We as a party of three walked gingerly into the restaurant with mood lighting, met and welcomed by the gregarious co-owner, Joanne Toh. There we were perched on our stools, with our bags cleverly tucked into the stool, manoeuvring our silver chopsticks as Vanessa, our server who has been with the restaurant since inception, took us through the exceptional items that had been pre-arranged for us to try.
The six small dishes and condiments served at the beginning are so full of interesting flavours and textures that we couldn’t resist asking for more. Some of the arrestingly spicy and tangy dishes include the house-made kimchi, pickled cucumber, radish and delicate bean sprouts. As Vanessa deftly placed the kimchi and bean sprouts at the end of the hot-plate (which they clean with a piece of radish), she explained that the reason for doing so is to make sure that as the succulent beef cooks, the flavours are also infused into the kimchi and bean sprout.
We started with the superbly succulent, tender and flavourful US Prime Beef Short Rib with its distinctive umami flavour. We were then tempted with the Korean Grilled Squid, which was deftly barbecued, arranged and went down our throats quicker than ever. The simple tangy and sweet mayonnaise vinaigrette added a lovely touch.
The Seafood Soft Tofu Stew offered a gamut of flavours and was served piping hot with a twang of fresh mussels, squid and prawns and not to forget the fabulously piquant bits of zucchini cubes just elevate this dish to another level.
The four types of flavoured organic Hungarian pork belly, which is highly recommended to order ranges from the lightly-marinated garlic to the intensely-flavoured spicy was indeed another highlight of the night.
We washed it all down with the refreshing Yuzu slushy. In the end, we scraped our plates clean and we are sure to come back for more. In fact, we immediately booked for that very same weekend.
ADDRESS:
1 Scotts Rd, #04 – 20 / 21, Singapore 228208
PHONE:
9018 9212
WEBSITE:
https://www.facebook.com/8koreanbbqshaw