Taste of Korea 찐 (JJIN) @ Amoy Street [Singapore]

Amoy Street has a long history in Singapore but among young Singaporeans, it's more well-known as THE place for good quality Korean barbecue.

Taste of Korea 찐 (JJIN) shared the top rank with Go! K-JJAJANG for the highest google review score of 4.7 although the former had four times the number of reviewers. Anyway, it's only a guiding principle and the main reason for my visit was its strong endorsement from a friend who frequents Korean BBQ outlets!  

The interior with the ubiquitous UFO exhaust systems; it was disturbing to see almost empty restaurant at 6.40 pm on a Friday night but our worries were unfounded as it was already full house in less than an hour's time.

Preparing the charcoal for our BBQ! 

Chopsticks and spoons by the side of the table, where you get a pack of tissue too! Compared this to Chinese restaurants, where I can spend a lot more but I would still be charged for one piece of wet tissue. 

Don't we just love a nice, complimentary cup of cold tea on a hot day? Sadly, I did realize that it's getting increasingly common for Korean eateries in Singapore to charge for tea; a phenomenon I hope would not gain traction.

Another thing I hope would remain unchanged; the provision of complimentary side dishes, which in this case, consisted of some kimchi, beansprouts, fishcakes, ikan bilis and mashed potatoes. All I like! p.s. side dishes and fresh vegetables are only given with a minimum of 2 portion ala carte orders at Taste of Korea.

Tuna and Kimchi Riceball - frankly, I thought this was served in the bibimbap style and all I need to do would be to mix them up thoroughly using a spoon. Turned out the plastic gloves were there for a reason.

Let me do the mixing then! 

Honestly, I don't like to "prep" my own food when I am eating in a restaurant. I am okay for things like spreading butter on my toast but even for barbecuing, I have the tendency to overcook the meat and this is often a waste of good meat. 

Taste was surprisingly nice for this hand-mixed rice ball; spicy, tuna was tasty and not fishy, with the addictive crunch coming from the kimchi and radish. My friend did comment it was overmixed; nevertheless, I am happy with the outcome! 

Jjamppong - I watched enough Running Man to know this dish as it was always a contest between it and Jajangmyeon, although this would be my first time having Jjamppong.

Not knowing much about it allowed me a free rein to describe my experience; it was like Korean instant noodles but the broth was thicker and more flavorful, infused with more quality ingredients (prawns, mussels etc).  And it was so shiok slurping in the handmade noodles! 

Original Tangsuyuk - another dish that I got to know from Running Man; its name actually means sweet and sour meat which would have been under the same category of the sweet and sour pork (咕嚕肉) that is commonly found in Singapore's economy rice stalls. 

While there were similarities with our local version, the sauce was served separately and it was sweeter. The batter surrounding the meat was thick, chewy, not crispy, and you would definitely need to dip it in the sauce for palatability. Not too bad when combined yet, I am missing the sweet and sour pork from Por Kee.

Pork Set 1 - good for 3 persons, this came with pork belly, marinated pork skirt, jowl meat and marinated pork ribs; all of which was about 160 grams each. 

Always beneficial to have someone barbecuing for us; and it was a friendly Korean lady who came to our rescue! Frankly, I am less confident when barbecuing pork as you need to ensure it is 100% cooked.

You can DIY if you wish. 

Not for me, obviously! 

By the way, the lady did a great job; the pork were fully cooked with just a bit of char on them, and continued to taste so juicy! Of course, it's nice (and healthy) to have when wrapped with a piece of fresh lettuce and some onions! 

Soft tofu soup came with the set! Even though it wasn't as big a portion as the one from Palsaik Korean BBQ in Malaysia and with tofu not as smooth as SBCD, it was still one of the better ones around, delivering a delicious, spicy kick! 

U-Samgyub Short Plate - forgot to take a photo of this before we were more than halfway through the 180-gram, ala carte order. If you love beef, short plate should always be the one you go for; its taste was impeccably good and full of juiciness (provided you don't overcook and eat it fresh from the grill). 

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Can't wait to be back! 

Address

109 Amoy Street, 

Singapore 069929

Map

As above.

Operating Hours

Lunch - 11.30 am to 2.30 pm (LO: 2.00 pm)

Dinner - 5.00 pm to 10.20 pm (LO: 9.20 pm)

Closed on Tuesdays

*LO is last order

Pricing

Tuna and Kimchi Riceball -  S$8.00

Jjamppong - S$16.00

Original Tangsuyuk (S) - S$28.00  

Pork Set 1 - S$88.00

U-Samgyub Short Plate - S$30.00

(Subject to Service Charge and GST)