Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat Tasting Session
279 New Bridge Road

Opening Hours:
Daily: 11:30am - 3pm, 5:30pm - 11pm


http://manbokinc.wix.com/manbok

This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from HungryGoWhere, The Arctic Star, and Fundamentally Flawed.


Value For Money Korean Barbecue

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 5
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Budget about SGD $32 ++ per person.





Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat in Singapore Chinatown has been around for a while now. Among the more well known of the Korean barbecue and steamboat concept, particularly for their value for money prices, owner Mr. Tan tells us that the name 'Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat' also represents 'a fortune of millions' in Mandarin!

Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat Facade

Ambience at Manbok is decent for an indoor barbecue outlet. The biggest bugbear of such establishments is smell, fortunately, the exhaust nozzels directly above each table takes care of the majority of it. There is still some lingering smell of cooking, but this subsides quickly, a lot better than other places! Furnishings are spacious and functional enough for comfort, and I like the brightly lit area. Food displays are clearly labelled and kept chilled, but the salad / condiment corner is hidden behind a wall and not immediately visible.

Manbok Exterior

Manbok Interior

Service at Manbok is polite and efficient. Staff have basic working product knowledge, able to explain in simple English / Mandarin the food available, as well as guide you how to operate the barbecue grill on the table. I also commend them for coming around often to change the grilling plate when it turns black from grilling. They also proactively clear away empty / dirty plates, rather than letting it pile up on your table. Good! However, they don't take requests to help you cook the food, and everything else (collection of food, payment) is self-service.

Manbok Prices

Food at Manbok is all about meat... a carnivore's dream! The star is the selection of 10 different cuts of meat (beef, pork, chicken) for barbecue / grilling, as well as the selection of seafood for the steamboat. The selection of salads is rather small though. Manbok also offers a small selection of 3 cooked food items, these are changed daily for returning diners. Communal dining is a must here, at least 2 people, though a group of 4 or more is recommended. Prices are reasonably cheaper than elsewhere, budget about SGD $18 for lunch, and SGD $31 for dinner, per person.

Table Setting

A trio of Cordial Drinks in artificial fruit flavours; Sour Plum, Blueberry, Mango. Of the 3, the Blueberry was decent enough, the Sour Plum turned out to be sweet instead of sour, and the Mango was weird.

Cordial Drinks - Sour Plum, Blueberry, Mango

The highlight of a meal here is the beautiful, large slabs of meat, chilled on ice. Pick from 10 different cuts! My personal favourites would be the Marinated Beef Short Rib, and the Marinated Pork Belly (not pictured).

Raw Meat Items 01

Raw Meat Items 02

Marinated Beef Short Rib

Marinated Chicken Breast

Marinated Pork Collar

Beef Chuck Tender

Beef Short Plate

Pork Belly

Pork Collar

Bacon

The seafood here can either be grilled or boiled into the soup. I do think the soup version is more salty though, so I prefer the barbecued / grilled version. The seafood items are of medium size, and are fresh!

Raw Seafood Items

Clams & Mussels

Squid & Octopus

Prawns

A small selection of vegetables, fruits, and side dishes are also available here, for cooking in the steamboat soup mostly. They even have instructions to show you how best to enjoy it!

Lettuce

Corn

Dduk / Tteok / Rice Cakes

Eggs

Noodles

The Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage here is decent, with a sharp, sour, slightly spicy flavour. Crunchy in texture, this pairs well with the more heavy meats.

Kimchi Baechu / Kimchi Pickled Cabbage

I like the thick, savoury sweet gravy of the Ddukbokki / Tteokbokki / Sweet & Spicy Rice Cakes, which has a lovely bright orange colour hue. It's topped with cheese, which makes this a lot more filling than it looks!

Ddukbokki / Tteokbokki / Sweet & Spicy Rice Cakes

Of the 2 types of pancakes here, I loved the Kimchi Jeon / Kimchi Pancake, which has a sharp, sour flavour. However, the Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Scallion Pancake was rather flat in taste, although dipping it into some of the sauces helps the overall flavour.

Haemul Pajeon / Seafood Scallion Pancake & Kimchi Jeon / Kimchi Pancake

Loved the Maneul Dak Ganjang / Garlic Soy Sauce Chicken Wings, this is easily the best cooked food item here! The chicken wings have a crisp, savoury, slightly salty skin that is fragrant with garlic. The chicken meat is moist and tender, coming off the bone easily. Chef tells us he only makes this in small batches, as the skin gets soggy when it cools, so it has to be eaten quickly!

