Chef Yohan Min, who trained at the Culinary Institute of America and competed in the first season of Culinary Class Wars as a Black Spoon Chef “Side Dish Magnate”, has opened Sansok in Hougang Mall, bringing his elevated take on Han-sang to the heartlands of Singapore.
Han-sang are Korean complete meals comprising rice, banchan, soup and a main dish. At Sansok, their charcoal-grilled mains start at a reasonable $12.90, which comes with four banchans, soup and sotbap rice — rice cooked in an individual metal or stone pot. If you choose from their selection of stews, or jjigae, prices start from $14.90 and come with four banchans and sotbap rice.
What better way to bring this concept to more people than by opening right in the heartlands, rather than sticking to the usual town locations?
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Sansok’s commitment to the concept comes through clearly in its interior design. Natural timber finishes, warm neutral tones and walls dressed in traditional Korean-inspired artwork bring a slice of Korea’s ambience to the heartlands. At the heart of the restaurant is a live charcoal grilling station, where the main dishes get their smoky char — but more on that later.
The restaurant is also spacious, with seating to suit groups of all sizes.
During our media-only preview, we were treated to two live demonstrations. First, Chef Min showed us how he grills mackerel and prepares tteokgalbi (Korean beef patties). Right after, he and his mother took over to prepare two banchan live: marinated squid jeotgal, a spicy fermented seafood side dish, and fresh kimchi.
Some lucky invitees even got to try the banchan straight from the hands of Chef Min’s mother! Freshness is key to both the side dishes, as the squid was prepared live and had a wonderful bouncy texture, while the fresh kimchi had a wonderful crunch and lightness to it.
This was a fitting display as Chef Min is also the founder of a Korean banchan restaurant network with over 50 locations across South Korea. To share his repertoire of over 1,000 banchan recipes, Chef Min has also curated a free-flow banchan bar at Sansok, which rotates seasonally. Amongst the banchan available are Cucumber Kimchi, Spinach Namul and Soy Sauce Mixed Pickles.
Turning up the Heat
With the demonstrations done, we finally sat down to taste the food for ourselves. We started with the Spicy Braised Mackerel Stew ($15.90), one of Sansok’s signatures. Chunks of mackerel and radish were braised in a fiery red broth. Don’t let the colour intimidate you, though; it comes mainly from Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru) and is there more for colour than heat. And wow, this was an outstanding dish.
The mackerel was fresh, with a firm texture and a clean taste. Being an oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, it can taste heavy, but here the richness was rendered down nicely: I could still taste hints of it in the flesh, but most of it had seeped into the broth. The broth itself deserves a mention. Flavoured with the mackerel, Korean soy sauce and gochugaru, it had a briny, spicy umami that went well with rice and kept us going back for more.
The radish, too, had softened as it soaked up the broth while keeping its light flavour to balance out the dish. The sotbap rice served alongside was steamed to perfection, proof that Sansok’s individual stone pots are more than a gimmick. The grains came out fluffy, with a satisfying crust at the bottom of each pot, making it the perfect complement to the spicy mackerel broth.
We also tried the Spicy Jeyuk Pork ($13.90), sliced pork shoulder marinated in gochujang and finished on the charcoal grill. While we enjoyed the spice, the pork was sliced so thinly it almost got lost in the dish.
Straight Off the Charcoal Grill
Then came three of their charcoal-grilled mains: Salt-cured Mackerel ($12.90), the Tteokgalbi & King Oyster Mushroom and Smoked Beef Bulgogi (both $15.90). The charcoal grilling is truly the difference maker: it imparts a smoky flavour that a wok or a hot pan simply cannot replicate. The salt-cured mackerel was well-seasoned and worked nicely with the tangy sauce on the side, though the thinner parts of the fish were slightly dry.
The Tteokgalbi, on the other hand, was juicy and tender, with a perfect balance of sweet and savoury, a hallmark of Korean seasoning. The bulgogi, a familiar favourite, is also given the charcoal treatment instead of the usual hotplate. Here, the smokiness cuts through the dish’s usual sweetness, and the beef was sliced to just the right thickness to stay moist. These non-spicy dishes would suit families with young children well, though do watch out for small bones in the mackerel.
Rounding off the meal with something sweet
Drinks and dessert rounded off the meal nicely. One dessert that comes to mind is bingsu, the Korean shaved ice dessert popular amongst young and old. While bingsu usually costs upwards of $10 at other restaurants, Sansok’s diners can top up $1 to enjoy DIY bingsu and free-flow drinks until 31st October 2026 (U.P. $2) — excellent value for money.
The DIY bingsu also makes for a novel experience: diners get to operate the machine themselves, watching the liquid mixture flash-freeze before their eyes and breaking into fine ice shards and filling their bowls. They can then choose from a range of toppings, from the traditional sweetened red bean and ground peanuts to the more modern popping boba and Biscoff crumble. One non-negotiable ingredient, according to Chef Min, is the condensed milk sauce, which I duly added to my bingsu creation.
There is also a variety of drinks, from barley tea to Homemade Sweet Sikhye Slushie – a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage.
Final Thoughts
Sansok delivers on extreme value: $12.90 for a full spread of four banchan, soup and sotbap rice is hard to beat, and the jjigae sets from $14.90 are just as generous.
In addition, diners can also enjoy free-flow banchan.
Most importantly, that value does not come at the cost of quality. The ingredients are fresh and the cooking techniques are solid, especially the live charcoal grilling that gives the mains their signature char. The DIY bingsu rounds things off nicely, turning dessert into something diners get to take part in rather than simply order. All said, Sansok is a place we would happily return to.
Opening Promotions
Grand Opening Special: From now till 31 October, with any mains purchase, top up $1++ (U.P. $2++) per person to enjoy free-flow drinks and DIY Bingsu. Simply follow @sansok.sg on either Instagram or Facebook to enjoy the promotion.
Sansok
Where: Hougang Mall, 90 Hougang Ave 10, #03-09A, Singapore 538766
Operating Hours: 11.30 am to 10.00 pm Daily (last order at 9pm)
Contact: 8980 3520
