Cool Chix on the Block - Kkul Dak 꿀닭

Following the success of the other Korean Fried Chicken restaurants in Singapore, Kkuldak 꿀닭 (honey chicken), has found its way into Plaza Singapura this month.  *chirp chirp*
 

What sets this apart from the rest is that Kkuldak is based on the Korean Street Food concept, that means it is just grab and go. No cushy seats, no melodic songs and no service charge!  Just the way you grab and go along the shopping belt in Myeongdong or Gangnam.

It is fast, convenient, easy to eat because the chicken is in bite-size.  The munchies are first deep tried before they are pan fried in honey, sweet and sour or spicy sauces.  The tender munchies are flavourful and crispy on the outer layer.  Choose whether you like to go with cheese powder or mustard sauce. My recommendation is to go for spicy flavour and mustard sauce because that's the closest to what you get in the actual kimchi land.

 

 

Smallest cup (in photo) costs $4.50.  The fried chicken comes with ddokpokki 떡볶이 (rice cake) and 1 mini potato munchi stick.  A little expensive but the satisfaction is there if you are a fan of Korean Fried Chicken.  This may just replace the original KFC. ^^

There's also an option to upsize to a meal, complete with rice and kimchi.

 

Chalk up points on your rewards card and you can return for some free munchies.  Have fun!

Note: The stall will be expanding its menu from August.  Look forward to it!

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Rd Basement 2
#B2-44 (facing Emicakes)
Website: http://www.kkuldak.co.kr/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KkulDakSingapore?ref=ts&fref=ts

Getting there: Take MRT to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station.  Use the underpass and take the exit that is directly linked to Plaza Singapura Basement 2.  Although Dhoby Ghaut MRT is contacted by 3 different lines [(North-South Line (Red), Northeast Line (Purple) and Circle Line (Yellow)], the station is inter-connected and it is not necessary to exit to the street level to go to the mall.  Simply look for directional signs to Plaza Singapura and head towards the direction.

 

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Related Posts:
- Chicken Up (link)
- Nene Chicken (link)
- BBQ Chicken (link)
- Korean Fried Chicken Culture (link)


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Korean Food Culture : Korean Fried Chicken (KFC)

Many people would associate Korean food culture with the traditionally tasty dishes such as Kimchi, Bulgogi, Sangyetang, Bibimbap etc.  However, a new wave of Korean Food Culture that cannot be ignored is the Korean Fried Chicken, also known as KFC coincidentally!

The Korean Fried Chicken started off as a supper food, yasik, in the 1980s.  For convenience, fried chicken was a popular home/office-delivery dish, just like how the original KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) had traditionally been marketed.  Besides the chicken, the delivery would normally come with softdrinks and packed pickled radish too.

 

Over the years, the style of making fried chicken in Korea had started to change, incorporating very delicious local flavours such as sweet & spicy, sweet & sour or honey tastes.  The popularity of Korean Fried Chicken has grew so much over the years and it is evidenced through the number of fried chicken restaurants across Korea. 

(Note the pickled radish in the background)

The uniqueness in Korean Fried Chicken is also in the chicken parts used, usually mid-wings, drumlets, or small chunks of thigh meat.  It is unlike KFC where drumsticks, breast meat and whole thigh part is used.  Another unique point about the Korean fried chicken is the way that the dish is prepared.  Small pieces of chicken chunks are used.  This makes it easy as a take-out dish, as a street-food or even something to munch while watching sports.  The texture of Korean fried chicken is also different.  The crispiness of the fried chicken is a result of deep-frying the chicken first before they are pan-fried in different sauces.



Fried Chicken is also a common snack dish that goes with beer, especially when Koreans watch sports at the sports bar.  Not pizza and beer or nachos and beer but fried chicken and beer (치맥).  There is no special reasons, it was simply something delicious to eat.  It has now become a part of Korean food culture.

 (Note the container is provided for chicken bones)

In fact, the Korean fried chicken culture, similar to the K-pop culture is penetrating into many countries.  Franchises are making their inroads globally, thanks to this delicious fried chicken dishes.  It's uniqueness has given food lovers an alternative options to the western style KFC, Texas Chicken, Popeyes Chicken etc.

The Korean Fried Chicken presents a greater variety of options eg.  fried, grilled, baked, popcorn chicken, chicken wings, spicy flavour, bulgogi flavour, sweet flavour etc.  It offers a more refreshing taste.

It is said that Korean Fried Chicken is now the No. 6 most popular dish in Korea.  I certainly hope that this delicious dish will become the No. 6 popular dish in the world one day!

 

 

Note: More postings on fried chicken can be found here.



Starbucks Singapore - White Chocolate Mocha

Drinking coffee is a way of live for many people.  It is really nice if you get to enjoy an aromatic cup of drink in a cosy café when you aren't rushed for time.