Maneul Dak Ganjang / Garlic Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

The Gaji Twigim / Deep Fried Eggplant is crisp with the floral aroma and taste of the eggplant. The batter is light and thin, allowing the eggplant taste to come through. Best eaten dipped in sauce!

Gaji Twigim / Deep Fried Eggplant

Look at these Perfectly Round Kimchi Gimbap / Pickled Cabbage Seaweed Rice Roll... they're round. Not easy to make them so round.

Perfectly Round Kimchi Gimbap / Pickled Cabbage Seaweed Rice Roll

The Ssamjang / Korean Barbecue Sauce is very good, I kept dipping various items in it! Best when paired with barbecued / grilled meat, and wrapped in fresh lettuce!

Ssamjang / Korean Barbecue Sauce

Each table is equipped with a barbecue / grill station, a small steamboat, along with the steamboat soup stock and tissue paper. The steamboat soup was rather salty during my visit. Staff also came around often to change the grill plate once it became sufficiently charred from grilling.

Meal 01

Meal 02

Meal 03

Overall, Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat is worth trying for its value for money prices, and tasty selection of barbecue / grill meats. Their steamboat may not be that great, but the efficient service and decent atmosphere, makes me willing to return to Manbok again!

The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels)
Food Truck travels to various locations around Singapore

2 Kallang Avenue
#02-16 CT Hub

https://www.facebook.com/thetravellingcow


Food Truck Gets A Base

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 5
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 2
Value for Money: 6
Spent about SGD $22 per person.





Food truck The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels) finally gets a fixed location of their own! Founder and owner Karen Cheng had among the 1st (and still only a handful) food trucks in Singapore; the iconic black-and-white milk cow pattern on the food truck stood out wherever it went. At their new headquarters in Kallang CT Hub mall, they serve up the usual favourites from their menu, however, there remains several facility problems to sort out.

Ambience at The Diner By The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels) is functional casual, with sturdy wooden furniture against a wall and stone wall colour scheme. A small bar sits in the back, though it looks unused. About the only decor is the cashier / ordering counter, which is designed to resemble their iconic food truck! A chalkboard out front lists daily specials, and the regular menu is also prominently displayed.

Service at The Diner By The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels) is largely self-service, where ordering, payment, and collection of cutlery is done over the counter, though staff do serve orders to your table. However, I note they're not too efficient, as I stood around for 5 minutes before they even acknowledged me, let alone take my order. Also, they seem to have some facility / electricity issues; the deep fryer wasn't operational on at least 2 occasions.

Food at The Diner By The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels) is modern Singaporean fusion, featuring burgers and pasta that feature Asian flavours. Quality and execution is inconsistent, sometimes the food is good, sometimes it's terrible. A far cry from the The Travelling C.O.W. (Chef On Wheels) food truck, where the food is consistently good. Portions are decently sized for 1 person, and prices are typical of a cafe. Budget about SGD $22 per person for a meal here.





The cute cow truck decor at the front is eye-catching! Sadly, the rest of the place looks rather dull and uninspired, but at least it's functional and comfortable.

The Travelling C.O.W. Outlet Exterior

The Travelling C.O.W. Outlet Interior

The Travelling C.O.W. Outlet Bar

The menu has familiar favourites like their excellent Ramen Burgers, but with slightly more variety than the food truck.

The Travelling C.O.W. Outlet Menu

The House Iced Passionfruit Tea (SGD $4) is refreshing and has solid tea taste, but at the same time is overly sweet.

House Iced Passionfruit Tea

The Lychee Cooler (SGD $4) features 2 lychees within a refreshing, non-fizzy, sweet beverage. Decent enough in taste, but it's poor value for money as it seems to be made with lychee syrup.

Lychee Cooler

The star of the Chili Crab Nachos (SGD $6) is naturally the thick, sweet savoury gravy, on top of the factory made nachos. Generous amount of crab meat, with a hint of spicy heat, the gravy is delicious!

