My intention was precise; to order the spicy bulgogi i had previously at Star Vista's Chi Bing Korean restaurant, take pictures (for blogging) and leave for Phoon Huat for my baking needs. In all, about 30-45 minutes would be all i need.
Unfortunately, things didn't proceed as expected. For one, most diners were having Korean barbecue and secondly, huge words "unlimited BBQ" on the menu, as indicated above, were enticing for meat lovers like my friend and i!
We caved in. :(
With the ordering of main dishes, you would have free access to the side-dish counter where five items awaits your selection (ranging from beansprouts, seaweed, kimchi, salad and pickled radish)! The side-dish counter was my elder sister's favourite section when we were in Korea; whenever there was a chance, she would make multiple trips to the counter to fill herself up with kimchi and other popular Korean side dishes.
As this is a buffet, i am reserving my tummy space for the more expensive items and took only the side dishes i would like to go with the meat; kimchi and picked radishes.
The buffet included unlimited servings of soy bean stew, steamed egg and steamed rice and you can consider topping extra for additional serving (not free flow) of lettuce, king oyster mushroom and fried rice. Absolutely no rice for me but we gamely took up the offer of soy bean stew and steamed egg.
Soy bean stew wasn't impressive but i could be biased as i never quite enjoy Korean stew. The steamed egg was much more memorable; scalding hot, fluffy and moist!
Now, i thought the pork belly was the thinly sliced version but it was as depicted on the menu; generous, thick cut and for our first order, five chunky slices were placed on our table. By the way, in case you are wondering if there's other meat to choose from, there isn't.
Time to start the sizzling using the electric griddle!
The friendly server came over to spruce up our barbecue with more than just meat! My friend was surprised as he didn't know kimchi can be barbecued. For me, it came as no surprise as someone had kindly taught me a few years ago.
No oil is required as pork belly is well-known to be full of fats! Those meat lovers looking to justify their love for pork fat would be happy to note that it contains a high level of monounsaturated oleic acid; read here to find out more!
Cutting up the thick pork with the pair of scissors! See how fatty the pork belly was and this wasn't even the worst; in some cases, it was just cuts of nothing but just fats. *eyes glistening with love*
Faster 'ready' time with the pork belly cut up!
Unlike most of the Korean barbecued restaurants (for example, Ju Shin Jung, I am Kim, I am Kim Junior), the meat was not marinated and even though it didn't taste extremely porky, a dip (Korean sauce) would still be needed to enhance the flavour.
For me, the best way was to eat each piece of the pork belly with a slice of crunchy pickled radish! The crunchiness, the sour-sweetness with a manageable spiciness perfectly complemented the natural flavour of the juicy pork belly!
Done with our first order and following up with our second as we were sure our tummies can manage another round; this time, a slightly reduced number of 4 thick slices of pork belly.
Fast forward to 30 minutes later; our last and final round; another 4 slices of pork belly and another serving of the delicious pickled radish!
Between the two of us, we wobbled up about 5 servings of pickled radish and a mind blowing 13 slices of pork belly! I didn't know my stomach had such capacity and if we estimated each chunk to weigh about 150 grams; we would have ingested about 2-kilogram worth of pork belly!
No wonder i was so stuffed after the meal and continued to feel so the next day! Maybe due to the excessive amount of meat, i am still having slight discomfort and a lingering headache for the past few days.
Look at the amount of oil collected from our griddle after the meal!
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Location
1, Vista Exchange Green,
#01-43/K4, The Star Vista Mall,
Singapore 138617
(Near Buona Vista MRT Station)
Operating Hours
11.30 am to 10.00 pm
Website
https://www.chibing.sg/
Menu
As above. Can also refer to here.
Pricing
Pork Belly BBQ Buffet - S$22.00
(subject to GST and Service Charge)
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