One of my biggest problems post holiday has always been to plan for the next holiday. The good problem here is go where? Prior to Taiwan, Korea was high up on the to go list except I can't get past the food. So all the way we went to Bukit Timah from Kembangan to try authentic home-cooked cuisine at Ga Ya Geum Korean Family Restaurant.
The menu had a lot of items I wanted to try. Being on a diet and straight after badminton, we settled on sharing a stone bowl Bibimbap ($14) and two dishes to complement the carbo. Personally, I'm still not a Korean food person but I felt that the Bibimbap was fragrant and traditional. I also like it that they give you control over the sauce unlike the more commercialized restaurants which have everything in the bowl pre-set to be served.
To both Vain Pot and myself, this seafood with kimchi pancake ($17) was the winner. The edges were fried till crispy with a very distinct kimchi taste. What I like about it is that neither the seafood nor the kimchi overpowers the other yet both managed to hold its own making the pancake flavorful and easy to eat.
We ordered the original Korean Fried Chicken ($17), following the craze over Korean Chickens. I really do not know what's so special about Korean Fried Chicken. I do not find it particularly nicer than Fried Chicken prepared by other nationalities. To be fair, this fried chicken was well prepared, very crispy, insides properly cooked but will I order it again? No, I don't feel it's worth the calories. Vain pot felt she tasted better fried chicken elsewhere. Nevertheless, fret not, there's the boneless version with different sauces which we almost tried. I think it might be better.
Summing the visit up, the visit to Ga Ya Geum gives me some hope in Korean food and a potential holiday in Korea. Granted that it's not going to make me Korean food crazy overnight, it minimally enabled me to appreciate Korean cuisines better. You might want to visit Ga Ya Geum if you are looking for some homely Korean food with pretty pleasant service.
Ga Ya Geum Korean Family Restaurant
170 Upper Bukit Timah Road, #B2-14, Bukit Timah Shoppin Centre
We visited Hatter Street after lunch for what I thought would be a good waffle experience for Vain Pot. So all the way we travelled from Bukit Timah to Kovan with me convincing her that it's worth the calories. If you recalled, I even featured Hatter Street as my top 5 favorite waffles in my post previously.
We ordered their signature pandan ice cream with whoaffles and gula melaka sauce. Since its Vain Pot's first time, we added an additional scoop of coconut ice cream ($12.50). So far so good, till we start eating... I think this visit might be Vain Pot's last time, and I don't know when I'll find the desire to come back again.
The ice cream was like always awesome. The waffles on the other hand was hard like a rock. Really, I almost wanted to dig a hole and hide given that I kept telling Vain Pot how nice the waffles are and how I can eat it without the ice cream. This is my fourth visit to Hatter Street and it's really a rude shock to be served such waffles. I can only surmise that after the owners opened Oh My Tian! the division of attention has affected the quality control. I was upset enough to try to reach out to Hatter Street on Facebook or their website privately but either it's not consumer friendly or I am not tech savvy. Either way, I didn't managed to contact them. Until I find the courage to eat their waffles again...
Hatter Street Bakehouse and Cafe
212 Hougang Street 21 #01-333