Chili Crab Nachos 01

Chili Crab Nachos 02

The Truffle Fries (SGD $7) here are rather underwhelming. While the texture of the fries is great, piping hot, fluffy, with a light sprinkling of salt, the truffle taste is artificial and rather faint. Not that great, you get better versions elsewhere.

Truffle Fries 01

Truffle Fries 02

Loved the Tsukune Burger (SGD $12), with its large, juicy, savoury hand made chicken patty! Sandwiched with crunchy lettuce, juicy tomato, mayonnaise, and topped with a sunny side up egg between toasted burger buns, the combination is completely delicious! Bite into it, and the yolk breaks and runs down to the patty, which is also dripping with its meat juices. Messy, but so good!

Tsukune Burger 01

Tsukune Burger 02

Tsukune Burger 03

Loved the Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger that is the star of the Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger & Truffle Fries Set Meal (SGD $17)! The strips of marinated beef are tender, savoury, and juicy, while the lettuce is fresh and crunchy, and the tomato slices juicy. The ramen noodles that act as burger buns are crunchy, and not too salty. There's no polite way to eat this, it's messy and gets all over the place! While the version I had during my visit was fantastic (loved it!), I hear that there's consistency issues with it... generally, the ones you get from the food truck are better than those from the outlet.

Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger & Truffle Fries Set Meal

Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger 01

Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger 02

Ramen Bulgolgi Beef Short Rib Burger 03

The Ramen Wagyu Beef Burger & Fries Set Meal (SGD $18) is the newest item on the menu, having just launched in October 2015. Features crunchy lettuce, juice tomato, a sunny side up egg, sauteed button mushrooms, and a handmade wagyu beef patty, grilled to medium rare, between crunchy ramen noodle burger buns. While every other ingredients within was decent, the star, which was supposed to be the meaty wagyu beef, was sadly underseasoned and tasted bland during my visit. As such, I cannot recommend this.

Ramen Wagyu Beef Burger & Fries Set Meal

Ramen Wagyu Beef Burger 01

Ramen Wagyu Beef Burger 02

Ramen Wagyu Beef Burger 03

Reliable Shoe, Watch, And Key Services

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Estimated Visiting Duration: 10 - 20 Minutes
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $50 per person.




Established in 1957, Mister Minit is a service provider specialising in unisex shoe repairs, bag repairs, key duplication, and watch repair and engraving services, along with being a retail store for various accessories cleaning products. Founded by Donald Hillsdon Ryan in Brussels, Belgium, Mister Minit has since gone international, with stores across Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore. They were among the earliest to adopt a While-You-Wait repair service, providing quick, effective shoe repairs.

Mister Minit stores in Singapore are usually located in convenient heartland or business locations. This means that it's easy to locate a store quickly if you need a shoe / bag repair done, or a key duplicated. In general, Mister Minit stores still practice a while-you-wait service, a visit for a shoe repair or key duplication usually takes less than 20 minutes, so you won't need to wait too long. However, bag repair and engraving services usually take a few days. The quality of the repair / duplication service is very good, and extends the lifespan of your product.

Staff at Mister Minit are usually friendly, able to converse in both English and Mandarin. They look suitably well trained in the operation of all the equipment in-store, and usually work quickly to attend to customers. Mister Minit stores also retail various cleaning / care products, staff do have basic working knowledge if asked about the usage or applicability of these products, though more complex comparision questions seem to stump them. Prices for a shoe / bag repair cost about SGD $30 - $150, while key duplication costs about SGD $15 - $20, quite reasonable.

Mister Minit stores in Singapore also provide specialised electronic door access card and remote control services for duplication / creation. I appreciate that they've kept up with technological advances, though this service, along with engraving services, are only available at selected outlets.

Mister Minit Logo

Mister Minit Store Facade

Lad & Dad 2015
49A Serangoon Garden Way #01-32

https://www.facebook.com/ladanddadsg


Hearty British Stews

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 6
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 8
Service: 5
Value for Money: 7
Spent about SGD $12 per person.





The eponymous owner and "Lad" of hawker stall Lad & Dad is Keith Koh, who opened his small stall in Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre in August 2014. A student of 3 (brief) British culinary courses in London, Keith Koh's Lad & Dad stall mainly offers a classic British stew, the Lancashire Hotpot.

