Ex-Michelin-Starred Chef Opens Korean Tapas Bar In CBD With Over 30 Makgeolli Types

JJAN is a new Korean tapas bar in Tanjong Pagar

Image credit: JJAN

If your Korean nights out usually stop at green soju bottles and a plate of fried chicken, here’s a new spot that goes further. JJAN, a Korean tapas bar opening on 12 November 2026 along Craig Road in Tanjong Pagar, pours more than 30 types of makgeolli and brews by the glass. The bar is headed by a chef who previously worked at the two-Michelin-starred Saint Pierre.

The name comes from what Koreans say when they clink glasses. The whole concept is built on juansang, the Korean custom of serving food specifically to go with drinks, so the dishes are meant to sit alongside a glass rather than compete with it.

Image credit: JJAN

Executive Chef Yoo Gwangsoo runs the kitchen. Before Saint Pierre, he worked at Jean-Georges in Dubai and at Lab XXIV in Seoul and Busan. At JJAN, he applies French techniques to Korean drinking food and uses some local produce.

Image credit: JJAN

Makgeolli is the main draw here, and the rotating list covers more than the sweet, milky bottles you’d find at the supermarket. Expect light, fresh brews, thicker and stronger takju, naturally sparkling versions, and unpasteurised saeng makgeolli. Saeng makgeolli still has live yeast and spoils quickly, so it needs an unbroken cold chain and rarely makes it to Singapore. Founder Lee Haedong visited breweries across Korea to pick the labels, and many are new to Singapore.

Image credit: JJAN

There are also clear rice liquors, yakju, and cheongju. They look a lot like sake but are fermented with nuruk, a traditional Korean starter, which gives them their own aromas. Top picks to look out for include the golden Midam Seoktanju ($19++), whose name roughly means “a wine too good to swallow”, and the drier Suamju ($18++), which has melon and Korean pear notes.

The wine list leans towards bottles from Korean winemakers working in France, including Burgundy’s Lou Dumont.

Image credit: JJAN

Every meal starts with two house-made table snacks: a crisp sesame jeonbyeong cracker and prawn chips dusted with chilli salt.

Among the small bites, the Squid Ganghoe ($6++ per piece) wraps poached squid around six vegetables, including doraji (bellflower root), with citrus and a spicy chogochujang dip. Mushroom fans should look at the Pyogo Jeon ($5++ per piece), a fried shiitake stuffed with sea bass and prawn mousse and glazed with perilla-leaf soy.

The sharing plates are more involved. The Yukhoe ($34++) is a build-your-own Australian Wagyu tartare with fermented octopus, Korean pear, and crispy seaweed chips. The Busan Jijimi & Squid Salad ($19++) is a mung bean pancake made with local kueh chye (garlic chives), and you wrap the squid salad in it, while the the Deep-Fried Oyster Ssam ($22++) comes with lettuce from Greenphyto, a farm in Jurong West.

Image credit: JJAN

For mains, the Pork Gukbap ($21++) looks like the comfort pick. It’s a pork bone broth simmered for 48 hours and served with Jeju pork, glutinous rice, and condiments you add yourself to adjust the heat. Bigger spenders can go for the charcoal-finished Wagyu Beef Tongue ($58++) with bayam, a leafy vegetable also known as amaranth.

Image credit: JJAN

The 41-seat shophouse has a hanok-inspired interior with a painted dancheong ceiling, carved wooden brackets, and furniture made by craftsmen in Korea. It’s a six-minute walk from Maxwell and Tanjong Pagar MRT Stations.

In other Korean food news, check out our new Korean restaurants in Singapore guide. You can also read our guide to the best Korean cafes in Singapore.

Address: 45 Craig Road, Singapore 089683
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 5pm to 12am, Sat-Sun 1pm to 12am
Website
JJAN is not halal-certified.

Feature image adapted from JJAN