While one might agree that Tanjong Pagar is not the liveliest of places during the day, the neighbourhood has lots of great deals during lunchtime. Just like On Dol and Sin Dae Bak, Sin Man Bok is another Korean restaurant in Tanjong Pagar with an affordable lunch set!
$12 Korean Lunch Set with Iron Pot Rice
The lunch set comes with an iron pot rice, side dishes and a main dish. All sets come with an additional sundubu jjigae (tofu stew) except the soybean stew set.
Here are the 4 different lunch sets available:
- Boiled Pork (Bo-ssam) Set
- Stir-fried Octopus (Jjuggumi) Set
- Stir-fried Pork (Je-yuk) Set
- Seafood Soybean Stew (Doenjang Jjigae) Set
Side Dishes
The side dishes were served to us first after we placed our orders. Apart from the usual kimchi, beansprouts and mashed potato, the more unique ones were the garlic scrapes and perilla leaves.
The staff told us usually they would have served Jeotgal, a fermented squid Korean side dish but they ran out of it for the day. Instead, we got the perilla leaves that were flown in from Korea.
Apart from that, they also served grilled mackerel and egg rolls.
Boiled Pork Bossam Set
For the bossam set, the sliced pork came together with some white kimchi and crunchy radish kimchi so you can wrap them all together.
The fatty portion of the meat melts in your mouth before you even start chewing and had a great savoury flavour. We really loved the meat so much we wished there were more of it.
Stir-Fried Octopus Set
The stir-fried octopus wasn’t too spicy and reminded us of the marinade used when making stir-fried pork (jeyuk). It was a combination of sweet, savoury and spicy flavours. Non-spice eaters would probably be able to eat this as well.
Soondubu Jjigae
Both the boiled pork and stir-fried octopus set came with a Soondubu Jjigae.
Since the set was only $12, we were not really expecting much from the soondubu jjigae. However, the stew contained substantial portions of seafood, such as clams, squid and shrimp. There was also a nice seafood sweetness to the stew.
Iron Pot Rice
After eating everything, you can go back to your pot of rice to wash everything down. This 가마솥밥 (Iron Pot Rice) reminds us of our friends over at On Dol.
There were some bits and pieces of scorched rice, so it does remind us of Nurungji Soup. We did hope for more scorched bits so it would taste better, otherwise, it’s just like a typical bowl of porridge.
Affordable Korean Food in Tanjong Pagar
Overall, we would say that the $12 set is really worth the buck. While we were taken aback by the small portions (as compared to their photos placed outside the store), we were really full by the end of it.
It felt like an upgraded bento lunch, with so many sides and dishes.
If this isn’t your thing, you can also opt for their $29 unlimited Korean BBQ lunch which includes cuts like sliced pork belly, marinated pork short ribs, beef brisket and chicken.
Do note that the $12 is before GST and service tax. But even after that, it’s around $14, a pretty affordable price.
Sin Man Bok
81 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088502
Mon, 12pm-11pm, Tues-Sun, 12pm-2am
*This is an independent review by MiddleClass.sg
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