Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant
134 Tanjong Pagar Road
https://www.facebook.com/guigakoreanbbq/
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup (SGD $30) |
Homely, Wallet-Friendly Korean Dining
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 8
Value for Money: 9
Spent about SGD $68 per person.
.....
Established since November 2017, Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant is among the more prominent Korean barbecue restaurants in the Tanjong Pagar area of Singapore, renowned for their quality cuts of beef and pork, marinated and grilled to perfection. That said, Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant also offers a good range of quality Korean dishes, great for communal catch-ups with family and friends. They're a popular spot, so go early!
Ambience at Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant is homely and casual. The wide and decently comfortable wooden booths lend a rustic Oriental feel, with symmetrical partitions lending some privacy. Warm lights illuminate the grill and exhaust in the center of each table, and ventilation is pretty good as there isn't overwhelming odour here. The space manages to feel cozy without being cramped, and the windows offer a view onto the street.
Service at Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant is friendly and polite. The soft-spoke Korean staff demonstrate good hospitality, welcoming and quickly seating guests, offering some advice on dishes, and also accord recognition for regulars. I note they clean up quickly when diners leave, and also proactively offer to clear finished plates throughout the meal. If ordering barbecue, I understand staff will help grill the meat, which is done with finesse.
Food at Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant is traditional Korean cuisine, with a focus on barbecue. Freshness of the ingredients for the barbecue is a highlight, as is their marinated meats. They also offer an extensive range of communal sharing dishes, from Army Stew to Sundubu Jjigae. Portions are huge, designed for sharing between 2 to 5 people. Prices are more wallet-friendly than elsewhere, budget about SGD $68 per person for a meal here.
.....
 |
| Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant Exterior |
 |
| Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant Interior |
 |
| Seating |
Decent range and quality for their complimentary Banchan / Side Dishes, with spicy and non-spicy options. I particularly enjoyed the Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage with its fresh crunch and pronounced vegetal spicy sour sweet flavour, as well as the Sangchu Geotjeori / Lettuce Salad with its crisp texture and fresh vegetal sweet notes. The uncommon yet delicious Goguma Mattang / Candied Sweet Potato has a tender soft texture to the sweet potato, and being drizzled with honey, resulted in a bold floral earthy sweet flavour, yum. Good!
 |
| Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage |
 |
| Kimchi Kongnamul / Kimchi Cold Soy Bean Sprouts |
 |
| Sangchu Geotjeori / Lettuce Salad |
 |
| Goguma Mattang / Candied Sweet Potato |
 |
| Makaloni Saelleodeu / Macaroni Pasta Salad |
 |
| Sosiji / Sausage |
Loved the Ttukbaegi Gyeran / Jjim Steamed Egg In Pot (SGD $Complimentary), where the fluffy moist soft steamed egg is kept warm by the claypot. Lovely eggy sweet earthy flavours, good to pair with any dish really. Special thanks to Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant for offering this to us on the house! Good!
 |
| Ttukbaegi Gyeran / Jjim Steamed Egg In Pot (SGD $Complimentary) |
 |
| Ttukbaegi Gyeran / Jjim Steamed Egg In Pot |
The Seolleongtang / Beef Bone Soup (SGD $19) features thin tender sliced beef shank and beef bones, in a light beef soup, garnished with fresh crunchy spring onions and silky rice vermicelli noodles, but without any salt. Instead, the salt is served on the side, and you season the soup / broth as you wish. On its own, the soup is bland, but when seasoned, takes on a lovely meaty vegetal sweet salty earthy flavour, enhancing the flavours of the ingredients. Worth ordering!
 |
| Seolleongtang / Beef Bone Soup (SGD $19) |
 |
| Seolleongtang / Beef Bone Soup |
 |
| Seolleongtang / Beef Bone Soup |
The Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup (SGD $35) is served in a large communal sharing hot pot, kept warm over the barbecue pit. Best eaten quickly, this features tender bouncy Korean eomuk / fish cake of various types, along with sliced red chili and green chili, plus we also ordered noodles to be added in. The fish cakes have yummy savoury sweet salty flavour, while the soup / broth has a light salty sweet spicy flavour that becomes more intensely salty and spicy the longer it's boiled. Highly recommended!
