Nolboo Hangari Galbi (Orchard Central)

For full experience write up & photos, please visit my blog: http://www.aspirantsg.com/food/nolboo-hangari-galbi-korean-bbq-restaurant/singapore or follow me on twitter for food reviews: https://twitter.com/AspirantSG  

My friends and I decided to re-visit Nolboo Hangari Galbi (Orchard Central) after our previous pleasant experience with its Korean Steamboat-styled Stew. This time round, we are back to sample their grill meat offerings.

We were greeted with an inviting red bean with pumpkin congee as our appetitiser. There wasn’t much of red beans and I could not taste much of the familiar pumpkin either. The congee had a general sweet flavor & reminded me of Tau suan – a sweet Chinese dessert made of split mung beans.

After we are done with the congee, an array of complimentary sides including kimchi, beansprouts, lettuce soon followed. The side dishes were pretty refreshing and rather strong on the senses.

The waiter showed us the uncooked pork belly & marinated chicken before taking it away. I was really puzzled with this odd gesture. Why take the meat again? Just cut it in front and we can start grilling.

While waiting for our meat, we cleaned out a few of the complimentary sides. We got a rude shock when we requested for a replenishment of the sides. Each side replenishment is chargeable! This is so unheard of…..

I was really disappointed when our pork belly was served cooked! For me the fun part of the meal happen during the BBQ process. Argghhh… so disappointed. But apparently, I was the only guy on the table who thinks that way. I have to admit the pork belly was handled really well. Given our amateurish BBQ skills, we would never be able to produce such juicy, titillating morsels.

The marinated chicken was grilled to perfection. We get to experience both the crisp & tenderness of the chicken with every bite. The marination gave the meat a sweet flavor.

Only 3 pieces of Korean lettuce wraps were provided and replenishment is chargeable. I can’t believe this….

I was pretty relectant to order the Ginseng Chicken Soup. If the restaurant serve the genuine Korean Ginseng Chicken, it is going to taste bland. That is how Ginseng Chicken Soup taste in Seoul.

Fortunately for us, the soup served here has made relevant adaptions to cater to Singaporeans. It has strong ginseng aroma and commands the sweetness of traditional Chinese double boiled chicken soup. Yes, we Singaporeans like it strong.

The meal ended with a sweet Black Glutinous Rice with Coconut Milk Dessert.

Overall a decent experience. The pork belly and marinated meat sets were delicious but I still prefer to do the BBQ myself. Given the price paid for the meat sets, I expected to have my complimentary sides replenished free of charge. I will think twice about coming back to this restaurant again.

You may also like to check out my posts on other delicious food places http://www.aspirantsg.com/restaurants-cafe-eateries-food-list-singapore

http://thechosenglutton.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/nolboo-hangari-galbi-orchard-central/

I’m as much an idiot to Korean food as many of you (no offense meant). I can use just one hand of mine to count the number of Korean restaurants I’ve been to. Oh wait, three fingers will do. This, 2D1N, and Jang Shou. But with the fast and furious breakthrough of its music industry, infusing into our youngsters nowadays, the urge to have more taste of Korean culture heightens too. I know for one, if you’re looking for Korean food, the shop-houses at Tanjong Pagar is enough to keep you full for a year (exaggerated). I was recently introduced to Nolboo Hangari Galbi by a friend of mine, and so I succumbed. Located all the way up at Level 8, Orchard Central, Nolboo is quite a medium-sized restaurant – best to make a reservation either earlier on the day itself or the day before (at least for weekends) – speaking with experience.

Promptly after settling down, we were served with a small holder of sesame congee, a complimentary starter. Congee has never, never been my thing. But to have it as a starter, it’s still a first for me. Nothing spectacular, probably just something to whet your appetite for some grills to come.

6 unique dishes of complimentary appetizers, two shares for the 6 of us. For the first time us, we had no idea it was to be shared amongst the table – they could have done us a favor by telling us. Anyhows, we asked, eventually, to realize. The ikan bilis is salty and crispy, definitely something to start your course. Mashed Potato, Korean Radish (I think), Kimchi, and Beansprout. Although none of it is something to shout for (can’t expect much from complimentary items can you?), it still feels good to have something to munch on while waiting for your items to be done up behind.

Steamed Rice ($1.50++) :: This is, literally and physically, just steamed rice. No flavor, no aroma, just, ordinary steamed rice.

