Hyang To Gol Korean Restaurant, Amara Hotel

I was told that this restaurant (Amara Singapore Hotel Level 2, 165 Tanjong Pagar Road) was pretty good by word of mouth from a friend who heard it from a Korean guy. I suppose that's as good as any a reason to give them a try. That being said, I'm still of the opinion that I prefer Japanese is even though I don't mind these now and then. Maybe it's too much of that similar taste of spicy and sour which makes many of their dishes a little difficult to distinct from one another. But I suppose it could also be the fact that my palate isn't quite as discerning for all things kimchi.

small array of condiments

spread shot

spread shot II

cold appetizer soup

Kimcheejeon

Here's the almost obligatory pancake. I'm not too sure of how good these are against the original things since I've only had them once in Togi, but the ones here were pretty good. Crispy exterior and hot soft insides. These pancakes were quite similar to Chinese carrot cakes in texture. Except for the onions and chilli and that it's orange. One could imagine them as a hybrid between Indian dough fritters and Chinese pan cakes in some strange manner.

vegetables for the grilled meat wrap

Saeng-Galbi (non marinated beef short ribs)

Yangnyeom-Galbi (marinated beef ribs)

The marinated meats here were pretty much like how they're done in other Korean places. There's a choice of cuts and quantity and the meats were served and grilled at the table by the servers. After which you eat them as they are or attempt to wrapped them in lettuce. The meats were quite pricey here. The more expensive options costed more than some steaks Morton's. And those didn't even look to be as good as what I've had back in Aburiya. I recommend to do the wrap and enjoy the kick of the spices. I don't think they're big here on the original flavor of the meat.

Gopchang-Jeongol (beef mixed innards with noodles in soup)

The gopchang-jeongol was recommended. This dish was essentially a beef innards stew with intestines, tripe, tofu along with some vegetables and noodles. I was surprised by the fact that the flavour of the beef was strong in the broth and not drowned out by all the spiciness. This was definitely a reminiscence of a beef kuey chap.

Jajangmyeon

As you may gather from the name jajangmyeon which sounds similar to the Chinese zha jiang mian, this noodle was basically very much the same. A bowl of noodle topped with thick sticky gravy that's filled with diced meat (probably pork) and vegetables. The main difference was that zha jiang mian, doesn't have vegetables besides shredded cucumbers. Instead of being savoury, this jajangmyeon's gravy was actually sweet. The viscosity along with rather generous portion made these noodles cloying after a bit. I much prefer the Chinese version to this.

what do you think?!

ginger drink