I don’t know about you but whenever it rains, I always crave for a nice hot bowl of soup, and some Korean BBQ — because K BBQ can do no wrong.
The year is almost over and if you’re looking for a fancy date night spot to go to with your significant other, then you definitely have to check out D’RIM Korean Steak House in Mandarin Gallery — yes, the super atas mall in Orchard Road.
Step inside and you’ll notice that the entire space is decked in wood accents which draws inspiration from the traditional hanok houses in Korea. The restaurant also has an open concept kitchen to create a more homely environment between diners and the chef.
The D’RIM Beef Cuts (from S$125 per person) set for two comprises sirloin steak, marinated short rib, chuck flap. Unlike your regular Korean where you have to cook the meats yourself, here the staff will do all the cooking for you — perfect for us who love to eat K BBQ but can’t cook to save our lives. All you have to do is to sit back and enjoy the perfectly cooked meat.
My favourite was the marinated short rib which was marinated in a sweet marinade. I loved that the meat was nicely charred which elevated the flavours of the short rib.
The sirloin steak was thick and super juicy. You can request for your steak to be cooked to your preferred doneness, which we chose medium rare — the only way steak should be cooked. The steak was finished with the perfect pink centre along with an alluring smoky aroma.
The steak can be enjoyed with the three different salts provided but I loved the smokey coarse salt the best, especially with a slice of barbecued onion which gave an added sweetness.
The chuck flap was juicy and tender with a nice beefy flavour. However, flavour-wise I felt that it fell short especially when compared to the other two cuts. I would have preferred if the chuck flap was marinated in the same sweet marinade as the short rib.
We also tried the D’RIM Signature Noodle (from S$26) which comprises house-made buckwheat noodles in a perilla seed sauce. Fun fact: all the noodles and the banchan (side dishes) are made in-house.
I never thought I would love this dish as much as I did — especially since I’m not a fan of perilla leaves. The sauce was very aromatic and nutty — kinda like roasted sesame dressing. The dish also comes with fresh vegetables and thick slices of beef heel muscle which are lean and chewy.
Compared to the D’RIM Signature Noodle, the Naengmyeon (from S$26). I usually love eating Naengmyeon but for some reason I felt like there was something missing with this dish.
The flavours of the broth is pretty light and you can adjust the flavour to your liking with the vinegar served on the side. The chewy noodles and the tangy broth paired well with a dollop of mustard and a slice of fresh kimchi.
We saw that the restaurant also had Beef Yukhoe (S$32), or Korean Beef tartare, on the menu and we knew we had to get it. It was coated in a sweet dressing which paired well with the savouriness of the beef.
While the dish was enjoyable, I felt that the sweet dressing does make it a little jelak after some time, so you should definitely order it to share.
I can definitely see myself coming back to D’RIM Korean Steak House for a fancy date night, or if I’m just in the mood to treat myself to some hearty K BBQ without having to fight with the crowd over at Tanjong Pagar.
Reservations can be made here.
D’RIM Korean Steak House
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📍 333A Orchard Road, Mandarin Gallery #02-14, Singapore 238897
🕑 12pm—3pm, 6pm—10pm (Mon to Fri), 11am—10pm (Sat & Sun)
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Photo by Marcus Leong
I'm either mean or a meme, there's no in between.