Grilled Honey Pork Belly ($25++) | Pork Belly with Chili Paste ($20++) :: Similarities first – both are hanging between bland and just the right amount of marination. With that said, your taste bud will be struggling to capture some taste, present or not, from the dish. Differences? The latter actually tastes better than the former. So cost wise and taste wise, go for the latter. I guess what can be improved is to cater a sauce that goes well with it. We had to resort to asking for chili sauce to go with it, which I thought, isn’t too pleasant for such a type of meal. Something commendable though, would be its smell – the BBQ smell is just awesome you can inhale it in all day.

I’m not sure about the dessert, but it tastes like Bubur Pulut Hitam. Again, like the appetizers, it’s nondescript. Something we just put in our mouth and go.

I wouldn’t say it’s going to be my last time coming here. But there’s a high chance it’ll be at least a while before I patronize again. They mostly need to work on their service, interaction and communication with the diners. Sometimes, the importance of service can supersede that of the quality of food. The food isn’t of the worst, although it surely can be improved. I’m not writing them off just yet, probably just need another time to try other items on their menu, and hopefully by then, better service.

—> Note #1: They serve iced green tea. But it costs $1++. You’ve been warned, if you don’t intend to drink – tell them before they pour you a glass.

—> Note #2: For the BBQ items, you can either request for them to BBQ it just beside your table or in the kitchen. Don’t worry about the smell of it ‘stenching’ your clothes – their system sucks the smoke away from you.

—> Note #3: They have another outlet at Ngee Ann City Tower A, Level 5.

I love Korean food. It's very hard to dissatisfy me where Korean food is concerned. I've been to countless Korean restaurants, and there hasn't been one I dislike. Nolboo Singapore just changed that.

We ordered Budae Jjigae for the night. Budae Jjigaes are traditionally known to serve 2-3 people, and come with a generous serving of ingredients. Not the one here. When the pot was served, the sparse ingredients were swimming around in the soup. You could barely see much. 

Also, I've never come across a Korean restaurant that doesn't refill the side dishes free-of-charge. For a restaurant that claims to be "traditional", you'd think it'd be the same. Given the measly serving of side dishes, I was stunned when the service staff told me that side dishes were charged at $1 per refill. Wow.

Unless you're a dainty eater (even then, there are many other Korean restaurants I'd recommend), do not come here. Nolboo in Korea was fantastic. Nolboo Singapore is a rip-off.

The BBQ beef (sirloin) dish was great, and the salad side dishes were tasty.  For one of the main dish (pork with vegs), the pork didn't taste fresh unfortunately.

We requested for dishes explanations and recommendation, in this respect there is room for improvement in its service standard.  Service staff require training to understand their dishes and able to articulate better in their explanations.

For the complete post with uploaded pictures, please view:

http://thefoodnomads.wordpress.com/2011/07/17/nolboo-hangari-galbi-orchard-central/

Our craving for Korean food had come about due to our initial plans of our much anticipated vacation come December. I decided to bring my friends over to Orchard Central again as I had patronised Nolboo Hangari Galbi exactly a year ago and I rhad ecalled that I had a relatively pleasant gastronomical experience at this very hidden gem. Injected with more of a unconventional touch and together with the use of cushions on high seats in a designated area as well as mere normal tables and chairs in another, there was nothing exactly fanciful about the ambience. However, I noted that the venue had been fairly quiet during both my visits, a considerable aspect that my clique had rather enjoyed.

Lightly flavored and somewhat an appetizing dish, we finished the tiny portions of Sesame Congee (complimentary) within minutes. As the subtle relish of sesame had made the congee rather palatable, the small servings had definitely appeased our hunger in the form of carbohydrates.

A small variety of complimentary appetizers which I had rather enjoyed, I liked the slight crisp of the Ikan Bilis and there was this fine sweetness to this particular dish which  made it really delectable. The Kimchi dishes had a pungent relish that might be unbearable to some, but personally, I was rather fond of the Kimchi appetizers. The Beansprouts were slightly salty but it was still a dish that could not really go awry.

The Hea-mul Dok-Chim had definitely surpassed our expectations; the Korean Rice Cakes Stew were delectably chewy and they were well accompanied by the Chilli Sauce, which was apparently not too spicy and had a more pleasurable sweet taste to it. There was a generous serving of seafood in the dish too, such as mussels, cuttlefish, squids and so on, though their inherent original flavors might have been overwhelmed by the sweet chilli sauce.