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup (SGD $35) |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
.....
Update Apr-2023: Wanted to revisit Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant for some time, and finally managed to book a session here with friends. The ambience, service, food quality, and prices at Guiga Korean BBQ Restaurant remain much the same as before.
 |
| Us |
The Beer Hite (Mini Glass) is meant for sharing a bottle, and is so cute, holding just enough to satisfy and down in a single mouthful.
 |
| Beer Hite (Mini Glass) |
They always have a good variety of Banchan / Side Dishes (SGD $Complimentary). The Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage with its fresh crunch and pronounced vegetal spicy sour sweet flavour is as good as before, while the yummy honey-drizzled Goguma Mattang / Candied Sweet Potato is still tender soft in texture with bold floral earthy sweet flavour.
The Kongnamul / Cold Soy Bean Sprouts lends a fresh chilled crunch with vegetal earthy sweet flavour, and the enjoyable Eomuk Bokkeum / Stir-Fried Fish Cake with its bouncy texture and deep savoury salty sweet flavour is enticing. The unique Miyeok Julgi Bokkeum / Sauteed Seaweed Stems has a slippery crunchy texture, releasing pleasant grassy earthy vegetal sweet briny salty flavour. All were delicious, and we got a 2nd helping!
 |
| Banchan / Side Dishes (SGD $Complimentary) |
 |
| Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage |
 |
| Goguma Mattang / Candied Sweet Potato |
 |
| Makaloni Saelleodeu / Macaroni Pasta Salad |
 |
| Kongnamul / Cold Soy Bean Sprouts |
 |
| Eomuk Bokkeum / Stir-Fried Fish Cake |
 |
| Miyeok Julgi Bokkeum / Sauteed Seaweed Stems |
The warm Ssalbap / Steamed White Rice (SGD $2) is sticky soft with mild grainy sweet flavour, pairing well with gravy-heavy dishes.
 |
| Ssalbap / Steamed White Rice (SGD $2) |
Loved the Ttukbaegi Gyeran / Jjim Steamed Egg In Pot (SGD $Complimentary), where the fluffy moist soft steamed egg is kept warm by the claypot, just like before. Lovely eggy sweet earthy flavours, goes well with any dish. Highly recommended!
 |
| Ttukbaegi Gyeran Jjim / Steamed Egg In Pot (SGD $Complimentary) |
The basket of Sangchu / Lettuce (SGD $Complimentary) has fresh leaves of lettuce, crisp with vegetal sweet flavour, meant for wrapping the barbecued meats in. Makes it feel more healthy. Good!
 |
| Sangchu / Lettuce (SGD $Complimentary) |
A serving of Japchae / Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Glass Noodles (SGD $13), warm and slippery with crisp texure, to celebrate birthdays and wishings of longevity. Carries savoury salty sweet vegetal flavour, feels wholesome. Worth ordering!
 |
| Japchae / Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Glass Noodles (SGD $13) |
The Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup (SGD $35) is served in a large communal sharing hot pot, kept warm for us at a different table. This features tender bouncy Korean eomuk / fish cake of various types, along with sliced red chili and green chili, plus our add-on of instant noodles. The fish cakes have yummy savoury sweet salty flavour, while the soup / broth has a light salty sweet spicy flavour. Highly recommended!
