Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ @ Northpoint - Launches Singapore’s First Ever Hangari Dry-Aged Meat

Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ is renowned for being the first restaurant in Singapore to offer the exclusive Korean galmaegisal, a premium pork skirt meat. This delicacy, once reserved for Korean royalty, has become a favourite among Korean food enthusiasts. First conceptualised in Seorae village, South Korea, it has grown into the leading Korean BBQ chain and cemented its reputation as a rare pork-cut specialist, with over 300 outlets established globally. Seorae has since expanded to 6 outlets in Singapore, with its newest outlet in Northpoint City. They are dedicated to presenting the authentic flavours of Korean BBQ and traditional cuisine, making it a must-visit destination for those seeking a taste of Korea's culinary heritage.

Hangari Dry-Aged Pork Belly 4.5/5

Seorae's latest addition to their Signature Collection is the Hangari Dry-Aged Pork Belly ($32/200g), a culinary masterpiece aged in traditional Korean Hangari pots with a proprietary blend of three essences. This careful ageing process in a controlled 3-degree chill chamber produces a uniquely flavourful and tender pork belly cut. It promises a melt-in-your-mouth texture that is a true indulgence for the senses. To elevate the experience further, this exquisite dish complements exceptionally well with a side of sambal kimchi onion, adding a delightful hint of spice and complexity to the rich flavours of the dry-aged pork belly. Make a classic lettuce wrap by placing a piece of pork belly within a lettuce leaf and topping it with the sambal kimchi onion.

Pork Skirt 4.2/5

Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ's signature dish, the Pork Skirt ($23.90), is a rare and exclusive delicacy as only 250 grams of this premium pork skirt meat can be sourced from a full-grown pig. The meat undergoes a meticulous 30-minute marination process using Seorae's authentic Korean spices, resulting in a juicy and flavourful experience. What sets this dish apart is its remarkable flavour profile, with all the succulence you'd desire from pork while being notably leaner, making it an ideal choice for those seeking a delectable and indulgent yet less fatty meat option.

Iberico Black Pork Tasting Platter 4/5

The Iberico Black Pork Tasting Platter ($68/350g) at Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ introduces diners to the exquisite flavours of Iberico black pork from Spain. This exceptional tasting platter showcases a carefully curated selection of premium cuts, totalling 350 grams of succulent Iberico pork per serving. It offers a unique opportunity to savour each distinct cut, allowing you to explore the nuances of this exceptional pork variety: Abanico, Rib Finger, Skirt Meat, Jowl and Pork Tongue. The Rib Finger meat is known for its juicy and well-marbled qualities, delivering a delightful combination of tenderness and flavour. The Pork jowl is exceptionally tender and showcases a luxurious fattiness that adds depth and succulence to every bite. Our favourite is the Abanico, which is delicate and beautifully marbled, offering a rich and buttery flavour.

Watermelon Soju 4/5

The Watermelon Soju at Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ is a refreshing and visually captivating beverage served inside a hollowed-out watermelon with balls of watermelon meat. This delightful drink combines fresh watermelon juice with soju, offering a perfect balance of natural sweetness and a mild alcoholic kick. It serves as a palate cleanser and pairs excellently with the restaurant's grilled meats.

Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ also offers a tempting array of free-flow sides such as kimchi, potato macaroni salad and braised pumpkin that perfectly complement the main barbecue dishes.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ
Northpoint City
North Wing
930 Yishun Ave 2
#B1-37
Singapore 769098
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Website
Nearest MRT: Yishun (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Yishun MRT station. Take Exit C or E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

YUN NANS Stonepot Fish - Premieres New Stonepot Chicken Soup Starring Exclusively Raised Kabir Chicken Breed

YUN NANS Stonepot Fish at Northpoint City is Singapore's first stonepot cooking concept specializing in high-pressure steaming method. Following the success of YUN NANS Stonepot Fish, the restaurant has recently launched a new addition - Stonepot Chicken Soup with Pig's Stomach, inspired by the brand's signature steam pot chicken soup.

