Craving both a steamy Japanese hotpot buffet and sizzling Korean BBQ buffet at the same time? You'll be glad to know you can get both for a song at the DaeSsiksin that has newly opened at United Square. (See end of post to win a promo code)
DaeSsiksin Korean Hotpot and BBQ Buffet here also offers the DANRO collagen hotpot buffet; both are names under Ministry of Food (MOF)'s huge stable of brands. MOF has a Japanese head chef looking after the Japanese broth recipes, sauces and delicacies, and a Korean chef in charge of the Korean dishes.
Oh it's a veritable feast here, with so many things to choose from the buffet.
The BBQ grill they use is pretty impressive; the meats don't stick to it and you can easily just wipe off any charred marinade using tongs with tissue paper (supplied at the table).
What's really attractive here are the
unlimited servings of premium meats, including beef ribeye, karubi, sliced pork belly, bacon, and bulgogi marinated meats (beef, pork, chicken). There are also thinly sliced non-marinated meats suitable for the hotpot.
These are items ideal for the hotpot - vegetables, mushrooms, noodles, tofu products, fishballs, fishcakes, noodles and the minced meat in "bamboo" tubes.
On the other side, you have a small salad bar.
Customise your own sauces and dips - I love experimenting with different combinations. There's sesame sauce, peanut sauce, ponzu, soy sauce, ground chillies (not really spicy), scallions, garlic, ginger and so many condiments. But honestly, the meats are good enough on their own; you won't miss these very much!
There's plenty of cooked food you can help yourself to while you wait for the meats to cook. These are also very useful for placating hungry kids while you pick your raw ingredients at the bar.
What's really good from the cooked food section is the Bossam Pork. Slices of tender pork belly in a braising sauce so moreish, I would come back for these alone.
But the highlight really is having both Japanese hotpot and Korean BBQ at the same table - it's two buffets in one!
One thing they introduced here is the Cheese Dip ($3), a mix of cheddar and mozzarella in a metal bowl, which you can heat on the grill and dip items into.
You can get creative at a Korean BBQ buffet with so many ingredients to play with. Make your own lettuce roll. Put some white rice on the grill and mix in kimchi stew and some BBQ meats to make your own kimchi rice. Some parents like to make porridge in the hotpot too.
You have a choice of 8 soup bases specially created by the Japanese Head Chef: Pork Garlic Collagen, Spicy Pork Garlic Collagen, Chicken Collagen, Spicy Chicken Collagen, Sukiyaki, Tonkotsu, Mala and Tom Yum.
We tried the Mala which is a Japanese mala, not the Sichuan mala. It tastes more like a sweetly herbal soup than the spicy tongue-numbing broth.
You can see the chunks of semi-solid creamy broth literally melting before you in the pot. It almost looks like fat but this is mainly a rich broth made gelatinous by the collagen. Collagen itself is a translucent protein with no discernible taste. But
eating collagen become popular in Japan as a "beauty" fad. Many Asians believe that eating collagen will help improve skin, so that's why these collagen pots are often called "beauty pots" as well.
When the soup has been reduced, toss in some noodles or rice and let them soak up the intense flavours!
DANRO is also the first to launch a Japanese Collagen Hotpot Delivery for customers to enjoy in the comfort of home. You can choose from:
· 4 set menus from $78++ (2, 4, 6 or 8 pax)
· Premium meats (chicken, pork or beef)
· More than 30 assorted meats, prawn, vegetables, condiments along with beer and sake
Call 98228271 or 63831741 or drop by to place your order:
· Waterway Point #01-32
· JEM #01-16
· Cathay Cineleisure Orchard #B1-08/09
Delivery charges are S$4/km (rounded down to the nearest 0.5km), up to a maximum of S$50.
Families with kids will be glad to know there's free-flow ice cream too, in addition to free-flow drinks (hot Korean tea and soft drinks).
With prices starting from S$14.90 per adult and S$8.90 per child for lunch on weekdays, this is really a steal. Add on S$8 per table and you get the hotpot as well. The chain has been expanding quite rapidly; there are now 8 DaeSsiksin outlets and 4 DANRO outlets (the next ones will open end this month at Hillion Mall). I wish they would open near Katong too!
DAESSIKSIN KOREAN HOTPOT AND BBQ BUFFET
101 Thomson Road
#01-14 United Square
Singapore 307591
Tel: +65 6266-0295
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/daessiksin/
Operating hours at United Square
Weekday
Lunch 11.30 – 16.30
Dinner 17.30 – 22.00 (Friday 17.30 – 22.30)
Saturday, Eve of Public Holiday
All Day 11.30 – 22.30
Sunday, Public Holiday
All Day 11.30 – 22.00
There are eating time limits
a. 80mins – Mon-Fri Lunch
b. 100mins for Mon – Fri Dinner, Sat to Sun, all day
Buffet Pricing at United Square
Weekday
Lunch S$14.90++ (Adult)
S$8.90++ (Child 4-10 yrs)
Dinner S$24.90++ (Adult)
S$18.90++ (Child 4-10 yrs, Senior Citizen 55 yrs and above)
Weekend, PH and eve of PH
All day S$24.90++ (Adult)
S$18.90++ (Child 4-10 yrs, Senior Citizen 55 yrs and above)
Additional Cheese Dip $3++
Additional charge for the soup base $8++
Promo Code Contest: 3 Paying Adults and 1 Child Eats Free
The first 25 people who email me their name and contact number with the subject "DAESSIKSIN PROMO" will win a promo code entitling them to 1 child eating free for every 3 paying adults. The code will be valid til 31 March 2017.
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Many thanks to MOF and DaeSsiksin United Square for the invitation and promo code contest
