With the hallyu wave spreading like wildfire globally, Korean entertainment and culture have become readily available practically everywhere and that of course, includes Korean restaurants specialising in the fine art of barbeque. Recently, JP Pepperdine Group which owns popular steakhouse Jack's Place and Eatzi Gourmet, has started another venture by bringing Kkongdon Barbeque into Singapore's gastronomic scene.

To date, Kkongdon Barbeque has more than 60 branches in Korea and 2 locally, which are located at Marina Link and SAFRA Toa Payoh. According to internet source, JP Pepperdine is set to open another 11 outlets within the next 3 years.

Kkongdon Barbeque (meaning "value for money") promises authentic Korean barbeque experience at a reasonable price. There is also a free-flow kimchi salad bar which is available for any order of main course. Besides the usual red chilli kimchi, Kkongdon BBQ serves an impressive array of side dishes, including fresh lettuce to wrap your barbequed meat.

There is a promotion for their group dinner set at just S$19.80++ per pax with a requirement of minimum 2 persons to order per set. Basically, it comes with a combination of two meats - pork, beef and chicken, Kimchi pancake, soup and steamed rice. Since there were 6 of us, we decided to go with two dinner sets (which was supposed to be shared among four).I love restaurants that let you cook yourself, although seemingly tedious, the do-it-yourself (DIY)process allows one to control how well the meat is done and not to mention that cooking is always fun, aye? Cook some meat, dip it with preferred sauce, wrap in lettuce and pop into your mouth!On top of the meats, we had an extra portion of lightly seasoned Pork Cheek Meat (S$16.00), an under-rated and under-used portion of the pork which tasted somewhat like pork belly without the layer of fat and felt tender and chewy.

My favourite cut was the beef skirt, which speaks juicy and a burst of flavour. I like mine done medium-well with a tint of redness and lightly dipped in soy sauce.
Kimchi Pancake which comes together with the set (or S$10.80 w/o set) is too floury for my liking. The amount of kimchi was disappointing as well.Ginseng Chicken (S$18.00), a Korean classic dish which is believed to cure illness, consisting of a whole chicken cooked in a broth of jujubes, ginseng and garlic with a generous portion of sticky rice.Beef Bulgogi Stew (S$13.00) with assorted mushrooms, is a hearty soup that one would definitely wish for winter. It was a tad salty, but for someone who likes salty food, it was not half as bad.

Kkongdon Barbeque also comes equipped with retractable pipes that suck in the smoke, air purifiers and febreeze to make sure you don't walk out of the place with "barbeque smell". To be honest, Kkongdon is not the best Korean barbeque place, but the affordable price for these quality and quantity, it's quite worth it.

Unlike previous years when we always had Grandma's birthday dinner at the usual Boon Lay Raja restaurant, located opposite Jurong East station, this year we decided to have a change of venue, surprisingly. We are Cantonese, you see, and Grandma always insist that we stick to our own cuisine and that is why Moi Lum restaurant seems to be the perfect alternative.

With roots sinking back in the 1920s, Moi Lum Restaurant aims to bring traditional food quality while keeping up with modern tastes to cater to different walks of life. Personally, the appetizers or better known as the "cold dish/plate" in Chinese, was my favourite. For one, it is presentable enough like how every opening dish should looked like. Secondly, the subtle flavours and textures of the assorted dishes was a delight to the palate, and readied my appetite for what is to come. Please do note that the cold dishes differ from set meals to set meals depending on pricings. Our dinner set meal included their restaurant speciality, Majestic Crispy Roast Chicken - tender, juicy white meat lined with a thin layer of fats and crispy brown skin. On a nut shell, the dish was a tad bland especially at the breast area, but was fixed by a sprinkle of salt and freshly squeezed lime juice. It is also come complete with an abundance of crunchy crackers.The veggies were pretty bitter without the semi-sweet oyster sauce. However, the whole mushrooms paired with braised abalone slices was just good enough to save this dish.Seafood Golden Pockets were such adorable bites, if you still have no idea what does it look like, it is actually made in resemblance of sacks of money, while the tempura scallops are made to look like golden coins. How auspicious does this dish sounds.. Feeling rich already?Besides dinner sets, Moi Lum also serves a series of a la carte food items and affordable set lunches (with drinks and desserts) as well. Conclusion? Not the best Cantonese cuisine out there, but definitely worth a try.

For steamboat-idiots like me, the only place I could think of when it comes to having a good hot pot buffet, is Bugis (well, besides the recent Suki-Ya). Hence, it was an eye-opener, or rather, finding another hidden treasure, when girlfriend's mum, Amy suggested that we have an early re-union dinner at Le Le Pot 乐乐锅.

