Celebrity Gossips, Fashion, Lifestyle, Entertainment.: GAIA Korean Grill + Bar; Don't Miss Out on Their BBQ

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

GAIA Korean Grill + Bar; Don't Miss Out on Their BBQ

Gaia Korean Restaurant was founded by Chef Chun Nam Won, an acclaimed cooking teacher and an author to the book “Step by Step: Cooking Classic Korea.” It all started when she was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and she realized that eating healthy was the best way to cure. But unfortunately, there were very few choices for her outside of her own kitchen.

So, when she recovered, she opened up Gaia Korean Restaurant to bring home- style, healthy Korean food to those who would like to explore the unique world of Korean food and culture, the healthy way.

'Gaia' was adopted as the name not only because it represents one of the dynasties (Gaya Kingdom) in Korea, but it also means the Mother of Earth in the Greek mythology. Staying true to the name itself, Gaia promises healthy food that is similar to what you will get when you visit your Korean friend's home for a good meal. You can be assured that most of the seasoning, taste and flavors are from the fresh ingredients itself, and none from artificial additions.

The Banchan was not to be missed, it will be served once you've got your orders taken and served with a warm cup of Solomon seal root tea, to get you started. I love how the dishes were not overly sweetened or saltish and everything were in just-right portions.
Not to mention Gaia’s Banchan set (5-6 small appetizer dishes provided in the beginning of the meal), which boasts freshest quality and unique ingredients which are not common in other Korean restaurants.

A total of 5 side dishes were served that limited to 3 refill for some of the items.

For appetizers, we had the Black Garlic Mushroom Salad. One of their best selling signature appetizer.

Ultimate healthy choice and can be found no where else but Gaia. Unique combination of soy bean paste, home fermented black garlics, and olive oil..Refreshing as it can be!

The seafood pancake was served and it's humongous! Had eaten this at a few Korean restaurants in Singapore but so far I think this one is the best. Not too thick with flour but filled with lots of seafood instead. Taste real good with the vinegar dipping sauce.

Korean food often gets equated to BBQ. Although at Gaia, you can find the highest quality of meat (Gaia Kotsal and Jummulluk is a must try) and other BBQ dishes (spicy pork and chicken), you shouldn't leave without trying Gaia's Signature dishes - the cold buckwheat noodle, seafood pancake and soothing/nutritional soups.

The grill that they use are specially imported from Korea, which is smokeless when you cook the meat and you won't be leaving the restaurant smelling like BBQ-ed meat!

Extremely delicious BBQ pork ribs where the waiter/ waitresses will cook for us.

One of the specialty dishes - Haemul Ddukbboki. It's the Korean rice cake boiled in kimchi soup with dumplings, noodles, eggs and enoki mushrooms. A real comfort dish that goes so well with rice. Very appetizing and heart warming stew that will make me revisit them again.

It was my first time trying Makgeolli, sweet rice wine. But don't drink it too fast as you may feel flush and red and drunk.

Makgeolli, also known as "makkoli", "makoli", "makguli", or "makuly (takju)", is an alcoholic beverage native to Korea. It is made from a mixture of wheat and rice, which gives it a milky, off-white color, and sweetness. It is made by fermenting a mixture of boiled rice, wheat and water, and is about 6–8% alcohol by volume. Most makgeolli contains rice currently. However, a few brands contain wheat instead of rice.

It was originally quite popular among farmers, earning it the name nongju (농주 / 農酒), which means farmer liquor. However, it has recently started to become more popular in cities, especially with the younger generations. Dongdongju (동동주) is a drink very similar to makgeolli, and both are commonly imbibed alongside Korean pancakes such as pajeon (파전) or bindaetteok (빈대떡).