Tanjong Pagar is home to many Korean restaurants, ranging from Korean BBQ to Korean Fried Chicken.
As one of the pioneers in the Korean food scene in Singapore, Super Star K started out in a foodcourt in 2004 and eventually opened more Korean BBQ outlets along Tanjong Pagar Road.
Super Star K has opened their first Korean noodle-specialty restaurant called Noodle Star K (We could have guessed. Chicken Star K, next?) at 58 Tanjong Pagar Road.
Tanjong Pagar can very well be Singapore’s “JjaJangMyeon Zone” with many restaurants offering the Korean black bean paste noodles here.
Some examples are O.BBa Jjajang, Hong Jjajang 홍짜장, Twins Restaurant, Hwang Sil Jjajang Jjampong specialty restaurant and Red Holic (in the form of Jjajang Tteokbokki).
I am sure there are more.
Noodle Star K does remind me of Guksu Restaurant at Suntec City and Huluruk Myeon House at Novena Square, both specialising in Korean noodles.
But there are clear differences in terms of their take on noodles.
Using 100% handmade noodles, Noodle Star K’s menu comprised of Naengmyeon – Cold noodles ($13.80-$14.80), Jjajangmyeon – Black bean paste noodles ($10.80), Jjampong – Spicy seafood soup noodles ($13), Kalguksu – Knife cut noodles ($12.80-$14.80), Guksu – Noodles ($12.80), Japchae – Korean glass noodles ($15.80) and Jjolmyeon – Korean chewy noodles ($13.80).
Their signature dish is their Naengmyeon with a total of 5 different variations on their menu: Mul (using potato starch), Bibim (using potato starch in spicy sauce), Sashimi (using potato starch with sashimi slices), Pyeongyang (using 70% buckwheat, 30% starch), Chik (using arrowroot).
Originated from northern Korea, the two main varieties of Naengmyeon are Mul Naengmyeon served as a cold soup with the noodles contained in broth made from beef, chicken or radish water kimchi and Bibim Naengmyeon in a spicy dressing made from gochujang (red chili paste).
I personally liked the Bibim Naengmyeon ($13.80) the most, served chilled with thin potato starch noodles that is perfect for Singapore’s hot weather.
Mix the spicy sauce with the white radish kimchi, sesame oil, sesame seeds, vinegar dressing and sugar well just like a Bibimbap before eating. Mashisoyo!
Instead of using buckwheat noodles, the potato starch noodles were more chewy in their texture.
The fragrance and aroma was distinctively pleasant and the taste of the Bibim Naengmyeon was so refreshing with a spicy kick. Daebak!
No joke, Koreans do take their spicy food seriously.
I was keen to try out their version of Jjajangmyeon ($10.80), which is a Korean-styled Chinese dish.
Served in a huge, matte, stainless-steel golden bowl which are really gorgeous, their noodles look different from the ones I usually had.
Instead of being thick and round, the noodles used in the Jjajjngmyeon here were flat like mee-pok.
The taste was balanced with savouriness from the black bean paste and slight sweet notes from the sliced onions.
Unlike most Jjajangmyeon, no shallots were used which also explained the lack of fragrance but I was pleasantly surprised to see potatoes cubes in it for the extra textures.
There is also option for free upsize and fried eggs for the Jjajangmyeon, the latter is unfortunately not available on the day of visit.
The Jjampong ($13) is another common dish found in Korean-Chinese restaurants, made from the same flat “mee pok” noodles used in the Jjajangmyeon.
Topped with prawns and cuttlefish in spicy soup with chili powder, it was indeed quite spicy,
Perhaps the lack of mussels and octopus resulted in a relatively flat taste, and also lacked in terms of freshness and sweetness from other seafood.
Small bites such as dumplings ($6.80) are available in three flavours: Gogi (pork meat), Kimchi and Mul (boiled pork meat).
Thinking that they will be as good as the ones I had at Red Holic down the same road, the dumplings turned out to be Chinese-style dumplings without the iconic glass noodles in Korean dumplings.
The Gogi dumplings (5 pieces for $6.80) has a distinctive soy and garlic taste in it, filled with minced pok and spring onions.
Noodles fanatics will love the idea of having different types of noodles in one place, especially with the wide selection of Korean-style noodles here.
Their Bibim Naengmyeon hits all the right notes and turned out to be the most memorable dish there.
Noodle Star K
58 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088479
Opening Hours: 11:30am – 3:30pm, 5:30pm – 9:30pm (Mon – Sun)
https://www.facebook.com/Noodle-Star-K-108710004100084
Other Related Entries
O.BBa Jjajang (Tanjong Pagar Road)
Hong Jjajang 홍짜장 (Tanjong Pagar)
Twins Restaurant (Craig Road)
Hello Korean BBQ (Circular Road)
Hongdae Oppa (Plaza Singapura)
* Written by Nicholas Tan @stormscape who loves all things [NEW]. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.
The Bibim Naengmyeon would perfect for lunch today – so warm! 🙂
^have been