Unique, Rustic Korean experience @ Yeyak Korean Restaurant, Singapore
One-month old restaurant Yeyak Korean Restaurant is already full-house during lunch on a Monday.
‘Yeyak’ means reservation and it reflects the lady boss’s wish that customers can reserve or set aside more time so they can enjoy their meals here. As it turns out, it is a most fitting name for this very popular restaurant. Since starting business on 1 Aug 2022, it has already built up a group of loyal regular customers.
Located at 7 Keppel Road, you have to walk to the back of the building to find the restaurant. Parking is plentiful — right outside the building and underneath in the basement as well.
Yeyak Korean Restaurant has quickly made an name for itself because it offers an entirely different experience from the Korean restaurant scene in Singapore. Instead of BBQ, Yeyak Korean Restaurant offers rustic, home-style dishes, helmed by a native Korean lady. The lady boss-chef is a Korean bride who moved to Singapore because of her partner who is based here. The dishes she creates are passed down from her grandmother.
Unlike most Korean restaurants which blast K-pop, the ambience is more homely and relaxed. Mellow, easy-listening Korean songs play softly in the background. The red brick walls, warm lighting and wooden raised platforms certainly add to welcoming, homely vibe. The dining tables feature a traditional design that is ubiquitous in Korean grandparents’ homes.
Korean Barley Tea $3
Very cooling. Great for hot Singapore weather.
Chestnut Makgeolli $25
It was sweet, light and refreshing. It is very versatile. Since it is light and refreshing, it can work on a hot day. Due to its alcohol content, it can work on a grey rainy day too. The sweetness also does a good job of balancing the spiciness of many of the dishes.
Lunch Set
LA Galbi Beef Bowl with 1 can drink $18.90
The humble beef bowl is ironically one of the most delicious items tried at Yeyak Korean Restaurant. The sweetness of the beef is very nicely complemented by the toasty, oceanic, sea salty seaweed. The bowl comes sizzling hot— they didn’t neglect details.
Original Spicy Stir fried Chicken $15.90
It was sweet and spicy. The chicken chunks were particularly bouncy. How did they do it?
A La Carte
Spicy Chicken Stew $38
Rice cake topping $3
The flavours are similar to the Spicy Stir-fried Chicken except that it is full of chicken drumsticks.
Deep Fried Pork Jowl with Garlic $28
Pork jowl fried to a crisp. The dip is amazing — mayonnaise with soy sauce, chopped chilli and black sesame seeds. The mayonnaise adds creaminess and tones down the spiciness of the chilli. The soy sauce adds a savoury, third dimension. I never knew mayonnaise could be used this way. Wow.
Seafood Pancake $30
This is a great pancake because it is not too flour-y. You can actually feel the texture of the components rather than a flour-y, cakey lump.
Braised Short Ribs LA Galbi $65
This is like Fifty Shades of Sweetness, sweetness that is nuanced by all kinds of other goodness in the stew, most notably, rice wine.
Like curry, this stew gets better the longer it gets to sit. The rice cakes and vegetables get softer and infused with the flavour of the “broth”.
Dining here reminded me of a holiday in Korea years ago. In my memory, yes, Korean dining is definitely not just BBQ.and I am glad that Yeyak Korean Restaurant sings a different tune in the very “conforming” dining scene.
Yeyak Korean Restaurant
7 Keppel Rd, #01-18/20, Complex 089053
Tel: 8828 7770
