Gaia Korean Restaurant

Having lived in Korea on and off for twenty years and being married to a Korean, I am picky about my Korean food and find most places here lacking. If you want decent typical Korea fare, this is a nice spot. It's nothing fancy but the food is good, authentic, and satisfying. It's also relatively decent value for the money.

my hosts at the korean trade office brought me to a pre-lunch hour luncheon prior to our video confrerence with counterparts in Seoul. quite evident that we were a little too early, but still we werent denied the services of being seated & recommendations by the staff who waited on us.

to make it easy, all 3 of us had the same thing - Bulgogi, as well as some cold cut beef appetizer(apparently quite a novelty that they use mustard leaves) in a flash, the condiments & pickles were served for our pre meal appetite opener. well, i'm not an expert with korean traditions, but it seems that the sides are almost always served complimentary.

after some chatter & munching, the bulgogi was served. curious, i could be wrong, but the staff that served us our bulgogi were wearing different uniforms compared to the waitering staff... only did i realize they were actually chefs.

cold cut beef - was a simple & interesting dish, thin sliced beef complimented with lettuce, mustard leaves & snow pear. as for the bulgogi, i reckon the difference is probably in the sauce, considering it was a lil sweeter than what i've tasted in other diners.

im quite certain that the experience would've been a little better if we had visited during the actual operating hours. nonetheless, i'm still quite impressed that chefs served us our food.

I had a chance to try a recent new Korean menu at the already established Gaia Restaurant at Suntec. The interesting point to note is that Gaia promotes a healthy diet, which means, no mono-sodium glutamate (msg) and minimum frying - with lots of wholesome soups.

The setting is a compact seating arrangement that maximises space and hence, one should be prepared for a more warm, informal dining arrangement.

Starting with the Banchan, a couple of items stood out here. First, the white kim chi, which has the usual sour finish without the typical spiciness of the dish. The tofu with winter melon was also a nice dish to open the palette.

I then tried the Ros Pyun Chae ($22), which consists of a roast beef salad with a Korean mustard that would shoot up your nose in a jiffy. I liked the fresh lettuce used as a bed to balance out the beef.

The Haemul Pajeon ($17), or Seafood pancake with green onion, is one to try. On top of the floor lies a layer of egg which gives a nice balance to the floor. Little oil was used in the frying so one does not feel too "heavy" after a couple of bites.

Down to the soups, I tried the Ddukbaegi Bulgogi ($15), which was marinated beef soup served in a claypot. I found this one a little too salty for my liking.

Then came the Dongtae Tang ($16), a Spicy Pollack Soup, which was really spicy, similar to a typical kim chi soup.

However, my favourite soup had to be the Sul Lung Tang ($16), or the Ox bone soup. The nice meaty flavours could be found in the soup base and made a good hearty dish for a rainy day.

For the adventurous, The Mool Naengmyun ($15), or Chilled buckwheat noodles soup, is an interesting choice. Cold "sticky" strands of in-house made buckwheat noodles are dumped into a very sour cold soup with a strong vinegar base to create an acquired taste that is not easily forgotten. It's one of those you either like it or not kind of dishes.

The restaurant proprietor does not have believe in desserts, so you would not find any here, but in line with the healthy living, fresh fruits are available.

Have been meaning to come here for some time and finally today for a work lunch. Lucky for me, I didn't order or pay, just sat back and enjoyed the Korean food! Service a bit slow and the waiter also admitted he was understaffed during a busy lunch hour. My highlights are the seafood pancake and grilled beef. I think it's worth a try if you fancy Korean and especially if in the Suntec area. The set lunch meals look like decent value.

I have not really eaten Korean food in Singapore so I can't really compare.

I'm really comparing my experiences with Madang in Sydney so I don't think it's really fair

I had a huge craving for Korean food suddenly and since I didn't know where to go I came here to look and seeing that Gaia have very good reviews, I decided to give it a go with my husband.

We saw a lot of Koreans in the restaurants so it was a comfort to know that Koreans actually eat there. The service was good and attentive and it helped that the waiter serving our table was cute (yes it's not the point)

We ordered the BBQ Rib and Pork Belly and this Sausage and Ham Kimchi Soup

The beef was nicely marinaded (though I think the Madang marinade is much better) and I thought it was very expensive because for the same price, I get 2 pieces of well marbled rib in Oz.

The pork... I don't even think it was marinaded and for pork belly it's way too lean. I wouldn't be ordering it if I knew it was so lean...I mean when I order pork belly, I would expect some fat on it. Then again, we noticed that Gaia had some comments on being a healthy restaurant so maybe that is why the pork belly is really really lean.

The Ham and Sausage Kimchi Soup was alright. I had better soups before.

I think my main gripe about the place is the price (maybe because it's in Suntec) and the very limited menu.

In the meantime, I will continue to look for a Korean restuarant that can satisfy my craving :)

 

We wanted to try Korean to celebrate my birthday and also a central place as we want to do shopping after lunch. Thus I went to HGW for ideas and the reviews for Gaia Korean were pretty good.

We ordered the BBQ meat and it was tasty and yummy! But I must say that the picture in the menu does not match the actual amount that was served. We had to order 5 plates of meat to feed a table of 8 in the end...but only barely...

On top of the BBQ meat, we also ordered a bimbimba (dunno how to spell), a spicy noodle with soup, cold noodle, 2 plates of seafood pancake.

I must say that the food taste nice but rather costly. Not sure if we'll go back purposely but if we're in suntec and dying for a Korean fix, we'll consider. ;)

I really like this restaurant. The food is very authentic and reasonably priced. They also give you unlimited appetizers that include about 8 different kinds. The service is quite nice and fast, although it is a sit-down descent restaurant. I will definitely come back to try out other dishes. The beef bulgogi I got is really good, the cold noodle is a little blend to me.

