South Korea
It was a Wednesday, a little after 6pm, and somewhere behind me a pot hissed on a portable burner. The broth climbed the sides, popping softly against the metal, while a child at the next table leaned forward to watch. His mother caught the back of his shirt and pulled him gently away. That was…
Korean food can look simple from the table. A red bowl of kimchi stew. A tray of glossy fried chicken. Beef hissing on a grill. Banchan arriving in small dishes before anyone has even opened the menu. It feels familiar now, especially in Singapore, where Korean food has moved from novelty to everyday craving. But…
I had not planned to eat at Meokja by Jungga. I was walking down North Bridge Road on a Tuesday, somewhere around the awkward hour between lunch and dinner, when I caught the smell of something frying and the low clatter of a kitchen working hard. I looked up, saw the sign, and my feet…
I have eaten ramyeon on a plastic stool in Seoul, close to midnight, with cold air biting at my ankles and the broth doing all the work of keeping me warm. Seoul Bunsik Funan is not that. This was a bright Tuesday afternoon, escalators humming behind me, the smell of mall air-con instead of street…
The first time I ate tteokbokki in Seoul, I burned my tongue standing up. It was late, the air was sharp with cold, and I had stopped at a small street food stall near a subway exit because the steam pulled me in. The woman handed me a paper cup of rice cakes in red…
It was raining the afternoon I went. Not the polite kind, the sort that drums against the glass of Guoco Tower and makes you glad you’re already underground. I hadn’t planned on soondubu. I’d planned on something quick, something I could eat between the errands piling up in my head. But the rain does something…
It was close to nine on a Friday when I finally found the door. Tanjong Pagar was doing its usual thing, full tables spilling onto five-foot ways, soju bottles catching the light, someone laughing too loudly two doors down. I almost walked past Todamgol. Then the smell reached me. Fermented, smoky, a little sharp. The…
The first time I ordered kimchi jjigae in Singapore, I made a small mistake. It came bubbling in a stone pot, and I ate it like soup, spoonful after spoonful, straight down, until my mouth was on fire and the bowl was half gone. The auntie across the counter watched me for a moment, then…
I didn’t expect to find Korean comfort food in an office building near Tai Seng. But there I was, on a Wednesday a little past 7pm, standing outside The Commerze @ Irving wondering if I’d read the address wrong. This isn’t the part of Singapore you go to for dinner. It’s the part you leave…
When we first tried the notorious Samyang 2x Spicy Buldak noodles, we treated it exactly how the internet told us to: like a dare. We boiled the noodles, poured in every last drop of the blood-red sauce, and braced ourselves. Within three bites, our palates were completely blown out. We could not taste the savoury…