좋아 Joah Korean Restaurant @ One Raffles Place

Being a Korean Food Fanatic, of course I will jump at a good lunch deal. My colleague recently introduced me to this Korean restaurant at One Raffles Place which offers daily deals (the meal changes for each day of the week) at $9.90++, and one particular meal stood out – Half Ginseng Chicken. Of course I was initially skeptical about this, since it is really pretty cheap for Ginseng Chicken (especially when it is sold at a restaurant). This dish is sold at $9.90++ only on Tuesdays ($12.70++ on every other day) and I got to say, I was truly impressed by the portion.

Here is a picture of their lunch deals:

I initially wanted to review the dishes for every single day of the week (that was why it took me so long to post a review on this chicken), but unfortunately, after trying both Monday’s soft tofu soup and Friday’s spicy beef stew, I can only recommend my readers to come on Tuesdays to have the Ginseng Chicken. Why, you may ask?

Firstly, the soft tofu seafood soup (순두부 찌개) is very mediocre with mild seafood flavour in the broth. I honestly prefer Wang Dae Bak’s or Hyang Yeon’s version of the spicy seafood soup, ANY TIME.

Secondly, for Friday’s Spicy Claypot Beef Stew (육개장), it’s really pretty sad… and I CANNOT even recommend it to anyone.

Just look at the amount of glass noodles they gave and the pathetic portion of beef. It’s sad. To be honest, if the soup was nice, at least the noodles can absorb the flavoured broth and it can still be delicious… But unfortunately, the soup was just spicy, and… tasteless..

BUT every stall has its good and bad, right? Maybe their expertise is on the chicken. And let’s get down to reviewing it, starting with…

#1 Side Dishes

Everyone knows that the side dishes in Korean places are one of the more important criteria of a good Korean restaurant.

So everyone, LET’S GIVE A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO 👏🏻…. THE FISHCAKE. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Do you know how many times I reordered the fishcake side?? I think it’s at least 5 times each time I’m here.

It’s chewy fishcake, doused in sweet sauce (with onion, sesame seeds, chilli) – just amazing! It’s like sweet from the sauce, while salty at the same time! I really rarely find places that serve such nice fishcake. BUT I have to state a disclaimer: the first round of fishcake (ie. served with your meal), is not the best – because the side dishes have been left out for quite a while so they tend to be a little dried out and cold and slightly tough. So DO order the second round of side dish – you won’t be disappointed! Usually it will be warmer, chewier, softer with the chilli slices and onions!! Definitely more delicious the second time round, unless the cook that day is lousy 😛

The anchovies are next on the ranking. These anchovies are NOT the small pathetic cheap ones that Korean food stalls love to serve. These are legitimately big crispy ones and are fried and VERY lightly mixed with sweet sauce. So you still can taste the anchovies with a slight tinge of sweetness. That said, I would prefer if the anchovies were sweeter – as with most anchovies at Korean restaurants.

I also really like the Kimchi. It’s on the “fresher” side of Kimchi, not so preserved. It’s also more sour than usual ones. And I’m glad that it was cold, and not of room temperature. BUT the Kimchi is really a hit or miss. Sometimes it is the “fresher” Kimchi that I like, and on some days, they literally smell like crap. Though they are supposed to be preserved, is it possible for me to say that the smelly Kimchi is stale?!

Note that if you were to NOT heed my advice and decide to come here on other days, the side dishes change on a daily basis. Like on Mondays, they won’t serve the fishcakes, but rather stir fried shredded potatoes and on Fridays they don’t have the anchovies.

(Monday’s side dishes: the green seaweed thing is just freaking disgusting while the shredded potatoes are just meh..)

This all the more justifies my decision to only patronize on a Tuesday. Both the main lunch deal and the sides are the nicest on that day.

#2 반계탕 (Half Ginseng Chicken)

Let me just begin by EXCLAIMING how value for money this is. It’s like HALF a chicken! I can guarantee you will feel full from the chicken AND the mountainous amount of free flow fishcake you can order.

Not only is the chicken plenty, it was also really tender. Talk about being both of quantity AND quality! How often do you get that?!

Just look at how the meat just comes out with a slight poke of the chopsticks 🥢.

It comes with a small salt dish, and the purpose is for you to dip the chicken meat with a little salt before putting it in your mouth.

Broth wise, I’ll say this doesn’t have the the strong ginseng taste to it, which may be good for some people if you think Ginseng is too heaty for the body but for people drinking just for the ginseng taste, then this will be slightly disappointing. Also, the soup is not salty – it is purposely meant for you to savour the natural taste of the chicken with the Ginseng.

Of course, this is definitely not the most delicious ginseng chicken soup I’ve tried. (NOTHING can beat this specialty store in Korea, LIKE OMG. I usually don’t rave over touristy shops, but THIS IS A MUST MUST MUST TRY… I’m not even kidding)

Anyway, back to this Singaporean Ginseng Chicken, although it isn’t the best, but it’s SUPER DUPER worth at only $9.90++ (or $11.65 nett). I’m saying it is worth because I have tried those other Ginseng Chicken at around this price range, AND THEY SEVERELY DISAPPOINT. I cannot even begin to describe how bad those were compared to this.
Overall Ratings:

The reason I’m giving this a 3.75/5 (yes, there should be a 3.75 rating because it is definitely better than a 3.5, but lower than a 4). This is because like I said, the taste isn’t AMAZING, but it’s excellent for a price of $11.65 nett, and not to mention the free flow of fantastic fishcake (alliteration) and anchovies! In fact, I have returned so many times that some of the servers know about my CRAZEEE over the fishcake that they offer it in a bowl the moment they see me, instead of the usual dish plates they use.

Another reason why I am giving this a 3.75 is because of the consistency in the standards. I mean even one of the criteria to get a Michelin star is consistency, right? The fishcake and the anchovies usually vary in standards week after week. Sometimes the fishcakes are sweeter and more moist than usual (those are the days where I will order even more) and also some days the anchovies are sweeter. (I think partly to save some time, they actually plate the side dishes before the lunch crowd comes in, and this really affects the texture of the fishcake – seems like the sauce gets soaked into fishcake, making it very dry). Also, their chicken has occasionally failed me. It is the usual case of tough, smelly chicken – either from overcooking coupled with using un-fresh chicken (which could be the unsold chicken from the day before) – NOT accusing them of anything, just a speculation. THAT SAID, most of the time the chicken is tender and fresh, so I guess if you happen to choose a day where the chef is probably the student… then you should give it a second chance..

Do note that on every Tuesday, the restaurant is JAMMED pack with people coming in before 12 because firstly, EVERYONE IN THE CBD AREA (who knows of this place) know that this is seriously of great value, and secondly the Ginseng Chicken will run out BEFORE 12PM. YES, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. So better reserve your seats AND reach there BEFORE 12pm to get a taste of this tender chicken!

You can find more about this restaurant here.

Have you tried any other value for money korean places or felt that other dishes at Joah are as good? Do let me know down in the comments below! Until next time! ADIOS