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There are quite a few delicious Korean eateries in Singapore, especially along the shophouses of Tanjong Pagar Road, and Bae Sik Dang is the latest kid on this block.

What sets Bae Sik Dang apart from other Korean BBQ restaurants is its unique retro-styled traditional cooking method that originated from Gangnam back in the 1960s. This features the step of flash-freezing freshly butchered pork meat at -60°C, stored below -20°C, sliced into exactly 3mm-thick slices, and grilled while it's frozen - this is the classic Korean naengsam (냉삼), short for naengdong samgyeopsal (냉동삼겹살), which means frozen pork belly.

This traditional style of KBBQ was completely new to me, and I was very excited to be invited to experience this at Bae Sik Dang.

After all, we've shared some of our favourite Korean grilled meat dishes in Singapore before, such as these incredibly soft and juicy Woo-Dae Galbi from SODENG and these perfectly caramelised and smoky beef short ribs from Kong Madam.

Bae Sik Dang offers 3 types of pork (scroll down for the full menu!), including their signature Jeju Line Pork Belly, Duroc-Line Pork Belly, and Duroc Pork Shoulder. They also offer fresh pork jowl but only in limited quantities per day.

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We were offered the Jeju Line 2–3 Pax Set which comes with 300g of pork belly, a stew, and a fried rice, and honestly, the portions were generous enough to feed even more than three people.

Signature 3mm Jeju Naengsam

Ultra-Thin Flash-Frozen Pork Belly

💸 SGD36.00 (ala-carte price - for 150g)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟 5/5

The friendly staff handled most of the grilling, and they added some of the banchan like the Haenam Kimchi, Yeosu Gat Kimchi, bean sprouts, and egg omelette directly onto the grill alongside the pork belly.

I was initially skeptical about grilling frozen pork belly as I wondered if the extra cooking time was worth it. Also, rather than grilling directly on a charcoal grill like modern KBBQ places, the meat at Bae Sik Dang was grilled on aluminium foil over a portable stove. It felt somewhat healthier, but I was wondering if it really enhanced the experience.

It took 10 minutes to grill the first batch of pork belly to perfection. And, surprisingly, despite appearing less oily, the flavour was not lacking at all.

We tried a pork belly slice on its own without any sauces first, and immediately understood its appeal. I'm not sure if it was due to the naengsam method, but there was a subtle smokiness and charcoal-like aroma in the thin pork slices, giving them an extra layer of umami. Being ultra-thin also meant that the slices never felt overly oily; they were soft and easy to digest. Delicious on its own or with the various dips like sweet sesame oil, garlic paste, gochujang, and so on.

This was easily our favourite dish of the night - and we're just getting started!

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Kimchi Tofu Stew

💸 SGD22.00 (ala-carte price)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Disclaimer: the stew menu offers these 3 variations only: Soft Tofu, Kimchi, and Soybean Paste, but the staff mentioned that they could prepare a Kimchi Tofu Stew for us, hence this was what we ordered. The staff mentioned that the menu changes from time to time, so do check the latest menu first.

While some Korean restaurants prepare their kimchi stew in a thick and intensely flavoured way, Bae Sik Dang's kimchi stew leaned towards a more homemade style. You can tell from the pictures too - the broth appears much lighter and clearer, which looks like a red Tom Yum soup visually.

Personally, I enjoy my soup with stronger flavours and thicker consistency, but I appreciate the comforting taste of this stew. Also, despite containing kimchi and green chillies, the spice level was manageable (I have a low spice tolerance).

Most importantly, it paired well with the rich pork belly dishes - if it were too thick, I may find it difficult to digest alongside all the naengsam.

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Fried Rice With Flying Fish Roe, Mozzarella Cheese & Fried Egg

💸 SGD14.00 (ala-carte price)
(+ SGD6 Flying Fish Roe, + SGD6 Mozzarella Cheese, + SGD4 for One Fried Egg)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.5/5

Shortly after grilling all the pork belly, the staff started preparing the kimchi fried rice on a fresh sheet of aluminium foil placed over the grill. The staff cooked the rice with leftover kimchi and meat (after asking for our preference). The flying fish roe (ebiko), mozzarella cheese, and fried eggs are optional toppings that require additional charges, but we think they are worth it to enhance the flavour even more.

After cooking for a few minutes, the staff wrapped the fried rice in foil and placed a cup on top, and asked us to wait another minute or two. We laughed as we'd never seen fried rice prepared this way before - what an interesting technique!

Once they unwrapped the foil, the staff topped it with seaweed and two fried eggs, and it looked and smelled so good. We tried it, and it was undeniably delicious - no notes.

However, we couldn't help but compare it with SODENG's Pot Lid Stir-Fried Rice. If you've tried it, you'll notice that SODENG's version was cooked directly over the grill, giving it extra "wok hei", along with a distinctive caramelised onion flavour. Compared to SODENG's, this fried rice falls just a little behind - but it's still very tasty.

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Chapagetti Black Bean Noodles

With Pork, Cheese & Fried Egg

💸 SGD24.00
⭐️⭐ 2.5/5

So far, the dishes at Bae Sik Dang were reasonably priced if you consider the nature of Korean restaurant prices and their flavours. However, this was the only dish that I found slightly difficult to justify the price for.

Taste-wise, there wasn't anything wrong with this dish - the noodles were tasty, chewy and generously coated with sauce, and the melted cheese slice, fried egg and pork made this a comforting dish. The price was just a bit too high for this noodle dish, and compared to the delicious naengsam and fried rice, it simply wasn't as memorable.

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Banchan (Korean Side Dishes)

Free and refillable (except for the kimchis)

Not going to rate these since they're complimentary. That said, with my admittedly childlike palate, my personal favourite was definitely the corn with mayonnaise.

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Pear Slushie

💸 SGD4.00
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

Highly recommend to get this drink! It's refreshing and sweet, exactly the sort of drink you'd want alongside a rich Korean barbecue meal.

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The food in Bae Sik Dang felt slightly less oily and therefore less "sinful" than modern Koreab BBQ, while still being rich in flavour. Overall, Bae Sik Dang offered a Korean barbecue experience that was noticeably different from others, and is worth a visit.

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Click on each photo below to expand the menu:

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Bae Sik Dang (배식당) Korean Naengsam

📍48 Tg Pagar Rd, Singapore 088469