Since every one was craving for a Hot pot dish, we decided to order their K**-su Jun-Goal. Definitely a dish to share, we do have to admit that we were pleasantly surprised at the considerable servings of beef, noodles, mushrooms and vegetables on the large plates when they were served on our dining table. The ingredients were immeresed in a full-flavored Miso soup base, which had the perfect concoction of saltiness and a more distinguishable sweet flavor. Besides the wheat noodles, the significant relish of the Miso soup was well-infused with the golden mushrooms, fresh vegetables and thin slices of beef.

The Chap Che consisted of a variety of visually appealing highlights, such as stir- fried Potato Vermicelli, a selection of vegetable peels, black fungus, mushrooms and a small portion of shredded cooked beef. The texture of the Potato Vermicelli was really smooth and along with the other sides, the light sweet sauce  caused the exquisite creation to be really delish

Served sizzling hot, my favorite Korean dish arrived in the midst of my high expectations since I did remember that it was one of the better few creations of its kind that I have had. Anyway, we asked the waiter to prepare the dish for us, by mixing the different ingredients, the unique Korean sweet sauce and egg yolk together with the rice in the Hot stone. A tinge of disappointment came about as I felt that the unique sauce could have been more flavorsome on the tastebuds. Other than that, I was satisfied with the fact that some of the rice was cooked till a certain crisp and that the grains were clustered together, which was definitely a delight to one’s bite. In addition, the petite servings of shredded beef did accompany the rice and other ingredients well.

The dishes did arrive prompty and the service team was polite and courteous. However, I thought that theycould have been more attentive to their diners. There were times whereby I had raised my hand to request for attention from the waiters and waitresses, but they had failed to notice me for quite a while.

In my opinion, Nolboo Hangari Galbi which is tucked away on the eighth floor of Orchard Central, is indeed a hidden gem which offers a commendable selection of exquisite Korean dishes though prices might be a little steep. Although the service can certainly be improved, the convenient location of this Korean restaurant situated in town (the other being located at Ngee Ann City) , causes it to be accessible to most who crave for a fix of delectable Korean creations after a day of shopping.

I visited Nolboo Hungari Galbi for an assigned review last year and was chased out of the restaurant by the restaurant manager even before I got to order. The reason? The manager saw me taking notes from the menu and thought that I was a competitor.

This restaurant may look all swanky and nice from the outside...but as far as I'm concerned, I'm keeping an arm's length.

Evelyn Chen

http://bibikgourmand.blogspot.com/

Bulgogi is the best around in Singapore. Haven't had any good beef since I tried it in Korea. The bulgogi served here is delicious, well marinated and tender. Highly recommended.

The pork which they will BBQ for you was good too. A few kimchi dishes came with our order which were good generally.

The portions are big and overall, food is not too oily and came in nice plates which are appetizing (I like my food nicely presented). We over ordered as we didn't expect the portions to be so big BUT we also wanted to try a bit of everything that are appealing.

Service is OK generally and can be improved by having waiters walk around more often to see if we need to top up the tea or water etc.

Prices are reasonable and ambience is cozy and quiet.

Will definitely go back again for the bulgogi!

Nolboo Hargari Galbi. Seriously how do u even pronounce that? Even if i can pronounce it perfectly... which i assure u i don't haha... i'm pretty sure i will burst into giggles every time i say to someone,, "hey let's go to nolboo hargari galbi for dinner!"  wahahaha how freaking hilarious is that??? haha..  So for the sake of sanity... i shall simply call it the korean place at OC next to Ootooya...

To start we had the mandatory assortment of kim chis which included a series of unidentifiable veggies in their small little plates and a trio in a long plate.. the kim chis are quite run of the mill but i do like one of the kim chis which i diagnosed it to be radish...

For meats we chose the pork belly and spicy chicken which we opted to be cooked in e kitchen as we really did not want to end up smelling like food... But it do seems like that's hardly a concern judging by e robotic-looking arm smoke-sucking thingy... for a moment i thought we had robots to BBQ e meats for us!!! How cool would that be!

I quite liked e pork belly slices (well i liked pork belly) which had a very aromatic smoky flavor to it... Wrapped it nicely in lettuce with some side sauce or miso paste and viola! However letting them cook it for u might not be the grandest idea as it came a little cold and hence not juicy...

