These pictures you see here probably be the second last set that I have of Koggi's K-BBQ buffet at Suntec City.
I say it so, because there is another set- and that be the very last one.
See, Koggi shifted out of Suntec City end April a couple of weeks ago.
It doesn't happen very often, but seeing the news all over social media made me legit cry.
A part of me wondered why it was that I had discovered Koggi's K-BBQ only so late.
A part of me also wondered why it was that during that season (till their impending closure) I was not able to go.
You know, there are very few restaurant closures that will make me cry.
Koggi did.
Perhaps you might think it is because of price, which, logically speaking, it would be no surprise, given that they do, all things said, offer a no-frills K-BBQ grilled over a charcoal stove for the gorgeous price of $20/pax.
But, to me, more importantly, it is about culture.
See, finding a BBQ buffet for that price here in Singapore is not too difficult. You just need to know what, when and where. What is difficult, however, is getting a no-frills K-BBQ for that very same price.
It is a feat that's not only difficult, but nearly impossible.
Which is why the K-BBQ of Koggi became extra special.
Different people have different likes when they come here to this place. Some people like the varieties of meat. Others take fancy in the abundance of banchan and the vegetables that Koggi offers.
I, oddly enough, take special interest in not just the meats, but also two other things.
First, the cooked food banchan.
Next, the kimchi.
Don't laugh.
The cooked food banchan here is one of Koggi's best strengths, made very possible because they also function as a Korean-style cai png place where cooked dishes are placed on trays similar to those seen in the office canteens of Korean MNCs- except that the trays aren't free, they're sold.
I'm always keen to see what cooked food there is here at Koggi.
The menu changes every time.
This time- it was our CNY Eve celebration meal, by the way- there was the macaroni pasta salad, tteokbokki with gochujang sauce, fried chicken cutlets all chopped up, and another stewed (braised) meat dish that I don't really remember.
There was, of course, a big cooker of steamed white rice, a huge serving bowl of chicken nuggets, and another huge serving bowl of crinkle cut fries.
My friend helped himself to the chicken nuggets.
He always does.
Sometimes he takes five, sometimes he takes ten.
Me, I got myself the macaroni pasta salad- I love how cold and refreshing it is yet soft and firm to the bite- and a few pieces of the fried chicken on top which I squirted some of their Mentaiko cream.
The highlight, of course, was the meat.
Or the meats.
Coming to a place like this, you can be sure we did not stick to just one plate of each type and leave everything aside.
No, of course not, we had plates of our favorite meats, namely, the Thin Slice Pork Belly, which this time I don't know how many plates we had.
Someone once asked me whether I'd ever get bored eating the same meats over and over again.
Emmmm, no.
There is nothing to be tired of when you take a fancy to something and which you can have over and over again.
There's also nothing to get sick of if it is good for you, if it fits your diet, and if you're enjoying what you eat.
I love thin-sliced meats.
I love thin-sliced meats with a bit of fat even more.
Easy to cook, easy to grill, they get cooked really quickly over the charcoal flame and it's lovely, always, to see the glisten of the fat shining all over the meat.
What we do is to put over the grill a thin layer of onions, and then place the meat all over it.
Tradition dictates that one should eat grilled meats with some sort of sauce, or, like how the Koreans do it, with sea salt, and well-pressed sesame oil. The oil they have here definitely ain't the light kind.
We don't normally have our meats with the sesame oil.
Instead we concoct our own dip using a mix of Greek-style plain (sometimes vanilla) yogurt with garlic powder, and miso, At earlier days we brought paprika powder but later realized it overwhelmed the meat too much and so decided on just the garlic alone.
I like yogurt as a dip.
It gives a bit of sour sour contrast to the saltiness of the meat.
It also adds a bit of texture, the same kind of creamy creamy thick you'd get if you were having your meat with sour cream or mayonnaise. I don't know why it is that yogurt goes so well with the meat- I'd always thought of yogurt paired only with honey or with fruits- but I've since discovered that yogurt and meat do make a good combination when eaten together.
The highlight of today's meal, however, had to be the kimchi.
It was FRESH.
Now, I don't know whether this be the first time I have had fresh kimchi here at Koggi (I might already have had it the last time) but this one, definitely, for sure, I can say it left as deep an impression on me as it would have had I eaten it the previous time.
Fresh kimchi tastes so, so, so different from the other kind of kimchi, let me tell you.
For one thing, it seemed sweeter.
I mean, it might have been the way they did the kimchi- culture explains that everyone has their own way of preparing kimchi and no two kimchi tastes exactly the same.
But certainly this one had a sweetness I really liked.
Was it the gochujang?
I don't know.
I don't know what it was that made this particular kimchi sweet.
Neither do I know why the cabbage of this kimchi seemed crispier, less hard compared to the other ones, but it was, and I liked it better.
Perhaps it really is true that fresh kimchi makes a whole lot of difference from the packet kimchi (even though I like both and am not ngiao about either)
It is a very special feeling to wrap a piece of grilled pork belly into the kimchi and munch it all together.
It is also a very special feeling to be able to eat them separately, like how I did for this one with one bite of meat followed by one piece of the fresh kimchi. It wasn't just the cabbage that I liked. I fancied the carrots and the cucumber too.
I'd love to have the macaroni salad once again.
No doubt i fancy japchae better, but oy, cold, refreshing, slightly creamy macaroni salad together with fresh kimchi, make for fantastic accompaniments to charcoal-grilled pork belly too.