Photo credit: Yoogane Singapore

I've seen the long queues at Yoogane's Bugis Junction branch and I've always wondered what the fuss is all about. All I know is that Yoogane started in Busan, Korea, in 1981 and it specialises in Galbi - grilled meat that has been marinated in the typical ganjang sauce. Deciding to find out what the fuss is all about, my friend and I headed off to Yoogane for lunch to chase away our Monday blues.

Straight off the bat, this meal was a bit of a tough decision because you can only order ONE type of grill and they charge you on a per pax basis. In other words, if you have a large group of diners with different tastebuds, you'll have to sit separately.

We ordered their signature Chicken Galbi (S$16.90++ per person) and an extra serving of fried rice (S$3.90++). You can choose to add cheese (S$3.90++) or noodles (ranges from S$3.90++ to S$4.90++, depending on type) but we gave all of those a miss. Like most Korean restaurants, they provide a bottle of cold water and a box of tissue for you. Nonetheless, we both ordered hot tea (S$1.90++). No need to worry about veg in your diet because they have a free flow salad bar, which contains mainly shredded cabbage (they provide honey mustard as a dressing), kimchi, shredded bell peppers and pickled radish.

So...the grill itself is HUGE and it is cooked right in the middle of the table! The Chicken Galbi consists of a generous serving of meat, lots of chopped up leek, 2 slices of potato, 4 rice cakes and quite a bit of sliced cabbage. Yup...you can count the number of slices of potato and rice cakes. If you like the Korean rice cake, you will have to top up your order (price ranges from S$3.90++ to S$5.90++ depending on type or S$6.90++ for the combination plate).

There's nothing like the sound of sizzling meat and the smell of it as it gets cooked by one of the staff. Mind you...this does splatter, despite the high metal ring that they put around the pan while it cooks. As such, aprons are provided to you so that you get to keep your clothes pristine. Doesn't prevent you from smelling like grilled meat though. Also, if you try to stir fry it yourself, the staff will politely tell you not to do so in order to cook the meat quickly. I still don't see the logic in that, considering that I cook.

Even if it smells good, does it taste good? First bite - this tastes a lot better than the stuff that's served in Seoul Yummy (another chain of Korean casual dining restaurants). Second bite - mm...I think the chicken is a bit overcooked. Third bite - whoa...I can feel the heat of the chilli! But it was still manageable. Fourth bite - I need to pair this with the plain shredded cabbage so that it's less jerlat. After a few more mouthfuls, I felt that there was simply way too much leek. I'm not the biggest fan of leeks but I really don't mind them thoroughly cooked. That said, this dish simply had TOO much leek. Also, there was only 1 flavour throughout the whole dish, which was the ganjang.

In terms of portion, my friend and I felt that the amount served could've fed 3 pax and if so, we could've ordered another side dish just to have a little more variety. Also, it wasn't cheap considering that the total bill came to be about S$54.

The worst part was actually the day after. Both of us spent a good 10-15 min in the toilet the next morning bombing spicy (yes, you can feel it) and orangey stool. Sorry...don't mean to be gross but...you get the idea. Thus, I'm afraid to go back to Yoogane. Maybe I will...only when I'm feeling a bit indulgent and I'll definitely avoid the chilli.

Yoogane Singapore
200 Victoria Street
#02-47/48 Bugis Junction

Tel: +65 6337 7337
Website: https://www.facebook.com/yoogane.singapore 
Opening hours: 11:30 to 22:00

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My brother ate the fried chicken at Bonchon Chicken in New York and was telling me how much he enjoyed it as well as how popular it is in NYC. As such, I decided to try the Bonchon Chicken at Bugis+ for lunch. Started with the spicy Tteokbokki ($12.90++) which not only was the rice cake but also noodles which tasted suspiciously like spaghetti. SPICY!!! I'd rather they gave more rice cake than the noodles.

The star was of course the fried chicken.  My colleague and I ordered the Medium Combo ($15.90++) which had 2 drumsticks and 6 wings (I'd argue and say that it's 3 wings since they counted the drumlet as a wing), and you can choose a side (rice/ edamame/ kimchi).  As for the sauce, half of the plate was spicy while the other half was garlic soy.  Trouble was that the tteokbokki was so spicy that the sauce on the chicken didn't really stand out to me.  I love the crispy and not oily skin.   However, the meat tasted a bit weird although it was tender.  It wasn't juicy and lacked that yummy chicken taste...if you get what I mean.  As such, the more flavourful chicken part has to be the wing but I'm a drumstick gal.  They claim that the sauce is designed to stay on the skin and not on your hand.  Verdict on that? 95% true.  There's a reason why there are packets of wet towels on the table.

