Paik's Bibimbap Korean Food Vivocity Review

First time I eat something called Bibimbap. Bro says it sounds like a word we invented. 

When I told him this afternoon, that Wiki says the Koreans call it Bibimbap, he laughed. I said in the 19th century, they called it Bubuimbap.  He said "Tsk.".  (I was thinking Bibimbap is already an improvement.).

[When I read Wiki says they serve bibimbap on flights to Korea, I felt a little jolted that that was what I was going to have to eat if I fly to Korea.].

Recalling the Korean dramas, I said, "I think 'bap' means to eat, or food. And it's pronounced as 'pup'.".

In any case, Bro doesn't have any good impression of Korean food. Neither do I.

So, we have postponed visiting this Bibimbap outlet for a while since its opening at Vivocity.

Today, for lack of anything else to eat for lunch, I was pretty much going to try it.

First, I checked out someone's blog review. She went to the Bedok outlet & said it was good. $8.50.

Ok. That confirmed it.

We agreed to share first & see if it's nice before ordering for bro. I chose the Teriyaki Chicken Bibimbap ($8.50) & Steamed Egg ($3).

The bibimbap turned out to look less than expected, so I told Bro to get one for himself. He ordered the pork bibimbap.  (My bibimbap actually turned out to be more than it looked & I was unable to finish.).

1) Why is the soup so pathetically less than the volume of the container? (Update: it turns out that the volume of soup depends on who served it).

2) Why is the restaurant/Chef Paik so stingy that can't even afford to give customers paper napkins? Makes me think the Koreans are even stingier than the Japs (although there was a Korean neighbor in the past who was quite generous in a way.).

3) Why only 3 small cans of Korean drinks, green tea & mineral water to pick for beverages?

4) Why didn't inform customer to be careful of the very hot steamed egg ceramic pot?  My fingers jumped when I accidentally touched the pot.

Other than that, the soup was nice.   The steamed egg was surprisingly different, tasted homemade & better than Japanese Chawanmushi that I don't like.  The Teriyaki Chicken Bibimbap tasted a little like Popiah with the crispy flakes. Overall, quite nice, although the rice is quite dry & bland. Quite boring.

Bro says the pork bibimbap tasted better than my Teriyaki Chicken but he won't eat it a 2nd time.  He says the food would taste good if you're hungry.

There you have it. Our review.

I might be going back there tomorrow for a 2nd bibimbap... Or maybe not. See how. When I think of the dry rice with just those 3 rows of toppings... my appetite drops.  I think it's the arrangement of the food. The extra large bowl doesn't help.

At first, I thought the Teriyaki Chicken would come like a cutlet on top of the rice.  But it's actually minced & not quite noticeable when mixed with the rice. That's Ok and better in a way. But the presentation could do better. Not to mention... no serviettes.

While we sat & waited for our food, I looked at the poster thinking it looked like fried rice. Soon after, bro had the same idea.

When we got home, bro said "Just say it's Mee Poh Dry".  I thought a bit... Mee Poh Dry... stir it, mix up the sauces and ingredients. Yeah, that's also right.

I prefer Takana Rice @ Ippudo Westgate. Chunks of mayo-ed Chashu & giam chye (pickled vegetable). Salty but nice & memorable. Lovely Japanese rice.

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Update Thurs 24 Apr 9:54pm:  We have so far eaten here 3 days in a row because we are bored of everything else at Vivo.  Bro ate the Pork Bibimbap again tonight because he said "nothing else to eat".

Tonight, I tried the Soy Sauce noodles. Very nice & better than the rice meals. Supposed to be dry but I added a little soup.  The noodles very smooth & tasty. No soy sauce taste but everything is nicely balanced.

So far, the Kimchi has been nice. Not too sour. Just nice.  But the rice not very lasting (get hungry again quite soon even though finish everything).

The amount of soup depends on the counter person who puts it in the bowl. If it's the woman, it's little. Last night, the man was generous (gave about half of the container of soup).

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Update Friday 25 April 7:56pm: 4th time tonight. I tried the Anchovy Soup noodles. Excellent. Bro ate the Soy Sauce noodles for the 1st time & said it's nice.

This is the best noodles I have ever tasted in my life. Even better than Japanese Soba.
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Update Tues 17 June 12:36pm: After a very short while,  you'll get bored of only these few items & the small place with so inconvenient sitting positions.