Hyang-to-gol

Vegan I may be, but I love trying new places. So eating with non-vegetarian friends is great in that sense. And my love for Korean food had never been such till they brought me to Hyang-to-gol Korean restaurant. It's located on the 2nd level of Amara hotel, on its right wing.

Getting there:
Walk into Amara Hotel, turn left and take the lift at the corner to the 2nd floor. Turn left from the lift and walk all the way to the end.





The fun bit about Korean restaurants are the small dishes they would serve and refill endlessly The best part about Hyang-to-gol is its 11 side dishes served.

1- Kimchi; the leafy parts of the cabbage
2- Sour soup; much like a cold version of the Kimchi soup, with cabbage stems and onions (I'm very fond of this soup, it helps digestion as well.)
3- Fishcake with cucumber, sweet peppers and celery stems seasoned with sesame oil
4- Spring onion mini pancakes
5- Kimchi; the stem parts of the cabbage
6- Salad with vanilla flavoured very light mayo  (love it until my wiser friend enlightened me that it's mayo. It's not that bad, but less dressing for me then.)
7- Tofu with cucumber and carrot strips (another awesome side, the sauce used is pretty addictive)
8- Plain Seaweed
9- Jellyfish with radish, cucumber and carrot strips (really lovely, non greasy and nicer than its chinese counterpart)
10- Seaweed strips seasoned with sesame oil and sesame
11- Radish slices in light wasabi

Out of the 11, 9 are vegetarian and 8 are vegan (pity about the mayo, but I think it's possible for the salad to be served without dressing). The dishes were very light, mostly non greasy and for a veggie lover like me, heavenly. Having been there a few times, Side dishes 1, 5, 6, 8 and 11 are permanent and the rest varies day to day. So every visit is kinda interesting to see what new surprises are in store.

It is also one of the few Korean restaurants that offer vegetarian options on its menu, so it's kinda cool for mixed groups of eaters.

Kimchijeon (Kimchi Pancake) $20.00

It was two of us this time, so we had a vegetarian Kimchijeon (Kimchi with pancake). It reminds me of Chai Tow Kway's equally tasty but skinnier korean sibling. Despite its colour and the green chili added inside, it's not spicy. Perhap just a hint.

It's a pretty big serving, about a medium pizza size? And it's served cut into 8 pieces.

Dolsot-Bibimbap (Hot stone pot rice with mixed vegetables) $20.00

And next we had what I like very much, the Dolsot-Bibimbap (Hot stone pot rice with mixed vegetables). I specified no meat nor egg. For aesthetic purpose, I also requested to self serve.

The BBB came with sesame oil, chili paste and a bowl of seaweed soup - which unfortunately has meat in it.

The BBB though was lovely. It has lettuce, cucumber, carrot, spinach, mushrooms. It was as tasty as most BBB goes and what's made it better than most is the quality of the sesame oil. Post dinner, I don't feel at all greasy despite downing all the sesame oil into the BBB, which compared to other experiences, led me to believe the sesame oil used here is of better grade.

In a way, having a meal Hyang To Gol made me happy with its mucho great tasting veggies. It is pricier that the average Korean eatery but for the quality of its food and service, I'd say once is a while is a pretty nice treat.


Hyang-to-gol Korean Restaurant
http://www.hyangtogol.net/main/main.asp

165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Level 2 Amara Singapore 088539
Tel: 62207160
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 3.00pm  
                          6.00pm - 1.00am