Have a bite of Korea at Guksu Restaurant

Media Invite

“Guksu” refers to Korean noodles or noodles dishes, collectively.

This was indeed the core of Guksu Restaurant when it first started. Known for its homemade noodles, Guksu Restaurant did their noodles from scratch and earned fans with their fresh handmade noodles and broth. These noodles are best savoured immediately when cooked, but Guksu Restaurant has since shifted its focus on creating other delectable Korean dishes such as Jeongol, perfecting their signature kimchi and constantly keeping abreast on interesting add-ons to their menu.

Read on to find out what we feasted on!

Our host, Mr Park, General Manager of Guksu Restaurant, was such a joy to be with. This smiley gentlemen made effort to introduce each dish, shared their story on how they were perfected and why some regular customers would keep coming back for their favourite dishes, and would be disappointed when a certain dish was off the menu while they did their R&D to cater to the locals.

These days, Korean fried chicken is giving KFC and Popeyes a run for their money. With their invasion into our local F&B scene, we’re indeed spoilt for choice! So when the invite came along, a quick research for Guksu Restaurant came with positive feedback for their fried chicken. Naturally, this was one of the dishes I couldn’t wait to try despite having just recovered from a bad throat. LOL! *fingers crossed*

The first thing that struck me? THAT CRISPY SKIN…. I could literally hear the crunch! Their Guksu Signature Drumsticks are available in 3 flavours: classic, soya and spicy.

Despite their hardy exteriors, each drumstick had tender succulent meat that made me realise, “Hey! That’s real meat, not flour!” Non-chilli eaters or those with low threshold like yours truly (my already pathetic spice tolerance dipped majorly after pregnancy. Sigh), the spicy one was actually still within my acceptance level! Okay, I must confess that I ate just a bit of that crispy skin -_-

Their homemade Signature Kimchi is a hit with chilli lovers! It was predictably too hot for me, although I only had a teeny weeny bit. That’s about how much chilli I can take. LOL. And the accompanying condiment was a homemade sesame sauce, with a paste-like consistency. If you’ve eaten Peanut Paste in a Chinese restaurant, it pretty much tasted like that, but with a slight sourish aftertaste. Interesting to say the least, but it was pretty much an acquired taste for us.

And here comes the special guests for the night – Jeongol, an elaborate stew which was historically served to members of the Korean royal court as well as the nobility. As most of us would know, they are commonly referred to as “Army Stew”.

We were served with 3 different Jeongol to share amongst the guests so the spotlights were on beef, pork and seafood versions. Each Jeongol is ideal for 2-4 pax, which makes a good dish to share when dining in groups and for pairing with white rice.

Here’s what was bubbling at the table next to me – Haemul Jjim Dak ($45.90), this one is for seafood lovers! It is filled with vegetable broth, chicken, root vegetables, red chilli, glass noodle, flower crab, baby octopus, mussel all swimming in Korean special sauce.

Fortunately, Mr Park did forewarn that this was a spicy dish, so I proceeded with caution. The sauce was sweet at the beginning but spicy thereafter, but some of the guests who weren’t much of chilli fans said that it was actually pretty okay for them. Guess it really depends on individual threshold! With the generous servings of ingredients in a thicker broth/sauce, I’d say this was very much stew-like and goes awesome with plain rice. If you love spicy food and prefer savoury options, this one is a must-try!

Another pair of guests had the Daeji Gogi Jeongol ($42.90) at their table, and this contains strips of pork sitting on the top. This dish is a classic Korean stew with vegetable broth, sliced pork, Korean sweet soy sauce, glass noodles, vegetables and mushrooms. Meat was finely cut and well-marinated without a hint of pork-ness (if you know what I meant…)

So the beefy dish was sitting right in front of us – Bulgogi Jeongol ($48.90), served with sliced Wagyu beef. It’s exactly the same as the Daeji Gogi Jeongol except for the meats.

The wagyu beef was really soft and easy-to-bite with no annoying chewy bits! This scored brownie points for sure – who likes having jaw exercise?? And I enjoyed this because the dish was flavourful – meat was well-marinated with just enough fats and no tendons, good portion of vegetables which made it a balanced dish for the health conscious (or paranoid folks, like moi!). Soup was the sweet type (reminded me of sukiyaki), but still within acceptable range without being overly sweet or leave one feel thirsty. Needless to say, I wiped out my entire bowl of rice by the end of the night and kept going for the signature chicken – too irresistible! :P

And just as I thought we were nearly done, Mr Park brought 4 coloured drinks for us. With such pretty colours, it was hard not to give them attention.  We winded down with a few shots of Cocktail with Guksu, infused with Soju and Lemon. Can you guess what flavours they are?

They were: Passionfruit with Lemon, Peach, Raspberry and Blueberry! Did you guess right? Alcohol level was pretty low at 6%, and it was easy to drink and not surprisingly, a hit with ladies! The best seller? Raspberry takes the pie!

To complement our drinks, these Molted Lava Cakes were served up, ending our meal on a sweet note and on a high. LOL.

This looked soooo appealing, I couldn’t resist taking a few mouths of it! The cake was soft and moist, with rich chocolate that oozed sexily as if to seduce diners. Because of my sensitive throat, I usually steer clear of “heaty” foods as such, so it was really mind over body when it comes to control. Ahem.

Mr Park was a natural entertainer with his cheerful disposition and animation. We enjoyed a belly good time and it was lovely to chat with him. He shared that they were looking into home delivery services – imagine hunger pangs or cravings for Jeongol at 3am?! Who are you gonna call? We also found out that he used to be a chef, and has since moved to taking care of business operations for the company. This taekwondo, judo, sporty guy unbashfully said that he was single and cheekily asked if anyone wanted to have a teddy bear. LOL!

So the next time you’re craving for some Korean grub, Guksu Restaurant should be on your list of options. Centrally located and easily accessible by MRT and buses, this makes a convenient meeting point for weekday meals to catchup with friends too! For folks working in the vicinity, weekday lunches under $10 are available without burning a hole in your pocket!

Guksu Restaurant comes under H group Holdings which has been operating the popular Kimchi Korean Restaurant (www.kimchi.com.sg).

Guksu Restaurant
3 Temasek Boulevard
#02-385, Suntec City Mall
(Above H&M)

Opening hours: 11 am – 10:30 pm daily

Tel: 6334 7950

Thank you, Guksu Restaurant for having us! It was indeed a yummylicious experience!

Have you dined at Guksu Restaurant? Which are you favourite Korean dishes? Tell us!

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