GAMTAN is a Korean-owned restaurant in Telok Ayer offering Korean BBQ options alongside bowls of Sotbap, which seems to be all the rage in Singapore as of late.
Korean Restaurant in Telok Ayer
Interior-wise, the restaurant looks just like any other Korean BBQ establishment, with ventilation hoods hanging over tables and fridges stocked with soju and beer. According to their menu, GAMTAN offers 4 delicacies here at their restaurant.
- Maldon Salt is used here, a premium salt brand certified by the British Royal Family that’s known for its crunch and refined, mild saltiness
- They use a cold-pressed Perilla Oil that’s produced at a low temperature of 17 degrees
- Herring Roe Salted Fish served as a side dish that’s perfect with meat dishes
- 3-Year Aged Plum Extract
GAMTAN Menu
The Korean restaurant focuses on KBBQ and Sotbap, but KBBQ is only available during weekday dinners and the whole of Saturdays.
The KBBQ Menu has beef and pork sets ranging from $98 to $228, with sets catered to 2-3 pax and 3-4 pax. They also have a la carte options like Bone Galbi ($52), Flower Belly (180g for $29), Moksal (180g for $29) and Hangjungsal (180g for $30).
The Sotbap has various protein options, with variations like a Steak Sotbap ($34.80), Pork Sotbap ($26.80), Domi Sotbap ($32.80), Abalone Sotbap ($28.80) and Eel Sotbap ($28.80). There’s one non-meat option, which is the Mushroom Sotbap ($23.80).
Other menu items include Soybean Stew ($15), Perilla Oil Buckwheat Noodles ($16) and Yuringi ($14.80).
During our visit, we tried The King’s Feast ($228), a Beef BBQ set perfect for 3-4 pax.
The King’s Feast
The set comes with a few items, but the table was first filled with various side dishes such as white kimchi, pickled vegetables and sauces for the meat. While you have your usual ssamjang and soy sauce-based sauces, the one that stood out was this unique tonkatsu sauce combination with actual breadcrumbs.
The Beef Tartar was quite an eye-catching dish, with a beautiful egg yolk on top of raw beef and green onions. The dish itself was quite balanced, with hints of sweetness from the marinade and pear slices.
It also came with nacho chips, mayo and pickled chilli, which was pretty interesting.
As for the meats, we started with the King Galbi Cut, and it turned out to be the highlight of our night. It was cooked perfectly over a charcoal fire by the staff. The meat was tender and well marinated, and honestly, needed no pairing with any of the sauces.
The Bone Galbi was also crazy tender and well-marinated, an outstanding cut!
What we really liked was how they placed the cooked meats on the side of the grill, which kept the meat warm while not overcooking it.
Along with the set was also a well-executed bowl of Doenjang-jjigae and Naengmyeon. For the naengmyeon, you can opt for Spicy Cold (Bibim) or simply Cold (Mul), and we went for the latter.
It was ok, nothing too special about it. But we recommend the warm meats-cold noodle combination, it was really good.
We also ordered a Truffle Gamjajeon ($25), which was nicely executed in terms of texture. The creaminess of the cheese paired well with the truffle flavour. We appreciated how the truffle flavour wasn’t too overpowering. The dip added a nice punch of creaminess should you need one, but even without it, it tasted good by itself.
While the Tonkatsu sauce pairing was interesting, we wouldn’t recommend dipping the flavourful beef cuts in it. It really makes everything taste like Tonkatsu, which also meant you’d be missing out on the delicious beef flavours.
However, when we paired it with Samgyeopsal, we thought it went really well together! Perhaps the sauce suits pork cuts more than beef, just because of its tonkatsu nature.
Restaurant in Telok Ayer
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GAMTAN makes a nice addition to the vibrant dining scene in Telok Ayer, and we do see ourselves coming back for the King Galbi Cut.
GAMTAN
132 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068599
Mon-Sat, 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm
Closed on Sundays
*This article is based on a media-tasting event, but all opinions expressed about the food are entirely our own.
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