Entree Kibbles: Obongzip 오봉집 Korean Restaurant @ Tanjong Pagar in Singapore

Sunday, March 01, 2026

Obongzip 오봉집 Korean Restaurant @ Tanjong Pagar in Singapore

Compared to blogs, I admit vlogs have a lot more allure, with the ability to capture attention immediately. Even I would refer to vlogs on new restaurants, before making a decision to check them out.

One such restaurant was Obongzip 오봉집, a Korean restaurant that hailed from South Korea, which has over 300 outlets and opened its first branch in Singapore late last year.

Needless to say in food-craze Singapore, the queue was long when we arrived at about 6.30pm. Putting in an on-site reservation (time-slots were unavailable online), we were only brought into the restaurant at about 8.20pm!

There were just the greatest Kon, Alex (the small eater) and I; hence, the Obongzip Special platter would be the best option since it comprised the three signature dishes of Obongzip; fire grilled spicy octopus, bossam pork and spicy buckwheat noodles.

Complimentary water, with serviettes hidden under the table.

That's the way things should be for ALL restaurants in Singapore!

Together with the platter was a sizeable bowl of seaweed soup and a range of side dishes! Served on birthdays, there were large pieces of seaweed said to be beneficial for health and the only thing needed improvement was that it should have been served piping hot, instead of lukewarm.

Rest of the side dishes didn't generate much surprises; not lousy for sure, just not breathtaking enough for us to shout wow! So, let's now dive into the main dishes!

Fire-grilled Spicy Octopus - selecting mild instead of hot a

nd extra hot, the spiciness was just right for us and complemented perfectly with the grilled aroma of the octopus, combination of which was so delicious; the words that came out were "wow, wow"! I would gladly eat this one dish for dinner! Yum yum!

Pork Belly Bossam - now, this was one dish I see often on menus in Korean restaurants but the seemingly boiled pork honestly always don't look and feel that appetising. So, this was my first time (I think) eatingh bossam.

Turned out this was even better than the fire grilled spicy octopus! I was absolutely blown away when I paired the pork belly with the accompanying kimchi. By itself, the pork belly was tender (and fatty) with your usual pork flavour.

Main star was the kimchi, which was unlike any kimchi I have had before; with a crunchy texture and a spiciness that wasn't tongue numbing yet had that undeniably tempting sweetness! So unforgettable was this dish; I will be returning back to Obongzip very soon, with my dearest mom of course!

Spicy Buckwheat Noodles - called makguksu, this dish was your typical "buckwheat noodles tossed in a sweet, tangy and spicy house sauce", mixed professionally by the staff on duty.

Being a fan of buckwheat noodles, this was a unique version that I would define as refreshing! Flavorsome would be the first word that came to my mind and I so love the addition of nuts; nuttiness with extra crunch!

Grilled Tteok - looking like a puffy golden pillow, many diners would immediately whip out their phones when this dessert is served to their table.

A spectacle no less; with the eyes almost popping out from our sockets when the sticky mochi stretching so high up! Another thought that was going through our minds; it would be hard for us to finish this dessert!

With a crispy shell that held so much Korean rice cake inside, it's a carbohydrate-heavy meal that would further stuff our already stuffed tummy. And I heard from Alex that he was full, before this dessert was even served.

On its own, there wasn't much taste for the grilled tteok and we benefited greatly from the saucer of sweet sauce (malt sugar we believe) where we happily dipped the pieces of tteok in before putting them into our mouth. While this was worth a try, especially when you have a larger group, the mochi lost their melty elasticity when it cooled, and it could be very jelak.

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Before and after! Will definitely be back for the Obongzip Special platter! And kudos to the Greatest Kon for gallantly cleaning up the grilled tteok! It was too much for Alex and I; former of whom just took one piece, I believe.

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