Ambience at Lad & Dad is clean, with a large signage and menu that stands out admist the rest of the stalls in the hawker centre. Otherwise, seating and the rest of the atmosphere is shared here, but at least the common seating is decent for a hawker centre, and somewhat more airy and spacious than usual.

Service at Lad & Dad is full self-service. Ordering, payment, and collection of items is done over the counter, but as only Keith Koh and his mom run operations here, you're bound to get engaging, friendly service. No problems with product knowledge, as they make the food! At the time of this writing however, the menu at Lad & Dad is rather limited.

Food at Lad & Dad is inspired by British cuisine, and they only have 1 main dish, 4 sides dishes, and 2 types of desserts on the menu. The Lancashire hotpot takes center stage here, available in either beef or mutton. Portions are nicely sized for individuals, and the set meal is both filling and value for money, costing only SGD $12 per set meal.

I'm a little concerned that Lad & Dad may be a little too niche for the Singaporean diner... that aren't many that would crave a beef stew or a mutton stew. Only time will tell how sustainable they are.





The stall stands out within the Serangoon Garden Market & Food Centre with its distinctive chalkboard menu, gold, wood, and dark green colour scheme, and large signage. They even have props here, to turn the store front into an impromptu photo booth!

Lad & Dad Facade

Lad & Dad Address & Contact

The Lancashire Hotpot is a British casserole stew, traditionally made with either lamb or mutton, topped with onions and potatoes, and baked in a large, heavy, metal pot for hours. Here, their version of the stew is still slow-cooked in a metal pot, but isn't topped with onions. The Lancashire Hotpot Set (SGD $12) meal comes with the stew (either beef or mutton), and 3 side dishes. Love how they plate and serve it on a small metal tray, which keeps it easy to clean and presentable!

Lancashire Hotpot Set

The Hand Mashed Potatoes (SGD $2) are semi-smooth, semi-coarse in texture, but tasty and fragrant with the aroma of garlic and herbs. The mashed potatoes are easy to eat, and pairs well with the gravy from the stew!

Hand Mashed Potatoes

The Seasonal Salad (SGD $2) of lettuce and cherry tomatoes topped with balsamic vinaigrette is lovely. The lettuce is fresh and crunchy, but I love the large, juicy cherry tomatoes the most, as they burst with flavour. The salad dressing of balsamic vinaigrette is properly tangy and sour, without being overwhelming.

Seasonal Salad

The Yorkshire Pudding (SGD $2) is possibly the best version I've had in Singapore! The exterior is nicely crisp and golden brown, while the interior is soft, doughy, with the flavour and texture of soft bread, as well as a hint of sweetness, like honey. The Yorkshire pudding is best eaten when warm, and goes very well the gravy of the Lancashire hotpot stew. It's also the base for their dessert!

Yorkshire Pudding

The Lancashire Hotpot Beef Stew (SGD $8) is a hearty stew of beef shin chunks, beef shank chunks, onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery, slow-cooked for 8 hours till everything is tender. The gravy is thick and fragrant from the use of herbs, including thyme and rosemary, savoury, meaty, and robust in flavour. The meat is incredibly tender and savoury, without any gamey taste, and just falls apart in the mouth. Love it!

Lancashire Hotpot Beef Stew

Beef Chunks

The Lancashire Hotpot Mutton Stew (SGD $8) is a hearty stew of mutton chunks, onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery, slow-cooked for 8 hours till everything is tender. The gravy is thick and fragrant from the use of herbs, including thyme and rosemary, savoury, meaty, and robust in flavour. Compared to their beef stew, the broth of the mutton stew is lighter but slightly more peppery, which I like! The mutton meat is incredibly tender and savoury, with a little more fat than the beef. Almost no gamey taste, and it just falls apart in the mouth. Good!

Lancashire Hotpot Mutton Stew

Mutton Chunks

The Yorkshire Pudding With Vanilla Ice Cream (SGD $3) features that excellent Yorkshire pudding, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. The combination of flavour is among the best things I've ever eaten! Sweet and creamy, with a contrast of textures (crisp and fluffy), this British dessert is best eaten quickly, because the heat of the dough makes the ice cream start to melt immediately! I suggest ordering this only when you're ready for dessert, and consuming it quickly on the spot. A definite must try! Highly recommended!

Yorkshire Pudding With Vanilla Ice Cream 01

Yorkshire Pudding With Vanilla Ice Cream 02