I would go back again but if I've got a craving for the sauce but if I wanted to eat fried chicken, I'll be heading off to KFC/ Texas Chicken/ Popeye's.  Sorry Bonchon.

Bonchan Chicken

201 Victoria Street

#01-11 Bugis+

Tel: 6884 4768

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I think I should become a food blogger.  Haha...just kidding.  I can't stick to one topic on my blog.  Anyway, my mum and I went to this Korean restaurant recommended by my uncle - Kim's Family Korean restaurant.

Look at the number of appetizers!! These come FREE with ANY mains.  I'm serious. My mum had a Bibimbap while I had the So-bulgogi (beef).  I didn't bother taking any photos of our dishes because they look like any other Bibimbap and Bulgogi although they are very generous with the mushrooms and beef.

We were prepared.  We came right smack at noon to avoid the lunch crowd and we came on empty stomachs.  I wouldn't say that  the appetizers were wow but it was worth it!  I only paid $22 for our meal and both of us were full.  Which Korean restaurant gives you SOOOO much food for $22?  Mind you, all these appetizers are refillable!

The ambiance of the place is like cafe-meets-family living room.  There is a huge Samsung TV which they switch on sometimes to show korean dramas and footie matches.  There are drawings on the wall (bring a marker if you want to add your graffiti art) which range from cute to advertisements to random 'I was here' notes.

To end off your meal, they will give you a small cup of plum tea (yummy!!) and slices of watermelon.  I wouldn't say that this is a 5-star meal but the quality and authenticity is definitely there!  All in all, just try!  After your meal, you can hop on down to Udders next door for FANTASTIC ice creams!

Kim's Family Restaurant
17 Lorong Kilat
(closed on Sundays)

This post is entitled "Much Ado About London"...so please be prepared for a super long post. Okie dokes, moving on...I love this cereal. It's so yummy and its full grain! I can snack on this all long. I've been eating this for breakfast for the past week (except when I had scones from Waitrose - that rocks too!). Can't find this in Singapore right?

Went to watch "Star Trek" on Fri night but before that, the whole bunch of us (mix of Singaporeans, Malaysians plus 1 American and 1 PRC) met up for dinner at this Korean restaurant named Corean Chilli.

That's Pork Ribs & Veg Hot Pot on the right and a seafood pancake on the left.

You must try their fried rice cakes with fish cakes in spicy sauce. Its like those that you see in Korean dramas and this restaurant makes it SPICY!

On the right is Gor's beef bone soup. Non-spicy since Gor is allergic to chilli. Quite nice but it has a very strong beefy taste.

To the left is another hot pot. This time its rameon, rice cake, veggie and beef. I didn't eat it but it looks like a whole blob of red. When it came, the rameon was the dried instant noodles and all of us went, "Maggi Mee!" Hmms...would you pay GBP22 for instant noodles? Ok ok...it came with lots more stuff in it.

Ah..the ever popular Dolsot Bibimbab on the right.


To the left is my beef veg stew. Looks good right? There even is an egg inside.

Taste-test verdict? Um...disappointing. I'd rather you go and eat this particular beef stew at the Korean restaurant at Amara Hotel in Singapore.

That being said, the restaurant is pretty good. If you're in London, take the tube and alight at Leicester Square. Exit towards Chinatown, turn left when you come out and just walk straight. Its the first restaurant that you'll see once you cross the street. Corean Chilli.





"Star Trek" at the IMAX theatre was good!! Its a bit like watching it at the Omni theatre in Singapore just that its not half a dome but a huge screen that seems to stretch from floor to ceiling. Most certainly did make the action seem a little more exciting. The movie wasn't 3-D though. Now, I am a little thankful that I didn't win the free movie tickets to "Star Trek" before I left Singapore. Hee. =)

We watched the 11.30pm screening but it started a little late. It was approximately 2.15am when it ended.

Gor and I had to walk from the IMAX theatre in Waterloo to Trafalgar Square to catch a night bus home.

While walking past the Royal Festival Hall, I spotted this Nelson Mandela bust.

