I’m a cash-strapped undergrad scholar with a penchant for Korean delicacies; you possibly can think about how my coronary heart aches. I’ve patronised one too many Korean eateries which have touted themselves as ‘inexpensive’, just for the meal to price me a fairly penny.
That was till I leapt on the alternative to patronise Hangawi Korean Meals after stumbling upon a number of posts about it on my social media feed. Many vouched for its affordability and authenticity. Okay, rating!
I’m not fairly positive if ‘hole-in-wall’ applies to Hangawi Korean Meals. Whereas its no-frills inside and minimal furnishings might counsel it, the colorful signboard and distinguished location on the second ground of Fortune Centre prime it to be fairly a landmark.
Anyhow, again to the primary level. You see, Hangawi has no social media presence of its personal. No matter I’d seen stemmed solely from the digital grapevine and clearly, it did the job for me. I made my go to on a high-quality Tuesday afternoon; the eatery sported no signal of the queues it’s stated to be characterised by. Phew.
A fast skim by means of the menu plastered on their partitions revealed the excitement to be true — most of their choices got here in at beneath S$10. The one exception was the Ginseng Hen (S$11.90). There isn’t something too over-the-top about their fare both; the menu principally revolved round hearty Korean classics. I opted for a number of the much less standard choices, although.
What I attempted at Hangawi Korean Meals
The primary dish that piqued my curiosity was the Bibim Noodles with Hen (S$7.50), because it isn’t typically present in our native Korean eateries. Naturally, I needed to begin with that.
In case you couldn’t already inform from its identify, that is the noodle counterpart of the crowd-favourite Bibimbap, which can be accessible at Hangawi for S$6.90. As an avid lover of the rice dish, I had to withstand each urge to fall again on it in order that I may strive one thing new.
This visually hanging dish featured skinny somyeon noodles blanketed by a layer of crimson gochujang sauce, accompanied by half a hard-boiled egg and a plethora of components organized meticulously across the plate. It jogged my memory of a palette, besides with greens as a substitute of paint; what a sight for sore eyes.
I gave the noodles a superb toss, making certain that every skinny strand would glisten in all that saucy gochujang glory, and that every mouthful would encompass a satisfying mixture of noodles and greens. It was then that I realised that the portion was method smaller than it had appeared. Oh, the optical illusions a big plate can create!
Regardless of their resemblance to bee hoon, the somyeon noodles really provided fairly a chewy chew. My first few spoonfuls have been pleasant — the chewy noodles carried an ideal quantity of mildly spicy gochujang sauce, complemented by the rooster chunks and refreshing, crunchy cucumber and carrot shreds. It’s price noting that the dish is served barely chilled as effectively, making it good for Singapore’s everlasting summers.
My most important gripe, nevertheless, needed to do with the Bibim Noodles’ flavour steadiness. The dish leaned in direction of a candy profile, which sadly grew to become cloying as I labored my method by means of it. It may undoubtedly have benefitted from a contact extra protein or maybe a drizzle of nutty sesame oil to lend it some savoury depth.
If there’s one thing you completely can’t go flawed with within the realm of Korean delicacies, it’s a comforting stew or soup. I imply… kimchi soup and tofu soup? Classics. Nonetheless, I went somewhat in opposition to the grain and selected the Sul Rung Tang Set(S$7.50), in any other case generally known as seolleongtangor ox bone soup. It’s served with a facet of fluffy purple rice.
For the uninitiated, seolleongtang is a conventional Korean soup made by simmering beef bones, brisket and different cuts for hours on finish. The product is a wealthy, milky white broth.
The soup was served in an enormous metallic pot, with a number of slices of beef and a few tang hoon submerged in it. Hangawi’s rendition was somewhat clearer in color than I had anticipated, however who was I to complain? I couldn’t have been extra thrilled to have the ability to strive seolleongtang proper right here, having handed up on a number of alternatives to pattern it on my earlier journeys to its motherland; wasted, I do know.
Lacklustre look apart, the seolleongtang was completely pleasurable. It was gentle but strong, with savoury hints of beef and a refined sweetness that presumably got here from the bones. Furthermore, it had considerably of a velvety clean consistency that jogged my memory of the wealthy, milky collagen broths I’ve had at sizzling pot joints.
The soup was wholly comforting and completely satisfying; having a bowl of it with some fluffy rice could be completely good for days after I really feel beneath the climate. Scratch that, I’d like 10.
Nonetheless, whereas the soup itself was pleasant, its constituent components didn’t fairly hit the mark. I discovered the meat slices to be fairly powerful and missing in flavour, whereas the tang hoon had a quick texture that felt unsuited for the dish. I actually would’ve most well-liked a fattier or extra tender minimize of beef and a few chewier glass noodles to enhance such a fragile dish.
Nonetheless, I discovered myself capable of overlook these shortcomings because the depth of flavours within the soup triumphed general.
Alright, I caved for a basic. The spice lover in me couldn’t assist however order the BBQ Hen Set (S$7.90), or bulgogi rooster, as I prefer to check with it. I may hear the inviting sizzle of the meat on its forged iron hotplate from afar.
Alas, my pleasure amounted to nothing. I used to be puzzled by the stingy portion of rooster, which barely coated half the hotplate. There was hardly any try to go it off in any other case, apart from the lettuce leaf. The rooster items themselves appeared fairly pale and uninspiring, too, devoid of any sauce and caramelised glaze that I had envisioned.
So as to add to my disappointment, its style fell far wanting what I had desired. The rooster sorely lacked depth and richness as a lot because it did color. It was bland and unusually dominated by refined gingery notes, and never in a method that added flavour. Not even pairing it with rice may coax the flavours out.
I’m sorry, however every chew solely had me lacking the standard savoury-sweetness of completely caramelised bulgogi.
There was, nevertheless, one saving grace that barely improved the BBQ Hen — their housemade kimchi served on the facet of every dish. Having 3 servings of it proved to be extraordinarily helpful; every crunchy chew of kimchi provided a much-needed kick, tang and refreshing distinction that minimize by means of the ‘monotony’ of the rooster. Ah, so that’s the place the advanced and daring flavours of Korean delicacies have been.
Last Ideas
I’d say that my meal at Hangawi Korean Meals was a combined bag of highs and lows.
On one hand, they did dwell as much as on-line guarantees of inexpensive Korean delicacies. However, most of what I attempted was sadly underwhelming. On the identical time, there have been a number of simple stand-out components such because the kimchi and seolleongtang, the latter of which I undoubtedly see myself returning for.
I have to make clear that I don’t condemn the eatery and their fare in any method. I assume what I can conclude is that Hangawi Korean Meals was in all probability not the proper place to detract from the classics. With such (genuinely) wallet-friendly fare and a handy location in addition, I’ll undoubtedly return to present their staples a shot!
