The Korean restaurant, SURA draws inspiration from the Korean term, Sura-sang (수라상), which is a meal prepared for kings during the Joseon dynasty. It usually comes with a minimum of 12 side dishes including stews, soups, kimchi and rice. Now in Singapore, you too can experience an authentic Korean course meal fit for kings right over at Tanjong Pagar.
Korean Table d’hôte in Singapore
SURA serves Korean Table d’hôte, which is known as Hanjeongsik (한정식) in Korean. Despite its classy, premium exterior, SURA is actually a really value-for-money place with the amount of food that comes with its course meal.
Fun Fact: SURA is opened by the same folks behind On Dol.
The Korean restaurant has 2 floors, with the 2nd floor filled with private dining rooms. Most of their food is served in bronzeware which historically has been used as tableware for the royal families of Korea and in Korean royal court cuisine.
We went for the $120/pax Hanjeongsik menu, which is mainly a seafood-based menu with Korean sashimi and other main items. They also have a $150/pax grill course which comes with assorted wagyu on top of the course items.
Here’s everything that came with the Hanjeongsik menu:
SURA Korean Course Meal in Tanjong Pagar
When you first settle down at your table, each person will be served a hot towel which reminded us of the good times flying with SQ.
Besides barley tea, the Hanjeongsik also came with a free glass of prosecco, which explains the wine glass that came along with the table setting.
You’ll be served a plate of dried fruits and vegetables, such as dried figs, mushrooms and sliced sweet potatoes while you wait for the first food item.
Pumpkin Porridge
The first thing we had was the bowl of pumpkin porridge (호박죽) which was thick, flavorful and had a nice tinge of sweetness to it. It came along with a bowl of Dongchimi (동치미) as well, which carried tangy notes, perfect as an appetizer.
Fresh Oyster & Mashed Potato
Each person is served an oyster, which you can squeeze some lemon juice and tabasco on it. It was really fresh and had no fishy smell at all.
There was also a tiny serving of mashed potato served with fried sweet potato and seaweed.
Salad & Konjac
Next was a salad filled with amazing ingredients like lotus roots, grapefruit, shredded cabbage, lettuce and cherry tomatoes. It came with a sesame-based dressing as well as a yuzu-based dressing served on the side. We loved how refreshing this was, and it felt like a great way to start the course.
There was also a Konjac jelly dish tossed in sesame oil and seaweed which was full of nutty, umami, and savoury flavours.
Gujeolpan & Assorted Jeons
At first glance, Gujeolpan (구절판) might remind Singaporeans of yusheng with its plating and colours. However, the dish is one that’s associated with Joseon royalty, and is not easily found even in lots of Korean restaurants.
In the centre is a stack of small, coloured Korean pancakes, which you use to wrap all the ingredients together.
Together with the Gujeolpan, an assortment of Jeon was served as well, such as meat-filled mushrooms and skewer pancakes that you usually see in Chuseok variety specials.
Seasonal Soup
@middleclass.sgHanjeongsik is a full course Korean meal and the food just kept coming out 🤤 ##sgfoodie ##fyp ##sgtiktok ##tiktoksg♬ INFERNO – Sub Urban & Bella Poarch
We got a clear soup filled with clams and vegetables. Depending on what fresh seafood comes from Korea, the soup changes from time to time. We heard that it can be a fish soup at times.
The soup was clean and was filled with the sweetness of clams. No photo but we included it in our TikTok video!
Assorted Seafood
The assorted seafood platter was served in an elaborate plating that can only be explained as something you see in Korean dramas.
There were slices of Salmon sashimi, octopus, and abalone. You can also find pieces of plump shrimp and raw baby octopus (or sannakji).
Everything was fresh and in tip-top condition.
At this point, you also get slices of butter-grilled abalone served in an iridescent abalone shell. So fragrant, buttery, and delicious.
Deep-Fried Rockfish
We were not expecting a whole deep-fried fish, which looked like something one would typically find in a wedding dinner or at a Chinese restaurant.
It was served with a sweet and sour sauce and the staff help to cut the fish up for you.
Nurungji Soup
If you’ve never heard of Nurungji (누룽지), it’s basically scorched rice. While the soup looked pretty ordinary at first glance, the Nurungji soup was packed with seafood such as scallops, prawns, squid and mussels. It carried a slightly spicy punch to it despite its mild-looking colour. The seafood was also plump and fresh, especially the scallops.
Assorted Sashimi
We honestly thought the assorted seafood was all there was to the course meal, so we were shocked when this delicate plate of assorted sashimi was served.
It came with slices of tuna, tuna belly, and red snapper sashimi. You can dip the sashimi slices in sesame oil, chojang, or even pair it with the dried seaweed provided! The deep dark coloured sashimi might be a bit difficult for sashimi beginners as it had a pretty strong bloody taste.
Yukhoe & Grilled Unagi
Yes, the meal still hasn’t ended yet. Each person was served a small individual portion of Yukhoe 육회 (raw seasoned beef) that came with sliced pears and Gamtae.
There was also grilled unagi (장어구이) that was served with pickled wild garlic leaves (can also sometimes be known as pickled alpine leek).
Galbijjim
Next was a Galbijjim (갈비찜) that’s served with pumpkin slices, radish, carrots, mushrooms, ginkgo nuts and an entire ginseng! The balance of sweet and salty flavours was just right, with the tender meat easily falling off the bone.
And yes, the ginseng can be eaten!
Grilled Fish, Soy Raw Crabs and Prawns, Side Dishes
We’ve finally reached the last course of the meal yet the whole table is packed with side dishes, grilled fish and other items.
Firstly, we have pumpkin rice (you can choose this or thistle rice) and a soup with banchan like Young Radish Kimchi, Salted Squid, and more.
For the grilled fish, we have Hairtail (갈치구이) which is a popular dish in Jeju, as well as Yellow Corvina (굴비구이). Both had tender textures with the yellow corvina’s flesh breaking more easily as compared to the firmer hairtail.
With the rice, we recommend pairing it with the soy marinated raw crabs and prawns (간장게장, 간장새우) which cannot be easily found in Singapore.
Dessert
For dessert, a traditional Korean drink known as sikhye (식혜) was served alongside a platter of fresh fruits.
Korean Course Meal in Singapore
For just $120/pax, the amount of food that came with this Korean course meal definitely justifies its price point. We loved how the course let you experience royal cuisine and rarer forms of Korean cuisine such as Korean sashimi in Singapore.
It’s undoubtedly one of the best value for money Korean meals we’ve had in Singapore! 가성비 최고~!
SURA 수라
60 Tanjong Pagar Rd, Singapore 088481
Mon-Sun, 11:30am-10:30pm
*This is an independent review by MiddleClass.sg.
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