Bae Sik Dang prides itself in bringing the original 1960s way of eating Naengsam (3mm thin-cut flash frozen pork belly) to diners here in Singapore. Is it yet another Korean restaurant along Tanjong Pagar? The diners seem to want it as this new restaurant was full when I arrived.
I am used to thicker cuts of meats for bbq, kbbq (samgyeopsal style) or in western cuisine and even thinner shaved meats in rolls for hotpot. According to Bae Sik Dang’s staff, 3 mm thickness lets the meat flash-cook and crisp up rapidly while staying juicy.
Bae Sik Dang Review: Restaurant Décor and Equipment
BILINGUAL PRESCHOOL & STUDENT CARE: Nurture Kids to Succeed in Heart & Mind
NEW & EXPECTANT PARENTS: Discover Gifts & Offers
The restaurant itself keeps things simple and nostalgic. It did feel like an old-school Korean neighbourhood BBQ shop you would see walking the streets in suburban Korea. The cooking method of a tray lined with foil placed over a portable gas stove also felt deliberately simple yet effective.
The Meats – Grilled Tableside and Devoured Immediately
We had a set which came with both premium Jeju pork belly as well as Duroc pork belly. The meats were expertly grilled, quickly seared and served to us to eat with the various combinations of banchan and sauces.
They even have instructions on how to enjoy the meats with the various sauces, different types of kimchi and wraps. We tried several of the combinations and decided that it was good with anything!
Many Banchan, Many Sauces
The meat came with a full tray of banchan and sauces. Fishcake, japchae, corn mayo, cucumber kimchi, radish kimchi, omelette and jeotgal along with lettuce and pickled perilla leaves and mustard greens kimchi. The lettuce was also lightly dressed and paired nicely with the pork and sauces. Many of the items were sourced directly from Korea!
Some of the accompaniments were cooked together with the pork. The omelette, aged kimchi, mustard greens, beansprout, gosari were grilled and infused with some of the fat that was rendered from the pork belly.
The flavours were enhanced and intensified from the grilling and the juices. The meal was as much about the various ssam and combinations as it was about the grilled meats and it made the experience feel more complete and balanced than stuffing our faces with just meat!
Drinks – A Simple but Sufficient selection of Alcoholic and Non-alcoholic drinks
We had their pear slushie which was surprisingly good. It was sweet, but not excessively so, and was a good palate cleanser against all the savoury pork, sauces and banchan. You may also enjoy some soju or beer with your meal.
Other Dishes at Bae Sik Dang
We also tried their Kimchi Tofu stew, which was comforting and satisfying as well as the Chapagetti which was one of the highlights apart from the grilled meats. The sauce was thick, hearty and full of flavour. The oozy egg yolk and melted cheese mixed into the ramyeon noodles to make an extremely indulgent Korean comfort food that I am craving for now as I write this sentence.
Kimchi Fried Rice Finale
A must order in my opinion. They mix up all your leftover meats and kimchi with the rice, add in cheese and top it with seaweed and fried eggs. By this point we were all very full, but somehow still managed to polish it all off. The combination of savoury kimchi, seaweed, egg and melted cheese worked incredibly well.
Our Experience at Bae Sik Dang
Overall, I enjoyed myself at Bae Sik Dang because of their unique concept and using a bit of nostalgia bait (especially for k-drama lovers) without becoming cheap, corny or cringy. The whole process was an experience: From the searing of the thin but quality pork, the rendered fat cooking some of the kimchi and vegetables, the combinations of meat, banchan and ssams to the finale fried rice. It was quite different from the commoner thicker-cut, meat-focused KBBQ restaurants.
I would definitely come back but I do hope there would be a greater variety of meat cuts even while keeping their old-school Naengsam concept intact.
Bae Sik Dang
Where: 48 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088469
Instagram
