Decided it's time for a food review! This time I went to Sarang, which is located in Orchard Central!
Check this! Sarang is apparently the new hippest place to work/serve! Because it many Kpop artistes who visit Singapore tend to go to this restaurant (they even have a board with all the idols' autographs), kpop fans (not just the young but even some elderly aunties and uncles) have been applying for jobs here just to catch a glimpse of their favourite kpop idols! Cool, innit?
For those who don't know, Sarang means love in korean! This restaurant is located on the 7th floor of OC, and the view is awesome! :) Sarang consists of an outdoor al fresco bar and dining area as well as a smaller air-conditioned dining area. My parents found it too noisy outside (they were projecting music videos of T-ara and other kpop stars on a big screen), and hence we had dinner in the air-conditioned area.
Love the authentic metal spoon and chopsticks that Sarang uses (hygienically and individually wrapped in paper)! Having lived in Korea when I was younger, it always struck me as weird how some korean restaurants here still use plastic chopsticks (the chinese kind). I guess Korean chopsticks are harder to use because they're flat and hence some restaurants have adapted to the Singaporean style, but I still think metal chopsticks are more authentic and make the food taste better. I know I'm weird, but that's just me. :)
My family (just mum, dad and I, because sis was at camp), not being big eaters, ordered the three things that we thought would make or break good ratings for any korean restaurant. Pa-jeon & Kimchi-jeon (Korean pancakes), Dolsot Bibimbap (hot stone mixed rice) and Kalbi (Beef short ribs).
Kimchi-jeon and Pa-jeon
The portions were quite tiny for this. For something I'll definitely order in any korean restaurant, I'd have to say that I've tasted better. The pa-jeon (spring onion seafood pancake) had bits of squid and prawn in it, but it was pretty bland. The soy sauce they gave made it a lot less dry and it tasted a little better. The kimchi-jeon on the other hand tasted wonderful with the gochujang (red pepper paste) that they gave, but was a tad dry. One good point about this dish was probably the fact that it wasn't soaking in oil.
Rating: 2.5/5
Dolsot Bibimbap
Other than kimchi, this has got to be my FAVOURITE korean dish! When it came, it was steaming hot and looked absolutely mouth watering! The egg yolk in the middle was cooked exactly the way I liked it (runny, so that it "explodes" when you mix it with the rice), and the beef was way more than just a tiny sliver (which you usually get in food courts and lower-end korean restaurants). This came with a dish of gochujang (red pepper paste), which I eagerly mixed with the rice and watched as the yolk and the gochujang turned the whole bowl of mixed rice a bright reddish-orange. YUMMM :) I'd have to say that this dish was pretty good, but nothing extremely super duper special (if that's what you're looking for). I'll definitely eat it again if I have the chance to come back!
Rating: 4/5
On a side note: The best part of dolsot bibimbap is scraping off the burnt rice from the bottom of the bowl (similar to claypot rice) and eating it! The koreans enjoy this so much that they even have 'burnt rice candy', or nurungji candy. I first learnt how to eat it when I was in korea in 1996, and have loved it ever since! You can find it in most of the korean supermarts in Singapore. :)
Kal Bi
Kalbi (beef short ribs) are usually cooked over a charcoal BBQ. Because we were sitting indoors, they offered to cook the beef for us. My family usually doesn't like kalbi to be done in the restaurant kitchen because of previous bad experiences, but we decided that this restaurant looked pretty authentic and figured that they wouldn't screw it up too badly so we decided to give it a shot. When it finally arrived (hot, steaming and smelling like heaven on earth), we tucked in immediately! At first glance, the portion looked really small. There were approximately 10 pieces of meat on that hot plate(tell me it reminds you of a turtle shell)! However, we realised that these pieces of meat were actually pretty thick! The beef was well-cooked and tender, and short of being melt-in-your-mouth, this dish was probably the best out of the three. :) Usually eaten on a lettuce leaf with gochujang and freshly sliced garlic, the beef went down wonderfully.
Rating: 4/5
All in all, service staff gave us ample attention, the food didn't take unreasonably long to arrive and other than the restaurant (even the indoor section) being a tad bit noisy with all the K-pop music playing in the background, we definitely had a pleasant experience. The prices are a bit on the high side though - we spent about $28 per person.
So now comes the most important question... Would I come back again?
My Answer: Yes, if I ever have money to spare, I would definitely come back again!
Sarang
181 Orchard Central
#07-01 Orchard Central
Singapore 298896
Reservations: +65 6773 1322
Opening hours:12pm - 10pm (Sun to Thur)
12pm - 11pm (Fri & Sat)
