Marinated Beef Bulgogi Fried Rice, $14.90 (pax***)

On a placid afternoon last Thursday, my Aunt and I were starving, walking fast paced from Bugis Mrt into Bugis Junction, undecided about what we were going to feast on. "Korean food!" was what I half-screamed and almost instantly, my aunt said we should go to the one above the food court where there was always a crowd of young people and also, a long queue. Yoogane it was!

When we arrived at approximately 11.20am (not quite an 'afternoon' after all, haha), the place was not officially opened yet but the kind waitress let us in anyway. The famous Chef's Speciality' Seafood and Chicken Galbi' ($48.90 for 2-3pax) was so, very tempting but we decided that we will save this big pan for when there's more of us the next time. After we ordered the Marinated Beef Bulgogi Fried Rice and Royal Court Dokboki, the waitress showed us to the free flow side dishes Yoogane offered! It wasn't much of a spread, even less then the expected from a typical korean restaurant I have to say, but it was better than none at all! The four side dishes included shredded radish with kiwi and strawberry sauce which I honestly feel you can pass. It also included pickles, tossed capsicums and kimchi!

Free flow side dishes

Now, for the Marinated Beef Bulgogi Fried Rice. I don't know about you but the word 'Beef Bulgogi' beckons me feverishly with its fingers of sweet, caramelised onions, slowly cooked into tender slices of beef with native korean seasoning. Who can resist such a dish? I wasn't expecting much from this fried rice initially, but the lady said something about ordering 2 portions (mind you, that'll be $14.90 X 2, which adds up to pretty a lot of money for fried rice) so that they can fry it up on the big pan in front of us, and that they did. The rice was a little mountain on its own and they definitely did not go sparingly on the cheese. No complaints though, more cheese only satisfies! The lady fried it up for us on the big heated pan and it was quite a show I must say. They stir then flatten the fried rice completely (as seen on the pan in the first picture), probably to make sure everything was well cooked. This came up to a surprisingly tasty dish, hitting expectations for a well-seasoned beef bulgogi fried rice. Scooping spoonfuls of the rice up from the pan made me feel like an excited pre-schooler honestly, tantalised by cheese which streaked from pan to spoon.

Before

After

We also couldn't resist ordering the Royal Court Dokboki, a side dish that was listed on the menu. It was a sizable plateful, which mades me very happy because I truly appreciate generous servings. Fried with marinated chicken and vegetables, the Dokboki also sat in a savory sauce which brings out the flavour of the chicken slices very well. Since Dokboki evidently does not taste like much besides its fun, chewy texture, the sauce was a good touch which brought more dimension to the dish.

Royal Court Dokboki $12.90

The overall experience was a pleasant one and I'm glad to say that Yoogane's mad popularity (have you seen the queue on weekends?!) isn't overrated. I wished the waitress said more explicitly that we were going to have 2 portions of the rice, which was 2 times the price, instead of somewhat assuming we'd get it though!

Drawing some links to my previous post, I remember saying that I appreciate a good restaurant which puts up its menu and prices online. Unfortunately, Yoogane only has its menu excluding prices. Fortunately, Yoogane is very conveniently located in a mall so do check out its menu when you pass it by the next time!


Yoogane
Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street #02-47/48 (Near the food court)
Singapore 188021
Tel: 6337 7337

West Gate
3 Gateway Drive #03-08
Singapore 608532
Tel: 6710 7821

Operating Hours:
11.30am to 10pm daily, No reservations