Awon Korean Restaurant - Excelcior Hotel

For those Korean food lovers, you might not want to miss Awon Korean Restaurant. Located in Excelsior Hotel, this place might not one of the most frequent places to visit. But let me tell you, that 5 minute extra walk that you take from City Hall MRT is worth it. We went day for the lunch set and chose the pork belly and chicken set. As usual, Korean food comes with some side dishes. Out of the 6 side dishes served, I particularly want to highlight the Kim chi, pickled radish, and tofu. The Kim chi, it’s to die for. The seasoning is just nice, not so spicy and you can taste it’s sweetness. If I didn’t think of my back pain, I’ll keep ordering that Kim chi again, again and again. The pickled radish, is mild, no hint of spiciness although it’s red color and I like the tanginess (reminds me of asinan Bogor, anyone remember?). And not forget about the tofu, served warm and it’s best served warm. With the hint of sugar, it actually enhances its Soya bean flavor.
Now, let’s dissect the main dishes. The pork belly was nice, served with the lettuce, garlic and fermented bean sauce. Put them together and it would sway you happily pork belly land. It also goes well with the Kim chi, which give an additional fresh feeling in you mouth. I like the way they cook the chicken. It looks spicy but actually not that spicy. So fellow chili-phobia, don’t be scared to try this dish, it’s quite friendly to your taste buds, and can challenge you to take 1 more level up on your chili tolerance. It tastes somehow similar to phad thai, but off course it’s totally different from Thai food. I especially like the vermicelli in it. It’s so tasty and it just slur through your mouth and throat as a treat to your body. The chicken is so tasty because they marinated it with bulgogi seasoning.
Now, why do I rave so much about this place? Let me tell you the reasons and I think I already giveaway some of them. First, the side dishes are free flow. You can order that kim chi and tofu multiple times. Second, the food is good and with that abundant food on your table, your stomach goes home very happy and pampered. Three, the catch prize, it only cost you max 12 SGD for set lunch!!! And I think it’s very extremely worth it for Korean food. However, be mindful that if you go to this place for dinner, you won’t see this kind of pricing, but off course you’ll have more variety to choose for.