Myung Ga (명가) II Korea Family Restaurant @ Bukit Timah Plaza (Near Beauty World MRT Station) [Singapore]

When was the last time you stepped into Bukit Timah Plaza? Completed in 1979, I think my last visit was more than 10 years ago, when it still housed Waffletown, which had since moved over to Balmoral Plaza, and subsequently pulled down its shutters for good in the middle of last year.

Back to happier things (I didn't manage to eat at Waffletown for the last time as the queue was just insanely long); I dropped by Bukit Timah Plaza and our objective was to check out Myung Ga (명가) II Korea Family Restaurant! 

Operating hour starts from 11.30am but don't be surprised to find a queue outside the restaurant even before then! So glad the Great Kon had advised that we should arrive slightly earlier to secure a table. p.s. picture taken as we were the first few groups to be seated. 

Split dining areas as the original shop space obviously wasn't big enough to meet the demand! Simple interior design; wooden furniture with large photos of Korean food plastered on the walls.

Loving the placement of tissue pack and complimentary bottle of Korean tea on every table! Shouldn't all these be the norm in all restaurants that impose service charge?! 

Let's start the meal with free side dishes (known as banchan)! Generally decent tasting; nothing quite exceptional for me to comment further. Let's proceed to the main dishes!

Soft Tofu Stew with Seafood - non-spicy to cater to Alex, this had ingredients like octopus, mussels, clams etc submerged in the boiling broth, together with a generous amount of silky smooth tofu. Taste was on the light side and although not as memorable as the ones we had at SBCD Korean Tofu House; it would still result in a heartwarming sensation on cool days like today.

Kimchi Pancake - a fantastic representation of Korean kimchi pancake and when compared to the epic one we had at Wang Dae Bak; this lost by just a little bit simply because of a reduced satisfaction from biting into a thinner layer of crispness.  

Cooked Noodles in Chilled Broth - this would never appeal to my mom who always believes that soup should be served hot, and not cold! But like Japanese cold soba, this would be the perfect meal on hot, sunny days, for which Singapore is like for most part of the year! 

The clear broth had that iconic sour, vinegarish sweetness that excited the taste buds and it was refreshing to bite into the slices of cucumbers, radishes and pears! The noodles were clumped up; maybe for display purpose as they loosened once you mix them into the broth. 

Pork Cutlet - a few episodes of Running Man featured pork cutlet and I finally managed to try it as it's not commonly served in Singapore's Korean restaurants; boy was the cutlet huge! 

Initially assumed to be curry, the gravy turned out to be ketchup based, without spiciness and with a nice flavor I found familiar. It's like a non-spicy version of mee siam gravy yet with something else that made up the unique taste! Went well with the pork cutlet that had a crispy batter that didn't taste heavy, despite its thickness.

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Before and after. Food was good, with a pretty wide variety and I frankly thought we would be paying a lot more. Overall damage for the four of us was below S$80! Guess here's another eatery to pencil into my bring-my-parents-to-eat list. 

Address

1 Jalan Anak Bukit, #B1-55, 

Bukit Timah Plaza, Singapore 588996

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

11.30 am to 3.45 pm

5.30 pm to 8.45 pm

(Closed on Mondays)

Pricing

Soft Tofu Stew with Seafood - S$16.00

Kimchi Pancake - S$19.00

Cooked Noodles in Chilled Broth - $16.00

Pork Cutlet - S$18.00

(Subject to Service Charge only)