Okay, so I love K-BBQ, specifically, I love the atmosphere.
But (if you've noticed) in recent years I have not had much of a chance to have K-BBQ. No specific reason, other than the fact that some of my go-to places aren't around anymore, and the one that I did want to go (on Nankin Row closer to the Chinatown/Hong Lim side) I chose to have fried chicken instead of BBQ the last time I was there.
K-BBQ is, however, one of those foods that stick with you regardless how long you haven't eaten there, so when a friend recommended this new place that had (just) popped up in town, I was quite interested to go there.
We'd agreed to do a weekend afternoon instead of a weekday evening.
I like my heavier meals to be in the daytime, and you know the level of onz I have for the meal when I still go- for a grill- whilst still recovering from a bout of stomach flu.
The most attractive thing about Koggii here at Suntec City is the quality- and the price.
Tell the truth, for $19.95++ pax, I had been expecting poorly-prepared banchan and meats served in a 'grab and go' style.
But I'd underestimated the soft power skill and calculation skill and costing skill of the restaurant, and so everything served came out perfect to one's choice, with a carefully calibrated range of offerings that were designed to suit every type of diner.
One of the things I really liked about Koggi was their banchan.
They didn't scrimp on quality, nor on quantity.
Up on one side of the restaurant were the lettuce leaves, the raw onions, the garlic, the seaweed, some other vegetables that included (I think) corn, and best of all, several types of kimchi.
My memory only recollects three, unfortunately.
The seaweed one (it had chili, I think), the radish one cube one cube one, and the lettuce one.
I helped myself to the lettuce.
That's the one I always go for whenever at restaurants and the one I never miss out on when it's up for the taking.
It helps with the digestion.
There were just as many selections for the cooked side, with one offering being French fries and chicken nuggets, another offering being macaroni salad, and another offering being what I think was beef stew. That, however, wasn't all. There was tteokbokki in a rich, spicy gochujang sauce, and there was japchae.
No surprise that the japchae, and tteokbokki became my favorite choice of banchan for this meal.
I love japchae.
One of the memories I have about having K-BBQ at a place near Tiong Bahru was scooping a whole lot of japchae from the tray they'd placed at one side of the restaurant.
So, yes, besides the macaroni salad (that was surprisingly light and refreshing), I helped myself to a full bowl.
Alongside with four little pieces of tteokbokki that I deliberately chose kept small because, oy, these little rice cake babies really do fill you up and I had come here for the meats.
This afternoon, if I'm not wrong, we ordered four different kinds.
What exactly they were, I now can't remember, but there was pork belly, then what looks like pork collar, beef bulgogi, paprika chicken, and, perhaps, rib eye.
I liked all the meats.
I liked how they brought them out to us.
The pork belly slices were nicely rolled up, the paprika chicken, whilst coming out like a chunk, had been carefully arranged and laid down on the plate properly. Same too for the rib eye (if it is rib eye) and the bulgogi, which had been put about in a way that made it easy to pick up with tongs and put on the grill.
There are no favorites amongst the meats here but I do like the thinner, lighter types of meat, and so I shall say that the pork belly samgyeopsal was one of the meats I liked.
If you thought I had the meats plain, well, no, of course not.
You don't eat meats kosong when at K-BBQ.
It doesn't feel right.
So I had mine dipped with sesame oil, and salt.
There were some other sauces to dip your meats in, too. A chili sauce, I think, and another unusual one that I now cannot remember what, but I was more than keen to keep mine simple with just the salt, and was glad enough for that.