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup (SGD $35) |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
 |
| Eomuk Guk / Fish Cake Soup |
The Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake (SGD $24) is decent, fluffy with a light chew, studded with fresh deshelled prawns, squid, spring onions, and chili. Has a alright savoury salty sweet herbal flavour, not the best, but not terrible either. Decent at best.
 |
| Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake (SGD $24) |
 |
| Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake |
 |
| Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Pancake |
A visually-pleasing plate of Yukhoe / Beef Tartare (SGD $36), the spice marinade building on the palate as you eat. Mix the raw egg in well, coating the chewy tender raw beef tartare with silky smooth texture, each mouthful having meaty savoury spicy flavour.
 |
| Yukhoe / Beef Tartare (SGD $36) |
We were seated in the private area, but as we had a large group, staff helped us grill and barbecue the meats at a separate table, fantastic service.
 |
| Grilling |
 |
| Grilling |
The Chadol Baegi / Grilled Sliced Beef Brisket (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) has thin strips of chewy tender sliced beef brisket, equal parts meat to fat, with succulent smoky meaty savoury salty flavour. Good!
 |
| Chadol Baegi / Grilled Sliced Beef Brisket (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) |
 |
| Chadol Baegi / Grilled Sliced Beef Brisket |
Loved the Soegogi Deungshim / Grilled Beef Ribeye (Part Of SGD $97 Set A), which has thick yet tender juicy chunky cubes of beef ribeye, with bold smoky meaty savoury flavour. So satisfying. Highly recommended!
 |
| Soegogi Deungshim / Grilled Beef Ribeye (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) |
 |
| Soegogi Deungshim / Grilled Beef Ribeye |
The Soegogi Saeng Galbi / Grilled Non-Marinated Beef Short Ribs (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) has fresh un-marinated beef short ribs, trimmed from the bone and grilled perfectly. With a tender juicy chew and robust smoky meaty savoury flavour, this allowed the natural taste to shine. Highly recommended!
 |
| Soegogi Saeng Galbi / Grilled Non-Marinated Beef Short Ribs (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) |
 |
| Soegogi Saeng Galbi / Grilled Non-Marinated Beef Short Ribs |
The Soegogi Yangnyeom Galbi / Grilled Marinated Beef Short Ribs (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) has fresh marinated beef short ribs, trimmed off the bone and grilled to perfection. With a tender juicy chew and robust smoky meaty savoury salty sweet flavour, this was so delicious. Highly recommended!
 |
| Soegogi Yangnyeom Galbi / Grilled Marinated Beef Short Ribs (Part Of SGD $97 Set A) |
 |
| Soegogi Yangnyeom Galbi / Grilled Marinated Beef Short Ribs |
The Samgyeopsal Gui / Grilled Pork Belly (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) has chunks of tender crunchy moist pork belly, with a decent ratio of meat to fat. Each bite releases the smoky meaty savoury salty flavour, a pleasant natural taste that entices. Good!
 |
| Samgyeopsal Gui / Grilled Pork Belly (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) |
 |
| Samgyeopsal Gui / Grilled Pork Belly |
The Gabeurisal / Grilled Pork Cheek (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) has a moist crunchy texture to the succulent pork cheek, with robust smoky meaty salty savoury oily flavour. Served alongside grilled king oyster mushrooms with a bouncy texture and vegetal earthy salty flavour, this feels so decadent. Highly recommended!
 |
| Gabeurisal / Grilled Pork Cheek (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) |
 |
| Gabeurisal / Grilled Pork Cheek |
The Dwaeji Teog / Grilled Pork Jowl (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) has incredibly tender crunchy pork jowl slices, carrying smoky meaty savoury salty flavour. A luxurious cut, this was so addictive in taste. Highly recommended!
 |
| Dwaeji Teog / Grilled Pork Jowl (Part Of SGD $75 Set D) |
 |
| Dwaeji Teog / Grilled Pork Jowl |
Didn't quite take to the Yangnyeom Dwaeji Makchang / Marinated Pig's Intestines (SGD $30), as I found the pig's intestines to be rather gamey in taste, though I liked the crisp chewy texture they held. The crisp spring onions marinated in fiery gochujang / fermented red chili paste lends a nice vegetal sweet spice flavour. Could be improved.
 |
| Yangnyeom Dwaeji Makchang / Marinated Pig's Intestines (SGD $30) |
 |
| Yangnyeom Dwaeji Makchang / Marinated Pig's Intestines |
.....
.....
CONVERSATION