 

I am seldom impressed with Starbucks in terms of coffee art since they are always in a hurry to get the drinks out fast!  With such a huge chain of stores under the brand name, it is difficult to maintain high quality standards in every aspects.  As such, I am appreciative and impressed if a Starbucks barista do make an effort on the coffee presentation.  Afterall, a cup of coffee at Starbucks aren't cheap but sometimes, the quality of coffee or the way it is served just doesn't match up to expectation.

 

As such, I was pleasantly surprised with this White Chocolate Mocha, with the propped up froth which was at the verge of overflowing, yet it didn't.  It was indeed a nice piece of art and it takes precision to achieve what's presented.  Thank you very much, Starbucks @ Novena Hospital, for the pleasant experience at the café.

 



 

Starbucks
38 Irrawaddy Road
#01-14 Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital
Singapore 329563
Tel: 6570 2945
Opening Hours: Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm.  Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.
Website: www.starbucks.com.sg


Getting there:  Take the MRT to Novena Station.  Head towards Square 2, Level 1.  Use the exit near Barcook Bakery.  Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital is located diagonally across the road at the left hand side.


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YY Kafei Dian 喜园咖啡店

Not all coffeeshops open at 5am.  That's what I realised.  It was quite an experience for someone who hardly wakes up early just to catch breakfast.  For this breakfast trips, there were 3 surprising moments. 

Firstly, I was astonished to find that the shuttle at the coffeeshop, located at the junction of Purvis Street and Beach Road, was still closed when it was already approaching 8am.  The coffeeshop officially starts business at 8am.  Not surprising, I was the first customer for that day.  A little annoyed though since I had to leave by 8.30am and therefore, breakfast had to be rushed through.

The coffeeshop is located amongst the rows of old shop-houses.  It is quite tranquil to sit down and have a slow breakfast at these old-school coffeeshops, if you are not rushing for time.  YY serves economic fried bee hoon as well as toast bread in the morning.

The second surprise I had was - the coffeeshop went from empty at 8am to almost full-house within 10mins!  All of the sudden, the place became lively!

I chose to have the toast bread, soft-boiled egg and teh si.  $3.30 for the set.  Quite reasonably priced for a meal that is within the CBD.

The soft-boiled egg was the most satisfying of the 3 items.  The egg yolk was firm while the egg white was watery.  I think only those who are skilled can make such al-dente soft-boiled eggs.  As for the bread, I had asked for butter only but they had given me butter with kaya.  But nevermind, when life gives you lemon, you make into lemonade. 

And I thought that the dark kaya that they use is their signature ingredient.  The third surprise was that it tasted less than ordinary standard leh... sign.  And for the teh-si, it was also so-so and a little "siap".  I really wonder how the siap-ness came about since I am the first customer and the tea should have been freshly brewed?  Perhaps I should just stick with Teh and not Teh-si the next time round, if there is a next time.  Nonetheless, it was good to be an early bird once in a while to experience the Singapore breakfast culture =D

YY Kafei Dian
37 Beach Road #01-01 Singapore 189678

Getting there: Take MRT to Bugis Station.  Use the exit that heads towards Bugis Junction Shopping Mall.  Go to level 1, and head towards Inter-Continental Hotel.  At the cross-junction, walk along North Bridge Road and pass by the National Library.  Keep walking.  At the traffic light in front of Bras Basah Complex, cross over to the opposite side.  Walk along Purvis Street until the end.



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Know the Singapore Coffee (Kopi) Culture

This is refreshing since I do not know almost half of these nicknames! Have fun watching!
Nicknames of popular Kopitiam drinks in Singapore (Kopi Auntie) from the little dröm store on Vimeo.


Nicknames of popular Kopitiam drinks in Singapore (Kopi Uncle) from the little dröm store on Vimeo.

Goodwood Homemade Durian Ice-Cream

Finally bought and tried the Goodwood Homemade Durian Ice-cream.  The ice-cream was pretty pulpy (and therefore not the smoothy type) and not too sweet.  However, it wasn't as creamy as I would like it to be.  My personal preference has always been towards creamier ice cream.  As there isn't any preservatives added to the ice-cream, it must be consumed within a week! 

As with the rest of the durian pastries from Goodwood, the price is always of concern.  At $18 a tub (after adding the GST), it isn't as affordable and probably one of the most expensive ice-cream in town.

Available at the Goodwood Park Hotel Deli (22 Scotts Road, Singapore 228221).  Tel: 6730 1786.  The deli is opened from 9am to 9pm.

