[Media Invite] Yoogane @ Serangoon NEX

Yoogane originated from Busan and I first had a taste of it at its Myeongdong branch. It's a simple shop where one walks in, get a table, order the combination of choice and the staff will bring the necessary and cooks it at your table. The side dishes (banchan) are self-service and the staff usually brings water in the form of a steel water container bottle to the table. Utensils are in the drawer that one slides out at the end of the table.

store front

Similarly, one expects the same at Yoogane Singapore. Personally, I found that the side dishes in Yoogane Singapore tasted better than the version I had in Myeongdong some years ago. There's strawberry sauce or sesame sauce for the salads, the kimchi was nicely marinated and the yellow radish was tasty. Unlimited refills, so take as much as you need.

At Yoogane, the must order would be the dak galbi (닭갈비 - stir fried spicy chicken). For its 3rd Anniversary in May, Yoogane is launching new dishes. For chicken galbi, do order the one with cheese and the staff will bring over the grill with a side rim for the cheesy dips. We tried the cheesy corn and cheesy mushroom. The grill looks familiar to those that can be found at korean bbq stores.
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Cheesy Duet  of Cheesy Corn & Cheesy Mushroom Chicken Galbi @$59.90

Various toppings such as ramyeon, rice or dokbokki can be added. The toppings prices ranged from $3.90 to $6.90 per plate. I'd recommend the sweet potato dokbokki. Must try. Looked cute too! The sweet potato dokbokki has mung beans as it fillings so it was like eating spicy ang ku kueh.

sweet potato dokbokki (고구마 떡볶이 ) @$5.90

staff cooks

The cheese was enjoyable and liked that it was so stringy. Had fun trying to pull the longest cheese strings!

yummy cheesy corn

While staff cooks the dak galbi, one could order side dishes to munch on. The seafood pancake (hameul pajeon) is a popular choice, and we had egg roll and Taeyang (from Big Bang?!) salad too.

Korean Style Seafood Pancake @$18.90

Egg Roll @$10.90

Taeyang Salad - Chicken Galbi Salad with sesame dressing @$12.90

The chicken galbi was not very spicy and liked the cheese at the side. The egg rolls were good too, but do eat it while it is still warm. The taeyang (sun) salad is basically fresh lettuces, cherry tomatoes, sweet corn, cucumber slices and julienned carrots with chicken galbi and a poached egg.

let it flow

On a very hot day, one could also opt for naengmyeon which is basically the cold buckwheat noodles. Served with light and refreshing broth and one adds vinegar and mustard according to own's liking.

Naengmyeon (Cold Noodles) @$11.90

cutting the noodles

On 8 May, Yoogane will be launching the Dosirak (도시락) or lunch boxes, where it is prepared in a metal tin box, just like how it's being done in Korea. One could try these dosiraks in May; Chicken Galbi, Chicken Bulgogi and Beef Bulgogi. The items in the dosirak include the main meats (chicken galbi or chicken bulgogi or beef bulgogi), crispy chicken luncheon meat, kimchi, seaweed, korean fishcakes, anchovies and served with a sunny side up. The metal boxes are meant to be shaken before eating. Kind of getting an arm-workout prior to enjoying the carbs.

Dosirak (도시락) @$12.90

Next, we tried an existing item in the menu, which was the Octopus and Chicken Galbi. Last had this while I was at Myeongdong. The Yoogane taste is pretty consistent.

Octopus and Chicken Galbi @$59.90

almost ready

enjoy~

Expect to spend about $30 per pax for a meal here with drinks. The service staff are friendly and they will greet the diners upon entering and leaving their premise.

Special thanks to HGW for the invite and Yoogane Singapore for the hosting the dinner.