Located just a bus stop away, or a short walk from the bustling Tiong Bahru Plaza, Le Le Pot is an ideal choice for people looking for an affordable, yet homely and fuss-free steamboat buffet. The restaurant, opened by a part-time Mediacorp artiste, provides a wide variety of steamboat dishes, as well as home-made ones such as fried wanton, steamed dumplings and cheese fries. The deep fried buns (man tou) were a winner for all of us, as we found ourselves ordering plates and plates of that petite goodness. Other favourites include sotong balls and thin-cut beef, dipped into their various dipping sauce.

Diners can also opt to order salmon sashimi, prime beef and other exclusive "star dishes" on top of the included ones, for an additional fee, oh, desserts and drinks too. Well, of course, the best things in life are never free.
The thing I liked most about Le Le Pot is that unlike the usual buffet style restaurants, they do not display their dishes out-front, instead you order what you want on a piece of menu, and the service staff serves the dishes fresh from the kitchen. So you would not have to worry about pesky flies sticking their mouths on your meat or whatever, in fact, there was not a single fly in sight when I was there. That's how clean it was.

Overall, service was good, with the artiste himself helping out as well. It was weekend rush-hour at that time, but I could say that the service staff handled it well. All in all, the buffet costs $21.80 nett (weekend), exclusive of desserts, drinks and any other additional priced items. Decent for my palate, while girlfriend thought that the Bugis's outlets are better as there were more varieties of seafood.

On the constant hunt of brunch places, we recently discovered Cali Cafe on some websites coupled with deals. Although it is located within a stone's throw from my residence, this casual American cafe somehow managed to hid under our "foodie-radar". And so on a beautiful Saturday morning, we decided to give it a try out. Nestled within Park Avenue Rochester in Buona Vista, Cali Cafe prides itself in healthy dining and whips out all-day brunch and popular food choices in California, such as Steak and Fries, and Baby Back Ribs.

Well, we settled down and had our drinks served to us shortly. Food came before we even warmed our seats. While girlfriend had their famous All-Day BDBH (S$18.60), also known as the "best darn breakfast on the hill", which consists of a wide spread of breakfast necessities - toasted bread, bratwurst sausage, baked potato , side salad and a personal choice of eggs (scrambled or sunny side-up), and crispy bacon or honey ham.A platter of everyone's favourite breakfast items can hardly go wrong. The scrambled eggs were fantastic, together with the crisp of the toasted slices. Potatoes and salad were fresh and good, just that the latter had an over-powering taste of vinaigrette. It might be contested as "GDBH" (good darn breakfast on the hill), but definitely not the best.

Pulled Pork Bun (S$13.55) is a combination of tender shredded pork, lettuce and tomato slices sandwiched between two soft buns, it is completed with a relatively-strange combination of orange wedges and potato fries. There is no doubt that the filling was satisfying and tantalising, nevertheless, portion and price doesn't correlate in my opinion. After some research, it was found that the sides were used to be fries and salad, and was approximately S$2 cheaper. Oh well.Overall, if Cali Cafe wants diners to return for their food, and not only when there are deals, they do have a lot to be improved on, starting with their cappuccino (which they screwed up badly). The probable factors I love about this cafe are the nett pricing for all the food (but again, prices might be factored in already) and their friendly and efficient services.

Until then, the hunt for delicious brunch continues.

Listed under the Healthier Hawker Food Program, Boon Kee Wanton Noodles has existed in the same food centre since it's opening in 1980s. With the ongoing plans to pass on the family business to the third generation, Boon Kee has definitely etched its name on the foundations of its birthplace. No fancy presentations, no fancy prices, but no less the authentic flavours encapsulate in their signature Wanton Noodles (S$2.50).

What stood out from the rest is none other than the fundamental of this dish - the noodles. It has a good combination between eggy and springy, and has a good texture to it. What's better was that even after all the photo-snapping and waiting, the noodles doesn't turn soggy. Portions of char siew were a tad lean, but their crispy wanton were a good twist to a classic dish.Ipoh Hor Fun (S$2.50) was a huge hit amongst us bloggers. The springy texture of the hor fun, paired with a generous portion of shredded chicken might just gave us enough reasons to call for seconds (if not for the other dishes that we have to leave some stomach space). Unlike the classic Ipoh hor fun, it lacks the addition of sliced mushrooms. Taste great, nevertheless.More than a decade ago, one friend recommended me to the soya sauce chicken noodle (油鸡面), which has since became one of my favourite hawker fare dishes. Surprisingly, Boon Kee's rendition (S$2.50) matches the familiar taste in my schema, bringing much nostalgia upon savouring this delicacy.Hoho, what is a dish of Chinese noodles, without its delicious counterpart, made of minced meat, chestnut and hints of spring onion? That's right, the answer is dumplings (S$3.50)! Try out their's and redefine your meaning of a good dumpling. Smooth, tender, juicy and succulent pretty much describe it.Stay tune for part 2 of the Healthy Food Hunt! Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to SW CDC, as well as Openrice, for this great dining opportunity.