So Seoul Korean Dining & Bar - So Unique Korean Cuisine

There is more to Korean food other than Korean BBQ, Ginseng Chicken, Korean Pancake, Bibimbap and Banchan. And this place is a testimony to that. Soy Marinated Crab, Korean Tacos, Seafood prepared in various ways and Skewers, seeing these in the menu makes adventurous me, food wise, all excited about coming here.

Ambience wise, So Seoul features a chic, cool vibe, which is different from that of typical Korean restaurants. Service is good and thoughtful. Due to these unique points and with traditional Korean fare still served here, I like this place a lot.

I never know that I can eat raw crab until I get a taste of Soy Marinated Crab, and it's delicious. The super fresh Korean flower crab, completed with the beautiful orange roe, is full of briny sweetness. The texture of the meat is a bit like that of sashimi, and it is super juicy. When I bite the softer part of the shell to suck out every single bit of the crab meat–since it's too good to let any bit left uneaten lol, I get lots of umami juices of the crab. When paired with the cute rice balls and seaweed wraps, it makes for a very hearty treat.

And one noteworthy thing: disposable gloves are provided for handling of the crabs. Yes! This is how some of us can fully enjoy the savouring of crabs without getting our hands dirty.I love this thoughtfulness of the restaurant.

By the way, when done with the body of the crab, you can request the service staff to bring the crab to the kitchen to crack open the claws for more meat.

The banchan of kimchi, pickled cubed radish and peppers is yummy and refreshing. I like the crunchy texture of the radish and peppers. The kimchi is slightly sweeter than the usual kimchi, and surprisingly, I prefer this over the usual type. Yes, they are complimentary.

I choose Kimchi Pork Korean Taco out of 6 varieties. I actually had my eyes on Crab Korean Taco at first, but I decide to get a different type of meat instead. Soy Marinated Crab is cold, so the warm pork and rice sandwiched between kimchi and seaweed sheet is a nice change in the feel of dining. Very flavourful. 

Update:

I get to try Crab Taco on 2nd visit and it's oh so good. Huge dollop of creamy, briny sweet crab stacked on top of starchy rice definitely pleases the palates. If wanting to save the hassle of handling crab, then this taco is the great alternative to get a taste of Korean crabs. Though it will be perfect if the seaweed is crispy.

Scallop Truffle Carpacchio is a luxurious dish, featuring silky smooth, sweet scallop slices topped with cute moulds of caviar. This is full of flavours. And I tried eating the lettuce with the scallop, and my verdict is it's better to eat the scallop on its own.

Pork with Onion Skewers is very interesting since pretty rolls of pork wrapped around spring onion are grazed with a spicy, sweet sauce. I like the taste but extra work needed to chew up the onions.

Sweet Floral Lychee Mojito is a nice accompaniment to the meal.

While the place has this dining bar ambience, there are flowers, leaves and vines hanging from the glass ceiling and one of the walls, which is not what I expected in a bar. But somehow, it works in this case, so I have a feel that I'm dining in a bar situated within a garden.

Actually, I had not been going to Korean restaurants for quite a while since I'm not really into Korean BBQ due to the specific cut of meat commonly featured in Korean BBQ and the smell of BBQ lingering on me. I need something else to get me interested. I'm taking the plunge for this restaurant because I'm totally impressed with the dining experience in the Japanese Omakase sister restaurant, Hiryu. So I figured that surely, there should be some standard there, right? I'm glad that I decided to try Korean food again at this restaurant.

I look forward to try the more traditional food or value-for-money lunch sets here, no BBQ for me though, and see if I get any surprises from them.

Thoughts: Interested in Korean food again because of this place.

49 Tras St

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar