Seorae Galmaegi Korean Charcoal BBQ – first in Singapore to offer Galmaegisal!

In recent years, we’ve see a drastic increase in the popularity of Korean food and Korean pop culture. New on the block, Seorae, finally hits our shores! The founder, Chef Chul Park, was from a little village called Seorae in Korea, hence the name of this restaurant. Founded in 2007, Seorae has 221 outlets in South Korea alone, with presence in major cities outside Korea such as Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Jakarta and others, bringing its global franchise count to an impressive 264 restaurants within the span of just seven years. Singapore’s outlet that began on 28 December 2015 is their latest franchise, managed by an Indonesian lady, Wilyawati Tjiu. She always travels to Korea and loves Korean food. She noticed that a lot of alcohol is consumed throughout a typical Korean meal so she hopes to provide customers with an authentic Korean dining experience.

Seorae Singapore brings, for the first time, their signature Korean Galmaegisal, which is also known as pork skirt meat. Galmaegisal is found between the ribs and the belly of the pig and is a unique cut that forms only 250 grams of every full grown pig. Said to have been served exclusively to the Royal Family of Korea in ancient times, Seorae Singapore now offers this kingly dining experience to all. Using Seorae’s special “circle grilling” technique, the Galmaegisal, marinated in a delicious blend of Korean spices for two days, with at least an half hour’s massage, is grilled to perfection, full of rich flavours, tender and juicy. We tried the original Galmaegisal ($21.90 for regular and $29.90 for king) and the garlic soy sauce Galmaegisal ($22.90 for regular and $31.90 for king). The former is the closest you get to savouring authentic Korean flavours while the latter contains a generous garlic seasoning and soy sauce – imagine chunks of juicy meat with an extra kick.

Amp up the flavour of the Galmaegisal using the well-known Korean dipping style into onion and spicy sauces, accompanied with silky folds of egg and fragrant garlic. To bring diners on an even more exciting culinary adventure, Seorae Singapore offers melted cheese on the grill as well, combining mouthwatering textures and creamy cheese into a burst of flavour on the tastebuds. Cheese costs $2 per portion and is non-refillable.

Keeping true to the bona fide Seorae Galmaegi fining experience offered in Korea, besides offering Galmaegisal, Seorae Singapore also provides a wide selection of premium pork and beef cuts, traditional jigae (Korean stews), refreshing cold noodles and the ever-popular Patbingsoo (shaved ice dessert) in numerous flavours. We had the Spicy Samgyeobsal ($19.90), which is pork belly marinated with Seorae’s special spicy sauce. This is delicious and perfect for pork lovers. We also learnt from the servers that Koreans prefer thicker cuts of meat, especially when it comes to pork belly. They also prefer their meat to be very charred.

The next dish that arrived was the Hangjeongsal ($21.90), consisting of tasty pork neck, grilled to crisp. It’s still very soft and juicy at the same time.

The final two Korean BBQ meats served were Woosamgyeob ($24.90) and LA Galbi ($38.90). Woosamgyeob refers to the beef belly, thinly sliced and marinated with Seorae’s special fruity sauce and the grilling brought out its savoury juices. LA Galbi consists of succulent beef ribs cut across the bones and grilled to bring out the delicious marrow juice. It’s listed down by CNN as top 50 World Most Delicious Food. All meats at Seorae are from the US.

A Korean meal almost always includes a stew, or jjigae. The different types of jjigae are typically named according to their principal ingredients. We had Sundubu Jjigae ($14.90 for small and $18.90 for large) which is Seorae’s personal chef recommendation soup, served in hot pot. Spicy soft tofu stew mixed with minced pork, fresh vegetables, clams and Omega-3 eggs.

We also had the Haemul Pajeon ($18.90), traditional Korean pancake with fresh green onions and succulent seafood. The pancake was fluffy and flavoursome while the “crust” was super crispy, just the way we like it. The last dish that was served before the arrival of our desserts was Bibim Naengmyeon ($15.90) which is a refreshing bowl of Korean cold noodles infused with Seorae’s special bibim spicy sauce.

Don’t forget to end your meals with Seorae’s Patbingsoo. The different flavours of Patbingsoo at Seorae are named after places in Seoul, with the signature being Apgujeong Bingsoo ($14.90), designed perfectly for cheese fanatics. Apgujeong Bingsoo consists of cheese, cheese sauce, cheese cake, cheese wafer and vanilla ice cream. We also had Bibim Patbingsoo ($12.90) that includes fruits, jelly, pat, strawberry sauce and vanilla ice cream, Namdaemun Bingsoo ($14.90) consisting of coffee jelly, cornflakes and rum raisin ice cream, as well as, Itaewon Bingsoo ($15.90) consisting of Irish cream, coffee jelly, cornflakes and vanilla ice cream. Our favourite was the healthy, fruity and adorable looking Bibim Patbingsoo!

Located so conveniently at Plaza Singapura, boosting a comfortable and lively interior, Seorae Singapore is perfect for gatherings and for unwinding after a hard day at work.

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