BOMUL Samgyetang

With all the craze surrounding Korean ginseng chicken soup, crazy queues form at these popular restaurants. After the whole hype with Modu, another authentic Korean ginseng chicken has joined the scene: Bomul Samgyetang

Boasting the largest variety of Samgyetang, Bomul offers 10 different types of ginseng soup, including their signatures for detox, beauty, health and rejuvenation. Bomul is the brainchild of a Korean native, with his best friend of 18 years, to bring the nourishing and healthy soup to Singapore

The restaurant opened in late November last year, and I visited it in mid-December, which explains the super-long queues. My dinner party waited for close to 2 hours for our table, and we were among the last tables directed into the restaurant. The restaurant infused some elements into the ceilings and pillars to resemble the traditional Hanok buildings in Korea. The entire dark wood, white walls and textured counters were minimalistic but modern and historic at the same time. The ginseng jars and Korean earthenware displayed around the restaurant also help add to the overall atmosphere

Bomul uses organic spring chicken raised in a cage-free environment for tender and chewy meat with more flavours. The 10 types of soup are: Healthy, which is the original, followed by Collagen with added premium ginseng, Spicy Cure with spicy chilli peppers, Detox, which includes steamed mung beans, Energy, which includes perilla, Rejuvenation, which includes black garlic, Restorative which include a special black tiger palm mushroom, Black Truffle which has truffle included, Vitality which has rare black ginseng and last but not least Anti Anging for 2 persons which includes abalone and octopus. There are also various side dishes and some of the soups available in porridge form. Full menu here

For side dishes, they had the fresh cabbage kimchi and pickled radish kimchi as well as seasoned garlic. We also ordered the spicy chicken feet, which I did not try since I am not a fan. My dinner party says it is quite spicy and the chicken feet were not as soft as they would like it but the flavours were authentic enough like those found in street stalls in Seoul

The next side dishes were something I really like, which is the duck and chicken Ddukgalbi. This dish was really unique since galbi is usually beef, and this was something I could finally eat. The order came with 3 big pieces of meat patties topped with peanuts and sliced leeks. The glaze was a mix of sweet soy sauce with peppery flavours. The patties were juicy and flavourful without any gamey flavour from the duck. This would be perfect with rice

We also had the kimchi pancake, as the highly recommended Minara pancake was sold out. The pancake was semi-crispy but not as crispy as the Minara since there was more batter than kimchi and chives. It was a pretty common pancake which did not really leave a strong impression

Between us, we had 3 different types of soup, the first was the Energy, which has perilla powder as part of the ingredients. The soup was thick and creamy with a strong perilla flavour, which was minty and nutty. The chicken meat was so tender that it broke apart from the bones easily. Since I had the same soup in Modu, I do find the version at Modu better, with a thicker and stronger flavoured perilla soup

The other flavour we had was the Vitality, which used black chicken and rare black ginseng, which was steamed and dried 9th times, which gives a strong depth in terms of flavours. The ginseng taste is stronger for this, and the black chicken meat is a lot leaner compared to the normal white chicken. Overall, the soup is a lot more herbal tasting and would fare well with older people or people who love the taste of ginseng

The last flavour we had was the Collagen, which tasted similar to the original flavour, with a lighter flavour from the herbs that promotes glowing skin and vitality. As with all soups, there is glutinous rice inside the chicken with red dates and chestnuts, which are all cooked till soft and soaking up the flavours of the soups

Last but not least, we were served their handmade ice-cream, and we could choose from the flavours of vanilla, black sesame and matcha. As we were so full, we only got 2 cups to share amongst us, and it was pretty good ice-cream, which was creamy smooth and not too sweet

Overall, for lovers of Korean ginseng soup, Bomul provides a place with multiple versions to satisfy different palates and preferences. The flavours are also authentic, although not quite matching up to the other restaurants in Singapore or the popular ones in Seoul

Address: 30 Victoria St, #01-11/12 CHIJMES, Singapore 187996

Opening hours: 11 am to 10 pm