I finally visited Noodle Star K. Yes, the one always filled with queues along Tanjong Pagar road, the street filled with many Korean eateries.
You all know how I love my traditional Korean food, which I always enjoy during pre-pandemic days as I head to Korea yearly to satisfy my food cravings. I do have certain standards for how I like to enjoy my Korean food, and as I remember how I tasted the spicy, yet delicious jjamppong from a traditional hanok (한옥) restaurant located near South Korea's Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae 청와대).
Having heard many people loved the noodles here (well, the name should tell you what they boast about specialising in), I have to be honest that I did go with some expectations in mind. I did not expect that they could match the taste of a true Korean jjamppong, but at least I had expected it to be palatable.
Read: Check out my review of SBCD Korean Tofu House here
Firstly, they told us we could only dine in for one hour. We were fine with that, as we note some people were still queueing outside. Craving for a piping hot bowl of noodle soup, we quickly ordered a bowl of jjamppong ($18) and Korean-styled sweet and sour pork ($28) to share. The noodle bowl served looked promising.
I took a sip of the broth - both my friend and I looked at each other. We grimaced a little before taking yet another sip. The broth tasted like spicy maggi mee instant broth. 'This is not it,' I thought to myself. Before I commented on it, my friend asked me if I felt like it tasted like instant noodles.
YES. Instant noodles. What an expensive bowl of instant noodles. Summary: it was not up to standard. The noodles were not delicious, neither was the broth. We only finished the ingredients.
We also tried the sweet and sour pork. We each picked up a piece, then dipped it in the sauce it came in. The sauce did not taste right. The pork was also hard, and the texture was not good at all.
Summary for this: we did not finish the sweet and sour pork.
The taste experience felt very slipshod and it disappointed us. I believe this would be my first and last trip back there. Overall, it's best to go there without expectations on having the same type of quality as what you'll experience in Korea. To be fair, I have also not tasted their jjajangmyeon, although I did hear too that Noodle Star K specialises in it.
But after tasting their jjamppong, I'll probably try out Oppa Jjajang some day instead for my jjajangmyeon fix, especially since it's approved by another friend who loves (and knows) her korean food.
Noodle Star K Details
Location: 58 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088479
Tel: (65) 6224 6061
Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday, 11:30AM – 03:30PM, 05:30PM-9:30PM
xoxo
JANEL
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