Are you a fan of Vincenzo, Thirty Nine, Shooting Stars, Hyena and more? What if we told you that you can now feast on the same food that your favourite K drama stars had in the show? That’s right, the popular Ilmiri Korean Fusion Restaurant from Korea has opened their first outlet in Singapore!
Ilmiri Korean Fusion Restaurant is wildly popular in Korea, with over 200 outlets across the country. They’ve just opened their first outlet in Singapore — at the vibrant Boat Quay no less. Now you too can try their mouth-watering dishes IRL.
The Korean restaurant is most famous for their jjimdak or braised chicken, and on the menu you’ll find a wide variety of jimdak dishes. Their Cloud Cheese Jjimdak (S$41.90) features their signature braised chicken, potato chunks, rice cakes, vegetables, and glass noodles slathered in a blanket of mozzarella cheese — bonus points for an oh so satisfying cheese pull too. If you’re a cheese lover, you’ll love this sweet and savoury dish.
You’ll get to choose between a soy sauce base or a spicy base, but we definitely recommend getting the spicy base as it’s more flavourful. The cheese does help to mellow the spiciness of the chicken stew, while adding a touch of sweetness to it as well. However, if you’ve got a low spice tolerance, the soy sauce base is also equally yummy.
I absolutely loved how tender and juicy the chicken chunks were. But my favourite part of this dish (apart from the glorious cheese blanket) was the glass noodles. The noodles were super chewy and soaked up all the sauce which made it even more flavourful.
They also have other unique variations of jjimdak like Truffle Jjimdak (S$37.90) and BBQ Jjimdak (S$37.90). Spice lovers can put your spice tolerance to the test with their Red Chilli Jjimdak (S$37.90). Otherwise, you can play it safe and get the Soy Sauce Jjimdak (S$37.90).
Apart from Jjimdak, Ilmiri is also known for their Mari (S$47.90), which features rolled marinated beef or pork slices served alongside a piping hot bowl of Korean stew of your choice. We went with a very robust and oh so comforting soybean paste stew which came with plenty of diced zucchini, onions and beef slices.
Not gonna lie, the dish looked very unassuming when it was first served. But as the saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’ and that was very applicable here. The beef slices were cooked to perfection.
Each roll is filled with crunchy spring onions which added a nice crunch and a burst of flavour. That said, you definitely need to enjoy the fragrance of spring onions in order to really enjoy the meat rolls.
You’ll also be served three different dipping sauces to pair with your juicy meats — Yuzu Soy, Sesame Sauce, and Thai Chilli. It’s hard to pick which sauce paired best with the meat rolls because they all paired brilliantly with the meat and spring onions. But, my personal preference was the yuzu soy sauce which was sweet and slightly tangy.
If you love rosti, you’ll thoroughly enjoy the Crunchy Potato (from S$17.90). It is basically a Korean-version of rosti, topped with a dollop of sour cream. It is crunchy, savoury, tangy, and creamy all at once .
I personally prefer the pancake without the mayo because the sauce takes centre stage flavour-wise. The potato pancake also comes with a soy sauce and vinegar dipping sauce, which paired better with the pancake. Don’t forget to slap on a piece of kimchi for a sour and spicy little kick.
Other must-try dishes on the menu include the Eonyang Bulgogi (S$28.90) and Buttered Sunny Side-up Bibimbap (S$8). We tried the Bibim Noodle (S$14.90). The noodles were smooth and chewy. The spring onions added a nice fresh crunch and flavour, which complimented the sweet-spicy sauce. I’m definitely ordering it again on my next visit.
If you’re heading down with your bestie, make sure to go for their special lunch sets for two that are super value for money.
Do you wanna eat the same dishes that Song Joong Ki ate? Ilmiri Korean Fusion Restaurant is the place to be!
Ilmiri Korean Fusion Restaurant
Instagram
???? 25/26 Circular Road, Singapore 049381
???? 11am—11pm (Mon to Fri), 12pm—11pm (Sat & Sun)
For more lifestyle updates like this, subscribe to our Telegram channel at @confirmgood.
I'm either mean or a meme, there's no in between.