Enjoy Free Unlimited Banchan And Häagen-Dazs With Any Main At This New Changi Restaurant 

Korea Culture is a new buffet restaurant at Changi Airport 

The latest addition to the bustling strip of restaurants that populate Changi Airport Terminal 3 is Korea Culture, which offers a complimentary semi-buffet to all patrons who order any main. If the name of the restaurant rings a bell, it’s because they are run by the same people behind Penang Culture and Taiwan Culture. 

There are tons of Korean buffets in Singapore, but what really drew me to this particular spot was their range of free and unlimited banchan and sides, constituting a whopping over 20 different kinds. 

Food at Korea Culture 

Banchan is a quintessential part of every Korean meal, so being able to choose from so many different options seemed like a major win. You get to pile your plate with as much banchan as you want for free, as long as you order a main. There’s a lot to go through, so we will just talk about the more notable ones in this review.  

Call me basic, but cabbage kimchi is simply an unbeatable side dish when done right; tangy chilli paste paired with perfectly fermented, crunchy cabbage leaves is a winning combination. Unfortunately, this version ended up being a letdown; the leaves were soggy, and it was overall quite lacking in flavour. 

Thankfully, the green onion kimchi fared better. The stems of the green onion had a natural sweetness and freshness, which complemented the fiery, tangy marinade well. 

My favourite of the lot was the inari, which was shredded and soaked in a sweet soy sauce mixture. The spongy pieces of tofu were addictive, and I enjoyed pairing them with white rice. Other banchan offerings included quail eggs, potato salad, cucumber, radish, lotus root, and mala mushrooms, among others. 

There were also a handful of street food-inspired dishes included in the buffet, great if you want something more substantial.

Out of the few, our top pick was their japchae, which consisted of chewy, al dente sweet potato noodles, paired with crunchy veggies such as carrot strips, cabbage, and mushrooms. They were simple but well-seasoned, and I enjoyed having the varying textures in a single bite. 

Despite being coloured a vibrant red, the kimchi fried rice lacked tang and spice. It did have a few pieces of kimchi and a pleasant flavour from the sesame oil, which deemed it a passable dish for me, nevertheless. 

I favoured the tteokbokki, which was soft and chewy, drenched in a savoury and sweet sauce. The sauce was also on the thicker side, which I liked as it clung onto the rice cakes well. I would have preferred if they dialled up the spice, but it was an overall okay attempt at the dish. 

I am not usually the biggest fan of sweet potato, but sweet potato fries, on the other hand, I am quite a fan of. These thin-cut fries had a delightful sweetness—my only problem with them was that they tasted slightly stale.

Since you do need to order a main to enjoy the free-flow banchan, let’s dive into the dishes we got to try during our tasting. For starters, we had the Korea Ginseng Chicken ($48.80++) AKA samgyetang. FYI, we were told that this can be shared among two people! 

This dish features an entire piece of chicken stuffed with short-grain rice, bathing in a clean-tasting broth seasoned with ginger and ginseng root. The chicken was amazingly tender, with subtle gingery undertones from the aromatics simmering in the stew. 

The unassuming light-coloured broth was also surprisingly flavourful and savoury. Swimming in the broth were plenty of chestnuts for additional texture. This dish ended up being nothing short of soul-soothing. 

When the dish started to lack dimension, we added pieces of cabbage and green onion kimchi for tang. As mentioned earlier, the kimchi was not outstanding, but when combined with the soup, it added a lovely flavour.

The other main dish we had was the Salmon Bibimbap ($24.80++). Rice was topped with a slew of sauteed carrot and cucumber strips, spinach, mushrooms, beansprouts, half a jammy Harajuku egg, and shredded bits of seaweed. 

There was also a dollop of house-made kimchi butter sauce, an interesting switch from the usual gochujang paste in most other renditions. Unfortunately, the amount of sauce given was rather negligible; we could barely taste it even after giving the dish a good mix, which was quite disappointing. 

The star of the bowl was undoubtedly the salmon, which was cooked perfectly, achieving a flaky and soft flesh. My dining companion also appreciated the charred bits of salmon skin, which contrasted well with the tender fish. 

Included in the buffet was also a soup bar, which offered three options: kimchi stew, mushroom soup, and Korean-style porridge.

They were not very noteworthy, so I’d recommend you skip this section.

To get the most out of our dollars, we saved space for the ice cream station, where we got to grab free scoops of Häagen-Dazs ice cream. There are four crowd-favourite options to choose from: Coffee, Vanilla, Strawberry and Mango Sorbet. FYI, this is also free-flow!

Soft drinks such as Coca Cola and Sprite, which are available from a dispenser, are also included free when you order a main.

Ambience at Korea Culture

The restaurant is decked out in a red and blue theme, with cinema-themed elements such as vintage box office signs. Korea Culture also incorporates elements from popular Korean TV series into the restaurant. 

This month’s theme is Squid Game, so you can expect to be served by pink tracksuit-wearing guards, and play iconic games from the show, such as ddakji and five stones. By taking part in these games, you might not be able to win a million-dollar cash prize, but you do get a chance to earn up to 50% off your total bill. 

Korea Culture – Eatbook review

We enjoyed our meal here to a certain extent, and we especially liked the Korean Ginseng Chicken. However, we did find the mains expensive, so I’m reconsidering the value of ordering a main just to enjoy the banchan buffet, which was pretty subpar in itself. Nevertheless, those who enjoy variety will be pleased with their extensive selection of banchan and sides. The free ice cream and drinks are a bonus, too. 

In other news, if you love a good unagi, check out our Unagi Yodaime review to find out if their premium, Michelin-approved unagi is worth a splurge. For the next time you go on vacation mode, check out our Changi Airport food guide for more eats in the area. 

Address: 65 Airport Boulevard, #03-33, Terminal 3 Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore 819663
Opening hours: Daily 10:30am to 10am
Website
Korea Culture is currently waiting for halal-certification.

Changi Airport Food Guide: 35 Places To Dine At Before Your Next Holiday

Photos taken by Nabila Malek.
This was a media tasting at Korea Culture.