Sunday, January 31, 2010

Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant

It's been a long while since I last embarked on a makan adventure. So I rallied the usual gang and we set off for Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant.

Numerous reviews have already been made on this restaurant and the common grouse was that the quality of the food was inconsistent. Fortunately for us, the visit turned out quite favourably.

The decor was bright, spacious and simple with cosy corners if you want more privacy. The restaurant was pleasantly quiet. Surprisingly, it was also rather empty, with only about one-third of the tables occupied. I wondered  with some trepidation if it was a sign of the food quality.

The menu, though limited, carried the usual Korean fare - soups, grills, rice and noodles. In fact, all the Korean restaurants that I'd been to seem to carry only a limited number of dishes. Is this the norm? Anyway, with FT and JT with us, we decided to play safe and order the usual favourites.

What I look forward to when eating at a Korean restuarant (besides the kimshi) is the interesting sides that are served at the start of the meal. No two restaurants serve the same dishes.  Over at Auntie Kim's, 6 different dishes were served. My favourite was the dried beef jerky with dried chilli. The thin chewy slices were packed with meaty flavour  The kimchi, too, came with good kick.



PT, as usual, went for the meat dishes. The Dak Bulgogi ($14.50) or bbq marinated pork was juicy and delicately flavoured with a hint of sweetness and spiciness.


Next came the Marinated Grilled Short Ribs ($27) which was a hit with FT. I dipped the slices in sesame paste, sprinkled some garlic and red chillis and wrapped the meat with green leafy lettuce. I don't quite know what was put in the marinate, but it kept us coming back for more.

After checking out what the table next to us was eating, I decided to order the Egg Pancake with Seafood ($16). It was a huge serving, enough to feed 4. This was quite a filling dish with a heavy batter. In fact, it tasted like a giant version of the small round oyster pancake that one finds at pasar malams. I couldn't really taste the seafood and I felt that I was just eating a really huge piece of carrot cake.


On the whole, the food was not bad. It did not have the usual heavy handedness of seasoning (and msg) that is frequently found in Korean restaurants.Service as friendly and attentive and prices are reasonable.

Auntie Kim's Korean Restaurant
265 Upper Thomson Road
Tel: 6425 2112

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