Stonepot Chicken Soup with Pig’s Stomach 3.8/5

Stonepot Chicken Soup with Pig's Stomach (Regular $39.80/Large $68.80) uses a premium breed of chicken. The Kabir chicken is reared exclusively for the restaurant for no more than 120 days to reach the optimum weight of 1.4kg-1.5kg. This helps retain the original free-range chicken's natural sweetness and flavour. The meat is also prized for being more tender and leaner than regular chicken.

The chicken is then cooked under high pressure in the specially handcrafted granite stone pot with pig's stomach, highland white corn, Yunnan golden fungus, and a soup base. In just eight minutes, the soup is done. It had a slightly creamy body and tasted quite savoury from cooking down the Chinese Ham. However, I expected a richer consistency since it is meant to be collagen-rich broth.

Highland White Corn

One of the star ingredients here is the Highland White Corn. They are sweet, juicy and refreshing. Adding them to the soup brings a depth of sweetness.

Deep-fried Crispy Shrimp Heads 3.5/5

Yun Nans Stonepot Fish is the only outlet offering stonepot and hot dishes. There are some new Hot Dishes on the menu. One of which is a plate of snacky Deep-fried Crispy Shrimp Heads ($9.90). The shrimp heads are deep-fried in high heat and then tossed with a house-made spice mix featuring Yunnan Qiubei chilli.

Stir-Fried Chayote Leaves with Soy Bean Sauce 4.5/5

One of my favourite new dishes is the Stir-Fried Chayote Leaves with Soy Bean Sauce ($15.90), a home-style dish of the Dai minority. Stir-frying with Yunnan bean sauce, alongside some garlic and chilli, brought out its sweetness.

Signature Fried Rice 4/5

A good plate of fried rice is always hard to come by at times. YUN NANS Signature Fried Rice ($8.80), simply fried with eggs and flavoured with specially concocted three-blend soy sauce, was moreish and deeply satisfying.

Wild Porcini Mushrooms with Dried Chillies 4.5/5

Stir-Fried Wild Porcini Mushrooms with Dried Chillies ($27.90) was highly flavoursome with wild porcini mushrooms, handpicked from the highlands, flash fried with Yunnan dried chillies and solo garlic. I love the chewy texture of the mushrooms, which were garlicky with a hint of heat.

Stir-Fried Pork Collar with Scallions 3.8/5

Stir-Fried Pork Collar with Scallions ($17.90) was very delectable too, featuring tender slices of pork collar, flash-fried with light sauce, then tossed with scallion. The latter added sweetness to the dish and enlivened it with its mildly sharp and oniony flavour.

Photos and words by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food. Note: This is an invited tasting.


YUN NANS Stonepot Fish
Northpoint 
South Wing
1 Northpoint Drive
#01-103
Singapore 768019
Tel: +65 65131381
Facebook
Instagram
Nearest MRT: Yishun (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Yishun MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

YUN NANS Stonepot Fish @ Northpoint City - Pressure Steam Cooked Live Fish In Collagen-rich Fish Soup

YUN NANS (云海肴), which has four restaurants in Singapore, has recently opened a new stonepot fish concept in Northpoint, Yishun. YUN NANS Stonepot Fish is Singapore's first concept specialising in cooking live fish using high-pressure steam in a stone pot made of natural granite.

Stonepot Fish Soup 4/5

The granite stone pot is imported from Yunnan that is specially handcrafted for the restaurant. It is supposed to heat the food evenly and retains heat well. Covered with a handcrafted straw hat that doubles as the pot's lid, subjecting the fish and broth to be cooked in a high-pressure steaming method, extracting the natural flavours.

The fish used at the restaurant are sustainably sourced from local farms. Customers have choices of live fish such as seabass, patin or soon hock. Fresh seabass is also available starting from $28. Upon picking the fish, the culled and cleaned fish is placed into the stone pot, followed by pouring the nourishing fish broth that has been simmered for more than six hours into the stone pot.

Alongside the fish, diners can also add a variety of other hotpot ingredients, such as premium meats, handmade beef balls, seafood, and vegetables, to sweeten the soup for a hearty meal.

Some of the rare ingredients I enjoyed were the golden fungus, chayote leaves, and Lijiang purple heart potatoes, which are a Yunnan speciality.

While I enjoyed the light yet flavourful fish soup, the local palate might prefer a richer flavour.

