There are many Korean eateries in Tanjong Pagar, and most of them are flooded nightly. However, when you enter a Korean restaurant and you see it flooded with Koreans, you know you’re in the right place.
And that’s how we found: 소잡는 어부 [sojabneun eobu] (Direct Translation: Cattle Slaughtering Fisherman lol)
Located just beside WaBar, this was a very pleasant looking place with 2 floors, with Koreans running the place, from the chefs to the waiters. The owner herself was busy running about the restaurant, mending to customers. It’s a very nice family restaurant with a very cosy feeling.
This isn’t your regular BBQ restaurant as this place served both BBQ and regular Korean cooked food. We were looking for a place that focuses more on non-BBQ items and this was definitely the right place to be. With 8 of us around, it’s hard to split up between us young ones who wanted BBQ, and our parents who wanted normal Korean cuisine. This place was the right fit as we got to have both.
We did not wait long for our food to arrive after ordering. Here’s what we ordered:
1. Set C BBQ (Pork and Beef, S$69)
2. Dag Di Ri Tang (Spicy Braised Chicken W/ Potatoes, S$55)
3. Jae Yuk Bok Um (Stir-Fried Spicy Pork, S$15)
4. Kimchi Jigae (Kimchi Stew, S$15)
5. Hae Mul Pa Jeon (Korean Seafood Pancake, S$20)
As with every Korean meal, plenty of side dishes came along (complimentary) and they were very pleasant to the taste buds. I particularly liked their Kimchi, which is pretty delicious compared to the regular Kim Chi we buy from supermarkets, or from other Singaporean restaurants. This tasted like the real, home-made thing, reminding me of the Kimchi I had in Korea.
The highlight of the day isn’t what I expected. It wasn’t the fantastic BBQ items, or the spicy-sweet Jae Yuk Bokkeum. It was the Hae Mul Pa Jeon (S$20), which was easily the best dish of the night.
Jeon (전), Korean pancake, constitutes a large part of the Korean diet. I remember it being sold on the streets of Korea. Ever since I first tried it, I never stopped ordering it at Korean restaurants. It isn’t a very popular dish as people focus too much on the meat and BBQ items, but once you have tried it, it’s easily one of the most addictive dishes on a Korean menu. It’s also pretty agonizing to not find good Jeon in most places in Singapore, even in more premium restaurants.
The pancake also had very fresh and crunchy prawns, which was a generous portion full.
It was so good, that we ordered this TWICE; once at the start of our meal, and once at the end. We were extremely full but decided that we wanted to have this once more before we left the restaurant.
In the end, we spent S$226.60 for a meal for 8, which I find very worth it’s price. The food portions were large, and all were very authentic, and very, very good.
This was a very easy place to miss, considering how people usually come here for 2D1N Korean BBQ. However, I highly encourage everyone to skip over having Korean BBQ for once and sit here for a delicious, authentic Korean cuisine. This is one of the few places in Singapore I would come back to again for my Korean food craving fix. I’ll definitely be here again, this time armed with a better camera, to showcase the dishes better.
Location: Tanjong Pagar, 58 Tanjong Pagar Road Singapore 088479 (https://foursquare.com/v/%EC%86%8C%EC%9E%A1%EB%8A%94-%EC%96%B4%EB%B6%80/529090f211d20afeb73d2375)
Beside WaBar, 5-10 minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT.
Contact: 6224 6061
Eat, Drink, Laugh 