any rate.
nunsaram korean dessert café
orchard central
#05-51/52
https://www.facebook.com/NUNSARAMSG/
wanted bingsu after dinner. we were initially intending to go to snowy village, which i've been to a number of times, but not X. however, it seems that they'd closed down- the café was closed, even though it was within their stated opening hours. so, change of plans. X suggested bing go jung, which she liked quite a lot, so we headed over.
i've known of its existence, but never thought of going, because it'd never rated that highly on bingsu lists online. then again... most people also rate nunsongyee highly, but both X and i aren't impressed- way too overpriced, and where are the toppings?! i guess we're the types who are more into the toppings than the actual ice itself. so that's probably why i really liked bing go jung- they were generous with the toppings, perhaps even overly so.
we were deciding between the injeolmi bingsu and the red bean (both $11)... and decided to stick to our usual injeolmi with additional red bean for an extra $1. i was feeling greedy so we also got the hotteok waffle ($5) to share.
as mentioned, i loved the generosity of toppings. it was a huge bowl, and we quite literally struggled to finish it. it was FULL of mochi bits, which i love. in fact, we ended up with more mochi bits than ice- always a happy problem.
X didn't like the hotteok waffle, but i did. i particularly liked its chewy, mochi-like texture and the fragrance of the cinnamon. i was initially wondering why the portion of the waffle was so small, but it packs a punch because of its mochi-like texture.
yum. one of my favourite bingsu places now. added bonus that it's so near my house- i simply walked home after that.
bing go jung korean dessert house
102 guillemard road
#01-01
https://www.facebook.com/binggojung/
