Makan Hunt: Ssikkek Korean Grill

We hear you! Whether it’s affordability, phenomenal food or some other X factor, you have to admit: some restaurants are just more interesting than others. That’s why OpenRice is bringing you “Makan Hunt” – a brand new editorial series where we visit the trendiest, most-talked about food spots to give you the lowdown on what’s good and what’s not. For some reason, having a meal at a Korean BBQ & Grill restaurant isn’t the most affordable thing out there. You’d expect to pay anywhere from $30 to $50 per pax, even if you’re dining with a big group! That’s why these days many are flocking to Ssikkek (pronounced as shik-kek) – as a buffet-style eatery it’s one of the cheapest places to get your Korean food fix.

Ssikkek has outlets at several places around Singapore, but its Chinatown outlet at New Bridge Road is arguably the busiest and most popular one. Lunch is from 11.30am to 2.30pm, Monday to Friday only, at $16 per adult and $8 per child; dinner is from 5.30pm to 10pm Monday to Sunday, as well as public holidays, at $26 per adult and $18 per child – all this is inclusive of GST and free flow of soft drinks. Sounds like a pretty good deal to us!

Lunch time at Ssikkek isn’t too busy so there’s no need to make reservations. The buffet selection includes various types of meat, from the classics like pork belly to chicken sausages, sides like golden mushrooms and kimchi, cooked food such as spicy rice cakes and even a couple of fresh fruit choices. We helped ourselves to at least 3 plates of pork belly, so there’s no prize for guessing what we’d recommend. We also loved the golden mushrooms, which were grilled to juicy perfection, as well as the marinated chicken BBQ. Unfortunately, the kimchi – a keystone ingredient – was way too acidic for us.

Overall, our experience was a pleasant one, granted there were a few misses such as the super sour kimchi and extremely poor ventilation (yes, we reeked of oil all day because of the stench and smoke from the grill). But hey, for an endless flow of meat and drinks for just $16, it’s one of those “Eh, can’t complain” situations! Ssikkek Korean Grill in a nutshell What we liked: Affordability, pork belly, golden mushrooms, chicken BBQ What we didn’t like: Kimchi, poor ventilation ------- Go even more K-food crazy and check out Kkongdon Barbeque, a new Korean restaurant located at Marina Square and SAFRA Toa Payoh. Brought to you by the JP Pepperdine Group, Kkongdon comes straight from Korea and features reasonably-priced high quality Korean BBQ. See Also: Check out here for more variety of Korean food places Enjoy korean bbq with your group of family or friends!