Getting there: Take the MRT to Orchard Station.  Use the underpass and go towards TANGS (departmental store).  You will pass by an exit with an escalator to the street level on the right-hand side.  Do not exit and just keep walking until you reach the underground level entrance to TANGS.  Take the escalator that is opposite the entrance to get to street level.  At the street level, keep right and walk along Scotts Road.  Pass by Scotts Square and Far East Plaza and keep walking until you reach Goodwood Park Hotel which is on your right side.



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Dong Dae Mun Korean Food at 313@Somerset

I had the perception that this Korean Street Food stall found in many shopping malls in Singapore only sells the many various kinds of street food fried stuff.  It was only very recently that I found out that they also sell meals such as Kimchi fried rice and Bulgogi set meal etc which comes complete with side dishes and soup!

 

The good news is that the good quality is rather good at this stall located at 313 Somerset, and the price is under $6! That's good value for money! 

 

   

 

 

  

The kimchi fried rice set comes with a small bowl of thick rice soup. Quite tasty and flavourful.

As for the Bulgogi which I chose chicken meat, the thinning shredded meat slices was well marinated and so, very delicious.  It wasn't oily and hence I guess it might be cooked not using any oil.   Love the shredded cabbage laid beneath the chicken on the hot plate.

 

 

 

Looking forward to try the other dishes in time to come! 

 

Dong Dae Mun

313@ Somerset, Basement 3

313 Orchard Road, Singapore 238895

 

Getting there: Take the train to Somerset Station.  The station is connected to 313 Somerset.  Take the escalator to the Food Hall located at Basement 3. 

 

 



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Artease Cafe ~ Roasted Rice Milk Tea

I was contemplating what post-lunch beverage to get when I chanced upon this big poster outside the café.  The taste of Korean Barley Tea (보리차) came to my mind almost instantly and I wonder if this Roasted Rice Milk Tea would taste similar to the Barley tea except that I have the choice on the sugar level for the milk tea.  To satisfy my curiosity, I decided to give it a try!

Sample of the roasted rice tea was on display at the counter.  The rice grains do look somewhat big and they look like barley grains too!

 

The end product is pure white in colour, just like that we see on the poster.  The taste of the roast rice mik tea is pretty light and refreshing with a toasty taste!  I had asked for 50% sugar and I reckon that I could possibly reduce to 25% next time, so that the roast rice tea fragrant can become the main taste.  

 

Other than tea, Artease also serve coffee and fries with a variety of seasonings.  That's how the fries look if you order the original flavour, which comes with a light stash of herbs.

Enjoy a cuppa with some fries at the café sounds like a good plan, for a quite afternoon.

Artease Cineleisure

Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
8 Grange Rd #01-03
Singapore 239695
Tel: +65 6235 6966

Website: http://www.artease.sg

Getting there: Take the MRT to Somerset Station.  Go towards Exit A, take the lift to the street level.  Walk along Somerset Road.  At the T-junction, cross over to Cineleisure Orchard.



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30% Dining Rebates with Bank of China UnionPay Card [until 30 Sep 2013]

Having a 30% rebate is a very rare and very good deal.  What's really good is that no minimum spend is needed and the list of restaurant are affordable.  Promotion is valid for the first 1500 who register via sms.  Refer to this link for registration details.

That includes:

1.  Ah Yat Abalone / Kitchen / Seafood Restaurant
2.  Imperial Treasure Bakery & Café / Grand Ballroom / Nan Bei / Steamboat / Super Peking Duck / Fine Chinese Cuisine / Cantonese Cuisine / Windows of Hong Kong / Noodle & Congee House / La Mian Xiao Long Bao / Teochew Cuisine
3.  Tung Lok Seafood / Classics / Signature / Tong Le Private Dining
4.  Zhou's Kitchen
5.  My Humble House
6.  No Signboard
7.  Lao Beijing
8.  Red House
9.  Spring Court Restaurant
10.  Asia Grand Restaurant
11.  Chen Fu Ji
12.  Fragrance Food Stuff
13.  Hai Di Lao
14.  Jumbo Seafood
15.  Forum Seafood
16.  Chong Qing Grilled Fish
17.  Chui Huay Lim Teochew Cuisine
18.  De Grand Restaurant
19.  Ruyi

20.  Cedele
21.  818 Durian & Pastries
22.  Gelateria Italia
23. Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie

24.  House of Sundanese Food
25.  Ku De Ta

(Note: The list above is not exhaustive)

Redeem Your Free Ya Kun Drink - Pickat SG [Ended]

Earn yourself a free ice coffee or ice tea from Ya Kun by showing the e-coupon from this app.  The drink is redeemable from 39 Ya Kun outlets.  As a word of advice, complete the necessary steps to get the e-coupon before queuing for the drink.  This would save you some time doing all the necessary log-in and getting to the page at  the counter itself! 

There are also other discounts from other merchants, food reviews and restaurant or café locators within this app!  Take your time to explore!