Our reunion dinner last year at Goro Goro Steamboat and Korean Buffet wasn't that memorable but it didn't stop us from reserving seats at its related eatery; I'm Kim Junior!
Concept didn't appear to differ from I'm Kim Korean BBQ at School of the Arts (SOTA) and i wonder about the differences; as the word junior was used, i am very much assuming that it's a scale-down version from the restaurant at SOTA.
Our family had the tendency to have an early reunion dinner when we are dining outside; primarily because my dad has to go to the temple although it's good to beat the crowd too! Nevertheless, we had the dinner earlier (last Sunday) as my elder sister couldn't make it on the actual day.
Being the first few groups of diners mean the food would be laid out nicely as versus to the scene a few hours later when batches of hungry hordes have messed up the aesthetic display. So what's included in the buffet?
Free flow plain water, lime juice, water chestnut and Korean barley tea; they were all cold and those who prefer a hot beverage can request separately for plain, hot water.
The cooked food section with ddeokbokki, japchae noodles, french fries and the all time favourite Korean chicken wings (it's as popular at I'm Kim Korean BBQ and Goro Goro)!
This would be the cheezy dakgalbi; now, it's rice based so hold back taking a large scoop as it's going to fill you up fast! Don't know what's dak galbi? Check out my posting on Yoogane Dak Galbi.
Now on the other sections.
Condiments and Bites - you can get salads, dressing, sliced tomatoes, broccoli, pickled radish, corn, edamame, fruits like watermelon, pineapple and dessert (longan jelly in our case)!
Army Stew Faves - at I'm Kim Junior, you get a pot of soup that would allow you flexibility to customise your own version of the army stew! From this counter, you can self serve on enoki mushrooms, fishcake, cabbage, button mushroom, potato, uncooked japchae, egg tofu, sweet corn, baked beans and seaweed.
Veggies and Buddies - the former is definitely not a buddy of mine for any buffet except for maybe onion! The buddies consisted of chicken sausage, luncheon meat, prawns and squids!
In addition, i would like to strongly recommend the pamuchim which tasted like sweeter kimchi with a roasted sesame kick! Joyce whacked quite a lot from what i remember.
Meat Fiesta - the section that many would attack first with ten different styles across chicken, beef and pork; 3 for chicken, 5 for pork and 2 for beef.
Further breakdown as follows; black pepper chicken, garlic chicken, volcano chicken, premium bacon, prime pork belly, Korean marinated pork, Korean honey pork collar, prime pork collar, beef roll and Korean marinated beef. Grab a bit of each to see which one you like before taking more!
Back to our table where the server helped to switch on the grill, turn on the UFO thingy that sucks up the smoke and pour the gravy for the army stew pan.
A piece of cheese and a pack of noodles for the army stew! Again, i think army stew in a buffet is another way for the operator to entice you to fill your tummy faster! I, for one, would be full with just army stew.
To make my money worth, i concentrated on the meat instead; did you the smoke that was sucked into the UFO device? I actually put my hand over it and can totally feel the strong suction!
Sadly, i couldn't resist the cooked food even though i did try to ensure i don't take a lot. The signature chicken wings were as good as i recall, ddeokbokki was pretty nice and not that spicy whereas the cheese dakgalbi tasted like what i had at Yoogane; and i can't have more of it as i don't think my tummy can take in the rest of the items if i continue to indulge in it!
Waiting, waiting, waiting. It's a waste to bring Jovyn here as she has no interest in the grilled meat (why, why, why?)! In fact, she only has interest for rice, french fries and chicken wings. *face palm*.
The Korean marinated pork was delish and the one that impressed us the most for two reasons; the marination wasn't hot and each slice was immensely juicy given that they were pork belly! Yum yum!
Obviously, we took more; a lot more.
Our family actually didn't make use of the army stew for its true intent although it works well as a steamboat to boil items like mussels, prawns etc.
I am too lazy to de-shell prawns (crabs are okay) when i am outside but we have an official de-sheller in the family who would gladly do it for the family. *happy*.
Desserts to fill up whatever remaining space in my stomach! It's been quite a while since i last had such a filling meal and i feel that i am unable to take in as much as i could in the past! Guess it's related to age. :(
=====
Location
2, Orchard Link, #03-01,
*SCAPE, Singapore 237978
Pricing
As above. Do note that there's a time limit!
We paid S$242.60 for 9 persons (5 adults, 2 children, 2 senior citizens) which i thought was extremely reasonable for a buffet dinner on a weekend. The range of cooked food is wider at I'm Kim Korean BBQ at SOTA and since i am not into army stew, maybe we can consider the original I'm Kim Korean BBQ next year. Maybe.
It's the first day of Chinese New Year and i would like wish everyone an amazing year ahead; one that's blessed with good fortune, pink health and most importantly, happiness. :)
