I have not been to Korea but thanks to Singapore’s melting pot of cultures, I have tasted Korean food and I am a pretty big fan of it. Recently, we had the opportunity to dine at Andong Zzimdak, a Korean restaurant that serves a specialty dish known as Andong Jjimdak and if you have ever been to the City of Andong in South Korea to try this dish, I’m very sure you are probably craving for some of it right now.
Allow me to give you a brief introduction of the dish, Andong Jjimdak.
Andong Jjimdak (when literally translated into English) means Braised Chicken of Andong and it is a dish that originated in (you know it) the City of Andong in the Gyeongsangbukdo Province of South Korea. In 1980 at Andong Market’s Chicken Town, chefs began adding a variety of ingredients into their roasted chicken, and that is how the first Andong Jjimdak came about.
At Andong Zzimdak (the name of the Korean restaurant) that serves Andong Jjimdak (the specialty dish), they also serve other main dishes like the Boneless Jjimdak, Seafood Jjimdak, and Mayak Jjimdak.
When we were there for dinner, we had the Mayak Jjimdak and some other side dishes like the Chicken Karaage and Mini Seafood Pancake. Kimchi and Radishes were also served alongside the dishes and that made the whole dining experience authentically Korean.
The Mayak Jjimdak is lauded to be the spiciest dish served at Andong Zzimdak and it is a combination of the signature Jjimdak sauce with chicken pieces, carrot, potatoes, spicy rice cake, and sweet potato noodles.
The signature Jjimdak sauce is sweet and spicy and it goes well with a bowl of rice. The texture of the sweet potato noodles somewhat reminded me of the chewy pearls from the bubble tea shop but I suppose this shouldn’t come as a surprise since both are starchy food items. Personally, I don’t find the Mayak Jjimdak to be that spicy but if you have a low tolerance for spice, you probably might want to go for the Andong Jjimdak instead. For all you lovers of spice and chilli, you can request for some additional chilli paste which you can add into the Mayak Jimdak.
Fun Fact #1:
The sweet potato noodles and the signature Jjimdak sauce are all imported directly from Korea.
Fun Fact #2:
The Chefs at Andong Zzimdak (Singapore) have undergone culinary training that was conducted by Korean Chefs to replicate an authentic Andong Jjimdak dining experience.
Well… if you’re the sort of person who dislike having bones and meat in your food, the Boneless Jimdak would be a better choice but I personally would prefer a Boneless Mayak Seafood Jjimdak (eh no, Andong Zzimdak do not serve this dish, I actually self-created it). If only that option was available, I would have ordered it.
As for the Chicken Karaage and Mini Seafood Pancake that we had, they were fried items; so naturally, they were crisp and good, and best eaten while they were still hot.
Craving for some Andong Jjimdak already?
If you are planning a trip to Andong Zzimdak, be prepared to queue (Singapore do have a lot of Korean food fanatics here in Singapore) and do bring along your best friends or family members because the portion for the main dishes are bigger than you would have expected.
Cost per person? Approximately SGD$20.
For more information about Andong Zzimdak, do check out their Facebook Page!
Andong Zzimdak
Raffles City Shopping Centre B1-44F, 252 North Bridge Road Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 6533 3951
Opening Hours: 11.30 am – 10.00 pm Daily