The chicken in spicy sauce is quite appetizing and would go great with rice... The sauce had pretty much overwhelmed e chicken but then again it made a good wrap for the lettuce for u to pop into your mouth!

We also ordered this glass noodle dish which comes with a medley of shredded veggies and some meat... It failed to wow us and is pretty ordinary... it would have been more impressive if it had came in a stonebowl to keep it warm and the ingredients more dense rather than a prison looking metal plate...

Overall it's an OK OK experience... Could have been more fabulous if we had ordered beef and cook e meat ourselves i guess but on the other hand they did totally forget our tofu soup... not exactly a place i would specially come back for but wouldn't mind dropping in if i'm there...    

This was the 1st time i visited this restaurant located at the 8th floor.. my intention was to visit another jap restaurant named... Ootoga (or somthin like tat). but it was long queue so i dropped into Nolboo which as just a few steps away. I ordered a chicken and pork bbq. This comes with 8 side dishes as well. i don't really fancy korean food nor liked my tour there last time. but this restaurant serves nice and juicy bbq meats! i'd not recommend that you bbq the meats yourself unless you are some real cook.. Nolboo serves the meat bbq to perfection to you and they do it after you have ordered the food. not prepared hours before. which is good. Another bonus is you don't get this really "oily bbq" smell on your clothes after you dine there. amazing. the side dishes are refreshing and the vege served all all very fresh. service is prompt and appropriate. the service staff are all quite frenly and knowledgeable to what the restaurant serves (i'm quite a sotong so i asked many questions). i'm satisfied and happy of this dining experience and hope fellow HGW readers can find this feeling too! 

Korean BBQ. Had been craving it for awhile and finally had the chance to visit this joint at Orchard Central. My sister-in-law (SIL) raves about it. Let's see how "foodie" she is. Ha.



Right after taking our orders, a tea and porridge was served. The tea tasted like those gen-mai tea (rice tea?), tasty and with a distinctive rice taste. It is meant to get you ready for the ooooh-la-la BBQ. Thought theporridge was a good idea, lines your internal before the onslaught of meat. Ha. 



Three dipping dishes. The first one is some kind of soil, a very light one. Second one, salt and third tasted like miso. Not too sure... any Korean cuisine expert to advise? No particular love for any of them. Love the BBQ meat on it's own.



Full complements from ordering the pork ribs set. Love them. Combination of salad, marinated stuff and of course... kim chi!!



Romaine lettuce (huge leaves) with carrot and cucumber. We used it to wrap the BBQ meat. Awesome.



Iceberg lettuce salad with mayo dressing.



Kimchi, bean sprouts, seaweed and potato salad.



Marinated cucumber and lettuce.



Marinated lettuce



Pork belly ($18) comes with pork sausages and grilled at your table. Onions inclusive.



Pork ribs set ($28) came in a clay pot. Great presentation. Apples included.



BBQ pot set up right beside our table. They have this super exhaust system. No BBQ smell on your clothes and they do the cooking for you. And that's quite an experience. Alternatively, if you are dating and don't want anyone overhearing your sweet-nothings, you can opt for your food to be cooked in the BBQ room and they will serve it to you.



Kimchi stew with pork ($16). Decent but small serving for the price. Serving of meat is small but the kimchi soup is awesome. Chase the chills away, especially on a rainy day.



Cooked ribs. Yes. No bones. A delight. Very well marinated but not overbearing, the meat is oh-so-moist and tender to bite into. Someone bring me to Korea! The accompanying seared apple slices? A perfect companion to the fatty meat. Light, crisp and sweet... awww.....



Some of the rib pieces came with bones, but the meat do slide off them. The corn was a bit dry and the prawns, nothing to shout about. Stay focused on the ribs. Ha.



We opted for the pork belly to be grilled at the BBQ room instead of at the table. A mistake maybe. It was allowed to chill when it was served to us, making the meat a little tough. But nevertheless, it was again well seasoned (different base from the ribs) and juicy.



The full complements. :)



Complimentary dessert. Stewed red beans on shaved ice, some cocktail pieces and cream. Nice touch but just normal. We didn't finish it.

Overall a good place with more than decent food. The meats are well marinated and cooked to perfection (at the table). The vegetables and marinated stuff that came with the set was awesome. Eat your greens dudes. Service was great too.

For photos please visit here.