Came here on the 8th Jan for a dinner with the in-laws for my wife's birthday.

Ordered the seafood pancake ($17), BBQ Beef ($36), BBQ Pork Belly ($22), Ginseng Chicken soup, Cold Noodles and Sanchae Bibimbap ($15). There're 6 types of preserved veges you're served before you start the meals, and these are refillable. The tea is most palatable.

The Seafood pancake was quite alright, a little floury but the base was crispy, the egg-smell was nice and the seafood was ample.

The BBQ Beef at $36 was of good quality, but to be honest is really overpriced, particularly for the portion served. The BBQ meat is grilled by the staff, so it's done to perfection (they ask if you'd prefer medium or well-done). Wrap it in the lettuce with the sauteed onions, chilli, some cucumber and it's de-lish. Alternatively, take a bite of the meat by itself and pair it with a bite of the large green chilli if you're brave enough.

The BBQ pork was also a bit expensive at $22 although the quality is good. It's crispy and savoury, though being chinese, I've tasted quite a lot of BBQ pork so I'm likely slightly more demanding.

The BBQ plate has a very interesting system, where the smell and smoke is sucked directly into the slots in the plate itself - the smells rarely get past the plate.

The Ginseng Chicken soup was savoury, and the chicken still retained it's sweetness, but the soup wasn't as sweet as the one I tasted once in Togi.

There are 2 versions of the Bibimbap - one in a stone pot and one in a glass bowl - the difference is $3 more, so if you're the sort to absolutely wail and kick if you don't get your bibimbap in a stone bowl, you'd need to pay $3 more. The glass bowl version we got was slightly dry, to be honest.

The Cold noodles was very refreshing - add a dash of vinegar and a bit of the mustard, add them in varying quantities until you find the right combination for yourself. If you add generous amounts with careless abandon (like I did), it might end up tasting stronger than you can take it.

Service was great - the restaurant is run like a family (or is in fact, run by a family) - The English Language command of the staff varies quite widely - some don't speak english whatsoever, some speak with functional effectiveness, and some speak english impeccably. But their warmth and eagerness to please will definitely put a smile on your face (unless they don't understand you, in which case it's moot).

For 5 persons, we spent $147, which amounted to around $30 per person - average price for any restaurant I guess. If you don't order the BBQ, however, I think the value for money factor would no doubt be higher.

I just went there a few days ago, on a weekday.

There are quite a number of korean patrons overthere and it seems like most people there are korean including the waiters.

The boss is very friendly. After we sat down, he came over and talk to us for a while. His english is not very good but it is good enough to understand what he want to communicate. He had two chiefs that he hired from korea to prepare the resturant's food.

The waiter that serve us, his english is at the same standard of the boss. haha! but the service is very good. I ask for recommendation and he is very patience in explaining to me because I'm new to korean food.

If you are afraid that you do not understand their english, you do not have to worry. There are some native singaporean staffs over there! haha!

I ordered bbq meat and one other beef soup that he recommended. All orders come with side dishes, which are kimchi and some weird veg that I never taste before. We are also served with a raw veg that we do not know how to eat with the main dish and so we left it untouched. We are too embarrassed to ask the waiter. =P

I must say that korean food is on the salty side. It is not out of proportion though. I must say that the bbq beef is really nice but it cost $36 for 250grams.

I feel that it is very expensive because it did not come as a few big pieces but as small pieces. It is just enough for me to put one piece into my mouth a time. I prefer it is could be bigger so that I can at least chew it off the rest of the meat. I hope you all understand what I'm talking about. haha!!

I feel that 9.2 rating is over rated. The food is nice and most probably would score a 9.2 but the pricing is on the very high side. Just beside it, Kuishin bo cost $5 more and I would have burst my belly when I step out. At this restaurant, I spent $30pax and I walk away with less than a quarter filled. If the price is to be lower for around 25-35% I think it will attract more singaporean to try korean food here.

I went for lunch with my cousins and sister on Monday. Seating was almost full inside the restaurant so the waitress directed us to the seats outside where it was a little less congested and more comfortable.

We ordered the sir-fried vermicelli, tofu and seafood hot pot set and a seafood pancake to share among the 4 of us. Besides that, we were allowed an unlimited order of side dishes which consisted of kim chi, some other vegetables and some tofu.

I liked the tofu side dish. Really tasty and soft. The kim chi was very fresh and crisp. It was adequately seasoned as well.

The stir-fried vermicelli was a tad too oily for my liking but it was very tasty. A little sweet, a little savoury and very flavourful. I loved the chewy texture of the noodles as well. Very good!

Seeing that my cousins aren't really big fans of spice, we requested for the seafood tofu hot pot to be made less spicy. I think it was still spicy for their liking so it should give spice fans the kick they need. There was a good amount of tofu, clams and squid in the soup but only 1 prawn. Can't really blame the restaurant since the set was a single serve and not meant to be shared. The set also came with some spicy seasoned chicken with vegetables and rice.

The seafood pancake was a favourite among the four of us. Though a little oily, it came steaming hot with plenty of seafood and spring onions. I loved how soft and eggy it was. Totally melt-in-your-mouth and a must-try for anyone.

Service delivered by all staff members was prompt. They were very patient with us, especially when we requested for numerous rounds of side dishes. Our bill totaled up to about $68 for the 4 of us, which I think is pretty cheap for the good quality food we enjoyed that afternoon. Before leaving, the owner of the restaurant even gave us a $10 voucher. I know we'll definitely be using said voucher very soon.