I really do like the concept of Family Outing and with each variety show, each cast member would build up their persona on that show, which makes it so interesting and hilarious to watch. My favourite segments of the show would be their dinner and breakfast preparations HAHA. So typical of me, I know. But it is interesting to see how they gather ingredients, and it doesn't hurt to learn new ingredients that these Korean celebrities have been growing up with. To cut the long story short, I will mentally salivate over the food they prepare and will develop a craving to eat Korean food.
I guess it's just their food culture and the way the meal progresses that intrigues me.
A few days ago, Duane brought me to Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ restaurant that every Singaporean will ABSOLUTELY LOVE. Reasons being #1 It's a buffet and #2 It's affordable. So Singaporean.
This restaurant has been around for slightly over two years and recently relocated at United Square.
The seating area is quite big, probably able to fit about 200-300pax. It wasn't very crowded when we dined in because they were going to end their lunch shift in an hour.
First time seeing a curved grill top, which is something I would not recommend because all the drippings just slide off into a pan at the bottom that the staff collect at the end of the meal and throws out D:
There's a simple layout of the food area. Those with the lids are food items that have already been cooked and ready for consumption, like soups, rice, jap-chae, ddeokbokki and more. I didn't get to try all of them though.
Vegetable/pickled vegetable station! On the further end was the raw meat section. They had a mixture of chicken, pork and beef, both spicy and non-spicy.
Salad/fresh fruits station. They also placed the ssamjang* and salt and white pepper mix at this station. I wish they had gireumjang** though, which I prefer over the spicy ssamjang dipping sauce.
*Ssamjang is a dipping sauce consisting of chili paste, soybean paste, sesame oil and other ingredients.
**Gireumjang is a simple condiment consisting of sesame oil and salt, sometimes with a dash of black pepper
Drinks station. Didn't visit this section though, because iced water was sufficient for us. If you wanna order alcoholic beverages, there would be additional charges.
GRILLED MEAT!!!!!!!!!! *DROOLS*
If you know me well enough, I really love meat. Especially beef!!!! So usually at buffets like this, I'd just feast on meat. Not much on the other food items like soups, which tend to make me feel bloated super fast. The marinades for the different types of meat were quite good!
If you ever see ddeokbokki in a buffet line, my advice would be to skip it. Yes, it's one of my favourite Korean dishes because of the QQ texture in the rice cakes, but it doesn't fare well at buffets as it does in an a la carte setting. There would be carryover cooking from being left in the warmer for too long, and as a result, the rice cakes get mushy and just horrible to eat. So, just skip it.
*UPDATE*
Went back to eat at this restaurant again and my advice to my fellow ddeokbokki-lovers out there would be to take these yummy rice cakes from the buffet line ONLY when it's freshly replaced! It so happened that I noticed the designated area for ddeokbokki was empty, so once they were replenished, I didn't hesitate to take a small serving of it. They included a couple of hard-boiled eggs too, which was a lovely surprise, so first-come-first-served :) Nonetheless, the freshly-cooked rice cakes had the QQ texture I love and it was piping hot so yippee!
Lettuce for ssambap and jap-chae. The jap-chae wasn't too bad! Could use with a little more seasoning though! The coldness of it made it a little off-putting, but definitely more palatable than the ddeokbokki.
I was really stuffed by the end of the meal, even without drinking most of the soups! (I only had a few spoonfuls of their kimchi soup)
My #1 advice for eating at buffets would be to not stuff yourself silly JUST because there's a free flow of food. If you want to try EVERYTHING on the buffet line, take a little of everything. By a little, I mean a spoonful or two. And once you figure out what items are really appetising to you, load them onto your plate and sink your teeth into them. This still doesn't mean you should stuff yourself until you're bloated and on the verge of vomiting everything out. That would totally ruin the entire experience of eating. I've been to too many buffets to experience what it feels like to overeat and lose my sense of taste. The aftermath of that really isn't pleasant.
Overall, the experience at Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ restaurant was pleasant and I would definitely return again, for their meat and other items I didn't get to try the first time round. It'd be a good place for a big gathering with friends or family members. They do accept reservations so that's a plus point, especially when big groups are involved.
Like I said earlier on in the post, this buffet is affordable and value for money for its weekday lunch at only $14+ for adults ($9+ per child). It added up to be about $16 per adult after taxes. They have different rates for dinner and weekend services, so go check it out on their facebook page.
Do note that on weekdays, they open in two shifts, 11.30am - 2.30pm and 5pm - 11pm. Their last orders are half an hour before the shift ends. So for example, once it reaches 2pm for the lunch shift, they'd start clearing the buffet line and by 2.30pm, they expect you to be ready to foot the bill. On weekends and public holidays, they open from 11.30am - 11pm, so no worries there :)
Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ Buffet
101 Thomson Road #B1-15-17/34, United Square, Singapore 307591
Tel: 62548123
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