I was having a very strong craving for a good hot kimchi stew the other day, so I decided to check out the Korean restaurant that my colleagues have been telling me about.
Hana K Food looked like one of those fake Korean restaurants run by Chinese chefs so I wasn’t very hopeful. But after eating there once, I was hooked.
Hana K Food’s Kimchi Soup [$14.50] has the perfect balance of sourness and spiciness. It looks fiery hot, but it is really not as bad as it looks. You can choose beef/pork/chicken/seafood/fishcake/ham/tuna (+$3) as topping for the kimchi soup. This is perfect for cold rainy days, or when you are craving for something spicy and sour.
Eel Soup [$24.50] and Louch Soup [$21.50] are not only stamina-boosting, it apparently has many beauty and health benefits too. These two soups are not commonly found even in Korea and it is even rarer in Singapore. I got the Eel Soup as it is less spicy of the two. The soup is orange-gold in color from the kimchi and various vegetables in the soup. The eel is ground in the soup so you can’t really see the fish and the kimchi masks all tastes.
Bibimbap is one of the most iconic of Korean cuisine. Hana K Food’s Bibim Bap [$14] is originally a vegetarian dish but you can add on additional meat (beef/pork/chicken) for $2. The sliced vegetables (and meat, if you ordered) are arranged in neat circle on top of a mound of steaming rice. Mix everything and you have yourself a nice meal.
I wanted to order Ginseng Chicken Ramyeon [$28] but I ended up ordering Ginseng Chicken Soup (Half Chicken) [$16] by mistake. The two are essentially the same, but Ginseng Chicken Ramyeon has addition of ramyeon and it is meant for two people. Half a chicken is cooked with a whole ginseng, glutinous rice, jujube dates and chestnuts. The chicken is cooked till very tender but the soup tends to be a little bland, so a small saucer of salt is served to dip the chicken with.
You should know from my previous post “7 Restaurants to Have Jjajangmyeon and Tangsuyuk in Singapore” that I am love jjajongmyeon. Hana K Food’a Jja Jang Myeon [$16] is still not quite as memorable as Tae Woo Ban Kum’s, but it is good enough for a quick craving fix. The original version is vegetarian, but you can add on beef/pork/chicken for $2.
Ddukboki [$13] is one of my favorite Korean snacks. Rice cakes, fish cakes, onions and scallions are cooked in spicy gochujang (red chilli paste). The rice cakes here have just the right amount of chewiness. If you can’t take spicy food but still want to eat rice cakes, you can order Jja Jang Ddukboki [$13] which is rice cakes cooked in chunjang (black bean sauce). It is a little too sweet for my taste but perfect for those who want the best of both ddukboki and jjajangmyeon.
I swear, this is definitely the best Kimchi Pancake [$12] I have had so far. Strips of vegetables and kimchi are encased in sour and spicy pancake. The outside is slightly crispy and the inside is delightfully chewy, almost as if glutinous rice was used. The waitress revealed that two types of flour was used to make the kimchi pancake, but she refused to reveal which two types.
Spicy Octopus Stew [$28/$45] was another interesting find on the menu. Spicy Octopus Stew is not commonly found In Singapore and Kim’s Family Food Korean Restaurant was one of the few that had this particular stew. Hana K Food’s Spicy Octopus Stew is much smaller than Kim’s Family Food Korean Restaurant’s but it is more than enough for 2 persons to share. You have a choice of beef/chicken/pork/fish cake as topping or you can also get additional glassnoodle/ricecake/dumpling/ramyeon at $2 each. Although the stew is orange-red in color, it is not too spicy and the chopped octopus are very fresh.
Hana K Food replaces boring old water with Homemade Onion Water. Onion water has many benefits, such as weight-loss, anti-aging, prevents heart disease, anti-cancer and prevents diabetes.
I can’t personally vouch for the authenticity of the food when I have not been to Korea yet, but you should be able to find most of your favorite Korean dishes here at an affordable price.
Hana K Food (Novena)
Address: 238 Thomson Road, Velocity @ Novena Square #02-25, Singapore 307683
Opening Hours: 10am – 9.30pm
Hana K Food (Joo Chiat)
Address: 509 Joo Chiat Road, Singapore 427694
Telephone: 66356077
Opening Hours: 10am – 10pm