Grilled Clams with Spicy Garlic Sauce 3.8/5

Apart from the signature stoneput fish, the restaurant offers cooked hot items too. We tried the Grilled Clams with Spicy Garlic Sauce ($12.90++) and Crispy Barramundi Collar ($9.80++). The clams are placed over a bed of vermicelli in an aluminium foil box and grilled over charcoal fire, paying homage to the quintessential Yunnan cooking style.

Crispy Barramundi Collar 4.5/5

For the lightly marinated barramundi collar, deep-fried to crispy on the exterior and yet moist inside. Served with salt and pepper dip, this is simple yet so addictive and delicious.

Baked Rose Petals Pastry 3.5/5

We wrapped up our dinner with the Baked Rose Petals Pastry and Crispy Rice Cake with Brown Sugar for dessert. The baked rose petals pastry has a beautiful floral scent encased in flaky pastry skin. As for the rice cake, it is mochi-soft with a delightful crisp on the exterior.

Crispy Rice Cake with Brown Sugar 4.2/5

Note: This is an invited tasting.


YUN NANS Stonepot Fish
Northpoint Fish
South Wing
1 Northpoint Drive
#01-103
Singapore 768019
Tel: +65 65131381
Facebook
Instagram
Nearest MRT: Yishun (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Yishun MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

Orchid Live Seafood @ HomeTeamNS Khatib - Offers Indulgent Live Lobster Porridge And 1-For-1 Boston Lobster

Situated within Home Team NS Khatib is Orchid Live Seafood, known for offering a range of live Teochew-style seafood at family-friendly prices. With fresh seafood in large full-view tanks in the restaurant, diners can be sure that they are getting the freshest ingredients as the prized catches come straight from the tanks. They have four different types of lobsters, with the Southern Australian Lobster as the most prized lobster breed.

Live Lobster Porridge 4.5/5

Our first course is their Signature Live Lobster Porridge, cooked Teochew style with a watery but rich porridge base and rice still in grain form. Diners can take their pick from the four types of lobsters. For an indulgent experience, we had the most premium Southern Australian Lobster ($288). It comes in glorious red colour, with a firm, succulent meat texture and rich flavours.

Live Boston Lobster in Cream Cheese 4/5

We had the Live Boston Lobster in Cream Cheese starting from $78 per lobster. Superbly cheesy with some sweetness, the best way to have the dish is to use the lobster meat to sweep up the rich cheese sauce. Other styles of cooking include Garlic Steamed or Chilli.

Signature Steven Chicken 4.2/5

Another of our favourite dishes is the Signature Steven Chicken ($16 for 8 pcs | $24 for 12pcs | $30 for 16pcs). The deep-fried chicken is fried in a homemade marinade of marmite and honey sauce, resulting in a crispy exterior and a sweet and savoury flavour combination that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Seasoned Baby Squid 4.2/5

The Seasoned Baby Squid ($23) comes served in a sweet and spicy Thai sauce, red onions and cucumber strips. The baby squids were fried to a thin crisp on the exterior while retaining a tender bite. It also comes in another option - served with a trio sauce of wasabi mayo, sweet sauce and sriracha mayo sauce.

Udder's Ice Cream 4/5

Lastly, we ended the meal on a sweet note with Udder's Ice Cream, available in either dark chocolate or chendol flavours. The chendol ice cream is fragrant and sweet. However, I prefer the former for its rich chocolate bittersweetness and creamy texture.

As part of their August specials, Orchid Live Seafood is offering 1 For 1 Boston Lobster, 20% off per piece of Braised New Zealand Black Gold Abalone, and 50% off the Southern Australian Lobster (UP $288, now $144).

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Orchid Live Seafood
HomeTeamNS Khatib
2 Yishun Walk
#03-01
Singapore 767944
Tel: +65 67560311
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Khatib (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11am - 230pm, 5pm - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Khatib MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk straight down Yishun Avenue 2. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Ichi Umai @ Junction Nine (Yishun) - Cozy Japanese Eatery That Offers Affordable Chirashi Don And Chestnut Pork Katsu Don

Located within the first level of Junction 9 at Yishun is Ichi Umai, a hole-in-the-wall Japanese eatery that offers affordable traditional and contemporary Japanese dishes. Diners can look forward to various Japanese food ranging from Chirashi Dons to Unagi Fried Rice, Chestnut Pork Katsu Don, and a variety of side dishes to complete the meal.