The Brits seem to love him a lot. He celebrated his birthday last year in London with tons of celebrities like Oprah Winfrey.

Pique-nique monsieur, madamoseille??
On Sat, we went to Portobello Market, which is near Nottinghill. There were loads of vintage jewellery (not willing to buy any for GBP 5 each) but I bought a miniature tea set! Keep watching this space to see how I make them into jewellery! :) Lovely weather! Sunny and temperatures were around 20 deg C?

While walking towards Portobello Market, we spotted this house, which George Orwell lived in. He wrote "Animal Farm" by the way.

I love how all the houses here were painted blue, red, yellow etc. Funky!! Bursts of colour are always nice.

That's Portobello Market in the background and it stretches far far down. We spent 2 hours just walking up and down. Gor and Sharon didn't believe I could take a nice picture of the market with me just stretching my arm out and snapping. Hah. Proved them wrong. Not blur too!
Gor and I didn't eat breakfast since we woke up at 11.30am on Sat so we decided to pop into this brunch place called "Tom's" which is located at Westbourne Grove...just a short walk away from Portobello Market. The place is really crowded and we were placed in some cosy corner and there was this stairs that led to a small garden with 2 tables. All taken, of course.

My Egg Florentine - poached eggs, with spinach on English muffins and topped with Hollandaise sauce. My bro wants me to tell all you readers that this was very expensive...it costs GBP 8. Taste-test: yummy.


Sharon's Egg Benedict - poached eggs with ham on English muffins and topped with Hollandaise sauce. She quite liked it.

Gor's 3-type omelette - eggs, ham, cheese and tomato. The taste of the ham was quite strong....but quite fluffy and yummy. Gor was grumbling cos I made him cut the omelette into half and place one half on top of the other just to get a nice shot. Sharon was laughing away and saying, "Of course...you need to show what's inside!!"

Happy munchers!! I think my shot of Gor is nicer than Gor's shot of me cos I actually said "1,2,3..." whereas my bro was taking soooo long to take this pic. My jaw was tired from just posing. =P Ooh...my top matches the wallpaper.

Tada...the famous (actual) bookstore that was used in the movie "Nottinghill". There was someone snapping shots INSIDE the bookshop but I felt that there wasn't a point as the place is already refurbished since the movie was filmed. The inside (and even outside) looks completely different from the film.
There's a small noticeboard with newspaper clippings about the movie etc.
Random self-cam shot of the new bus (neither Gor nor Sharon had the luck to sit on a new one prior to this). Purply seats...reminds me of Barney. Not a nice shot of me...but heck, too lazy to reshoot.

We took the bus from Nottinghill to Oxford Circus. Not to shop (although we ended up doing so. Sing & Moon - got your souvenirs already). We were there to meet a couple of other people for dinner at this place called "Le Relais de Venise" where they only have 1 main course - L' Entrecote steak.
Their waitresses' uniform is like the typical French chamber maids!! So cute. Like those maid cafes in Tokyo too...but the waitresses here don't act cute.

First up - salad with walnuts. I hate the mustard dressing that faintly tastes like wasabi. Yucks.

The mains!! Thinly sliced beef that is very very tender. The sauce is supposed to be the highlight and its (but of course) a secret recipe. Taste-test: sauce is made of olive oil, basil, garlic and a squeeze of lemon. Perhaps some mint inside as well. The fries were excellent as well! Before you think that this serving is small (yes, that was my initial thought too), they will come around with a second serving once you're done with your first. Their reasoning is that they want you to enjoy the steak at its best temperature etc. All of that for GBP 19.99.

Since there were 5 of us, we went all out on dessert! Profiteroles and this layered meringue thing with ice-cream. Haha...the menu's in French!! We just asked the waitress what was good to share. Well, the GBP 19.99 that I mentioned earlier doesn't include the dessert. Our bill came out to be GBP 23.10/pax.

Address as follows:

Le Relais de Venise
120 Marylebone Lane
London W1U 2QG
Tel: +44 20 7486 0878

They don't accept reservations and they open for dinner at 6.30pm. Be there early because we ended our meal at 9 plus and there was a queue around the building.

By the way, that's pronounced as Mile-bone (with a slight 'le' in btwn) Lane. Looks like Mary-ler-bone to me...but yeah...just like Leicester is pronounced as Les-ter, Covent is cor-vernt, Gloucester is glous-ter...the list goes on...I'm just as confused as you are. =P