30 March 2012, Singapore – The 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards in November last year brought up the profile of Bibimbap restaurant Bibigo at Basement 1 of Raffles City when some of the Korean artistes including Simon D, Dynamic Duo and Super Junior turned up for a meal. As part of CJ’s globalization of Korean food, the Korean conglomerate has opened Bibigo in Beijing, Los Angeles and also in Singapore, with plans to start restaurants in England and Japan this year.
Bibigo serves healthy, convenient, and tasty meals with the concept of balancing and harmonizing the body. Playing with different tastes like saltiness, sweetness, spiciness and mildness, coupled with nutritious ingredients, Bibigo aims to position Korean food for a good well-being.
Though Bibigo’s menu is extensive, the focus is the Bibimbap, a traditional Korean rice dish with a mixture of different ingredients and sauces. At Bibigo, guests are able to custom-design their own bowl of Bibimbap choosing between different types of rice, meat/tofu toppings and sauces.
4 types of rice – White, Black, Brown & White and Barley & White.
6 types of topping – Char–grilled Bulgogi (Beef), Chicken Teriyaki, Chicken Breast, Grilled Spicy Pork, and Tofu.
4 types of sauces – Kohot (soy bean with red chili), Ssam (soy bean with pepper), Sesame and Citron Soy.
Served in a hot stone bowl, the ingredients, sauces and chosen rice, blended splendidly. Each mouthful had a right combination of tastes and texture. Eaten with the accompanying side dishes, it made a really tasty and fulfilling meal for a reasonable S$16 (Hot Stone Bibimbap). You can opt out of the hot stone bowl for S$1 less but it is worth every cent because it kept the rice nicely warm throughout the meal.
Special mention must be given to 2 dishes that blew my taste-buds away – Spicy Rice Cake (S$14) and Braised Short Ribs (S$45). The rice cakes had a great bite, and sufficient “chewiness” that made it extremely addictive. And the sauce that lightly coated the rice cakes had a good balance of sweet and spicy. The short ribs were succulent and had a melt-in-your-mouth sensation. It was a little heavy so it is best shared among 3-4 friends.
The restaurant had few other minor touches that made the experience a little more memorable. Firstly, you will find at least 1-2 friendly Korean service staff in the restaurant, giving it that added Korean authenticity. Secondly, the presentation of the food was creative yet functional. And last but not least, the restaurant also sold pre-packed products from CJ so you can try your hand in a home-cooked Korean meal.
Bibigo Singapore
Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-74
252 North Bridge Road
Tel: +65-6336-4745