Sake Hotate Yuzu Carpaccio 4.2/5

We started the meal with the Sake Hotate Yuzu Carpaccio ($12.90), with fresh, thinly sliced salmon and scallops in citrus soy sauce. Truffle paste can be added at an additional top-up of $2. It comes with a pleasant truffle aroma that elevates the whole dish.

Sake Ikura Don 4.2/5

The Sake Ikura Don ($11.90) comes with raw salmon slices with salmon roe on furikake sushi rice. Well-proportioned and well-executed at an affordable price, the salmon slices were fresh. Furikake is added to give an umami taste to the Sake Ikura Don.

Kuri Buta Katsu Kare 4/5

The Kuri Buta Katsu Kare ($14.90) features a deep-fried panko-breaded chestnut pork cutlet, which is extremely crispy on the outside and tender within. The curry sauce packs a mildly spiced and rich flavour and goes perfectly well with the chestnut pork cutlet.

Ebi Tempura 4/5

The Ebi Tempura ($9.90) was simple but well-executed. The fried prawns were perfectly battered to thin crispiness and paired with a light tempura dipping sauce.

Ika Mentai Mayo 4.5/5

One of our favourite dishes and also the restaurant's popular side dish is the Ika Mentai Mayo ($12.90). The grilled squid itself was tender, with a bite to it. It was laced with torched pollock roe mayonnaise and miso mayonnaise, adding so layers of umami flavours to the seafood.

Tanuke Miso Roll 3.5/5

The Tanuke Miso Roll was an item that is not yet on the menu but will be launched sometime soon by the restaurant. It features miso mayo sauce on a fried crab meat sushi roll. However, we felt that the maki roll did not shine through compared to the rest of the dishes we had tonight, as the flavours were not prominent or memorable enough.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Ichi Umai
Junction 9
18 Yishun Ave 9
#01-19
Singapore768897
Tel: +65 88871976
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Yishun (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 1130am - 3pm, 530pm - 9pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Yishun MRT station. Take Exit C or D. Walk to Yishun MRT station (Stop ID 59009). Take bus number 803, 807 and 860. Alight 3 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Yishun MRT station. Take Exit C or D. Walk to Yishun MRT station (Stop ID 59009). Take bus number 811. Alight 3 stops later. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

618 Sim Carrot Cake @ Yishun Ring Road - The Stall Sells White Carrot Only With Generous Chye Poh

What is the good food in Yishun? Most of us will probably mention 928 Yishun Laksa or 925 Yishun Hainanese Chicken Rice. Another popular hawker stall in Yishun is 618 Sim Carrot Cake. Coincidentally, it has numeric number on its stall name too. By the way, the stall only fries white carrot cake. It does not sell the black version.

The first thing I notice is the heap of sweet chye poh (preserved radish) on the plate of White Carrot Cake ($3.50/ $4.50). It is not unusual to add chye poh to fried carrot cake, but it is usually fried with the steamed radish cake.

I am not going to complain about the generous serving of chye poh as it accentuated the flavour profile and gave it a delightful texture bite, contrasting the softness of the radish fried cake.

If you realize the fried carrot cake is cut into small cubes and held together by a generous amount of eggs, almost like an omelette. One side is fried to crispy, while the other allows the enjoyment of the egg's fragrant and carrot cake's softness. It is like having two ways of enjoying the plate of fried cake.

681 Sim Carrot Cake indeed serves an excellent plate of white carrot cake. However, my friend told me to have the carrot cake with prawn option as it tastes even better with the crustacean's flavour infused into the fried carrot cake. I will do so on my next visit.


618 Sim Carrot Cake
Blk 618 Yishun Ring Road
Singapore 760618
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Khatib

Opening Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sun: 630am - 130pm
(Closed on Tue)

Direction:
1) Alight at Khatib MRT station. Take Exit A. Turn left and walk down Yishun Ave 2. Walk to traffic junction Yishun Ave 2 and Yishun Ring Road. Cross the road and cut through the housing estate. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]