Fried Chicken Dinner at Kko Kko Nara @ Tanjong Pagar

68 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088489

Tel: 6225 9282

Website: http://www.kkokkonara.com/?page_id=138

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kkokkonara

My craving for Watermelon Soju has resulted in the gathering of 4 foodie friends on a public holiday for a Korean dinner. Kko Kko Nara Korean Restaurant was being suggested by one of them, and we headed there around 6.30pm.

Our first thought was that Kko Kko Nara Korean Restaurant is very prettily-decorated, with a lot of lovely trinkets and accessories such as chandeliers, a gramophone, peach blossoms and some exquisite paintings.

I especially loved the huge cushy booth we had, facing the faux fireplace with the giant clock that displayed inaccurate time. Service was professional and the service crew is Korean so I guess that took the affable element out for us because we don't speak Korean.

They started us with banchan (appetiser) of Picked Daikon Radish Cubes, marinated with a citrusy sauce to give it flavour.

We had the Mini O-Deng Bar (SGD$25.00), translated into Mini Fish Cake Soup - a tasty clear broth filled with various types of fishcakes, shitake mushroom slices, enoki mushroom and some veg etc. The soup bore the sweetness of the fishcake and seaweed, accentuated by the shrooms cooked with it - overall, a hearty, homely type of soup that easily warmed the soul.

Next, we had the Ttukbaegi Gyeran Jjim (SGD$12.00), translated into Steamed Egg in Pot - fluffy steamed egg with spring onions and red pepper flakes, rather smooth in texture but bland  in taste. Maybe I was just not used to the lightness of the overall flavour.

Then the Japchae (SGD$15.00 / SGD$18.00), translated into stir-fried sweet potato glass noodles - was rather tasty. The thick strands of glass noodles were somewhat saccharine and infused with the flavour of the black sauce. Noodles were somewhat sticky, and flavour was average. A note to remember to stir / toss the noodles with the gravy so that the taste is better mixed and the gravy is adequately spread out across the noodle strands.

Following that, we finally got to tuck into the fried chicken! We had 2 orders of the Small Chicken Combo Set (SGD$20.00) - consisting of 3 pieces of  crispy original, 3 pieces of yangnyeom sweet spicy and 3 pieces of soy garlic. My personal favorite was the original - which was tasty and the skin was chunky with crisp. Soy garlic had a distinctive taste of its own, and the garlic was not overwhelming so it was delicious to eat as well. As for the yangnyeom, I thought it was a little overly moistened for fried chicken, and too saccharine for my liking. Overall, this was perfect for sharing, or for anyone who wished to try the various different flavours available.

Last but not least, the Watermelon Soju (SGD$38.00) made up of half a huge water-melon and its naturally luscious juice, as well as soju (Korean's distilled rice liquor) mixed together to form a cooling, tasty cocktail. I had been craving this for months and it has finally been satiated!

Overall dining experience at Kko Kko Korean Restaurant was hearty and enjoyable, with good service to boost, and the settings were comfortable as well as lovely. Food was above average, matched reasonably with pocket-friendly pricing; and the music was pleasing to the ears. Thank you for the recommendation IvanTeh.