Badam

Whenever I ask someone if they like Korean sashimi, the answers are always divided. They either love it or they hate it. Since the first type of sashimi introduced to Singaporeans was the Japanese type of fish, most of us are used to fatty fish like salmon and tuna. The first time I tried Korean sashimi fish was at the Noryangjin market and I fell in love with it

While I still love Japanese sashimi, Korean sashimi also hit a spot in my stomach. As I was craving Korean sashimi, review videos of this restaurant came up multiple times so I decided to check them out. Located on the row of Korean restaurants in Tanjung Pagar, Badam stands out from the other barbeque restaurants with the live fish tank at their entrance

Right at the entrance was their live water tank, which contained only a few shellfish and no live fish. The rest of the restaurant’s decor was similar to that of most Korean restaurants, where most tables are separated by partitions. The space is quite narrow with a row of tables against the wall but there are bigger tables at the back of the restaurant for bigger groups

They have different Korean dishes on their menu, and most people go for the set meal, which offers a platter of sashimi as well as other cooked dishes. We took the 2-person set SGD 160 which we felt was quite a good deal

The first dishes served were the banchan dishes which included cabbage kimchi, white cabbage kimchi, pickled perilla leaves and potato salad. We were also given an interesting dipping sauce which has gochujang, sesame oil as well and spring onions which can be used for the sashimi. We were also served an unassuming mushroom seaweed soup which was full of umami flavour from the seaweed and the mushroom added a fresh earthy taste

We were served 2 soy marinated prawns as we did not opt for the premium set which came with crabs. The prawns were fresh and springy with the umami flavour of the soy giving the flesh a nice and light flavour which doesn’t cover the original sweetness of the prawn. Next, we were served the sashimi platter starting with the shellfish which included steamed prawns, abalone, octopus, squid, mussels, clams and sea squirts. The next platter was the raw fish which included salmon, mackerel, flounder and sea bass. The portions of fish was definately not as generous as the ones I had in Korea but they were fresh and crunchy and delicious with the sauces

The next batch of food which were served was the grilled items. The cheesy prawn and corn was creamy and nicely grilled. Seasoning was alright but it was a pity that it was cold when we started to eat it as they were all served at the same time

The next batch served was other cooked food like fried chicken chunks, bibimbap and a perilla leaf soup. At this point, I was pretty full but the fried chicken was crispy and juicy so I took a bit while the fragrance of the sesame from the bibimbap enticed me to try a couple spoonful. I loved the perilla leaf soup best as I am a fan of the light minty flavour but my nephew hates it

Last but not least was the fruit as part of the dessert which was pretty sweet

Overall, the food was decent although not the best in class. The set was not very cheap and I did not get my craving satisfied as the serving of fishes was not that generous. I would have preferred if there was more sashimi and they cut down on the other substandard cooked dishes. As I scheduled this post, I realised the restaurant has closed permanently which I wasn’t too surprised since we were the only customers during my visit ona weekend

Address: 22 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088445

Opening hours: Permanently closed as per writing