Seoul Noodle Shop Review: Legit Korean Knife-Cut Noodles In Tanjong Pagar

Seoul Noodle Shop has Korean knife-cut noodles in the CBD

Walk along the stretch of Korean restaurants in Tanjong Pagar and you’ll see Charim Korean BBQ, which offers loaded tteokbokki, and Sagye restaurant, known for their traditional Korean stone pot rice. As a native Korean living in Singapore, I often visit these restaurants whenever I miss the taste of home. But I’ve never seen anything like Seoul Noodle Shop, a new CBD spot helmed by a famous Korean chef Lee Won Il, until recently, when I was invited to try their knife-cut noodles.

Food at Seoul Noodle Shop

As the restaurant’s name suggests, Seoul Noodle Shop specialises in Korean knife-cut noodles with a total of 12 different mains on the menu. But these noodles are not all; you can also try their rice and other a la carte dishes, which we will soon get into.

My colleague and I tried three different noodles here, starting with the signature Half Chicken Noodles ($18.50++). A huge bowl came with knife-cut noodles submerged in a milky broth, then topped with half a chicken, green onions, and thinly sliced omelette. You also get a side of cubed radish kimchi, yellow pickled radish, and barley rice!

If you, like me, enjoy noodles with soup more than the ingredients that come with them, you’ll enjoy this dish. Right off the bat, the chicken breast pieces were slightly tough, so here’s a personal tip to enjoy the protein better: tear the slices and submerge them in the broth for a while to loosen them up.

Besides my small gripe, the noodles and broth were delicious. The soup was more robust and comforting than it looked; it was well-seasoned on its own, even without adding any other condiments. Also, the knife-cut noodles were of the perfect thickness. They weren’t too thin or slippery, nor were they overly thick or floury.

As compared to the Half Chicken Noodles, which were lighter in flavour, the Pork Bone Spicy Noodles ($20.50++) were quite the opposite. Just a word of caution though, you must be a fan of perilla leaves to enjoy this dish as it highly depends on the ingredient.

Aside from noodles, greens, mushrooms, and a huge pork bone, the key ingredients to creating this flavourful dish are perilla leaves and fine perilla powder. If you’ve tried perilla leaves, you would know that they’re rather acerbic and minty, which makes the ingredient quite polarising. Thankfully, I was a fan of anything with perilla leaves, so I enjoyed this dish.  

The nutty and savoury broth looked rather dense but was surprisingly light and easy to drink. I also preferred the pork bone to the half chicken in the previous dish, as it was juicier and more tender, albeit not fall-off-the-bone soft. The pork bone can be a tad messy to eat though, so I suggest wearing disposable gloves—kindly provided by the staff—to enjoy it to the very last bit.

And of course, you get the same soft, springy, and slightly chewy knife-cut noodles here. 

FYI, the Pork Bone Spicy Noodles aren’t spicy, so I’m sure even those with a low spice tolerance can handle this dish.

While I enjoyed the noodles in soup form, my colleague’s favourite dish was the dry Bibim Noodles ($16.50++). You get cold knife-cut noodles topped with a colourful combination of beef slices, house-made sauce, chopped green onions, white kimchi, and thin omelette slices. Unlike the previous dishes, this doesn’t come with barley rice on the side.

To my surprise, the noodles here were a lot chewier, as they were served cold instead of being submerged in a piping hot soup. Give everything a good mix with their sweet-spicy sauce, and you should get a vibrant shade of red that may seem daunting at first glance—worry not, the house-made sauce leaned sweeter than it was spicy.

Everything about the Bibim Noodles was great, except for the beef slices. Though generous in portion, the beef was slightly too chewy for me. I would have enjoyed the meat a lot better if it was more tender. But overall, I can see myself getting this refreshing treat on a sweltering day—it helps that the noodles are served cold.

After trying all three dishes, my colleague and I needed a quick palate cleanser, so we got the Makgeolli Ade ($18.90++). Korean rice wine isn’t my go-to alcoholic drink, but this beverage was interestingly addictive: it’s a twist on the traditional makgeolli as it’s mixed with Korean soda. The alcohol took a backseat and every sip was light, creamy, and slightly sweet!

We also tried the Spicy Chicken Cheese Dakgalbi ($38.50++), which was part of the a la carte menu. This sharing side featured stir-fried boneless chicken leg pieces, vegetables, and a warm blanket of mozzarella cheese that’s torched right in front of you.

If you’re not getting the noodles, the Spicy Chicken Cheese Dakgalbi is ideal for two or at most three. Similar to the Bibim Noodles, don’t let the colour of the sauce intimidate you, as it turned out to be a lot milder than it looked. 

While I enjoyed the combination of the tender chicken chunks paired with veggies and topped with some melted mozzarella cheese, I’d be hesitant to order this on a whim as the portion was not the biggest given its steep price.

There’s also the Kimchi Pancake ($16.50++), which is said to be a crowd favourite. This was a pretty decent kimchi pancake, but surely not the best I’ve had; the overall kimchi flavour was lacking, and the texture was slightly too starchy for my liking. If you’re getting the noodles, I’d say skip this side as the noodles are more than enough to fill you up. 

Ambience at Seoul Noodle Shop

Noodles and rice wine aside, my favourite thing about Seoul Noodle Shop was its warm, woody look that exuded a cosy and intimate vibe. The restaurant wasn’t very spacious, but it could still seat about 50 diners at once. Plus, I liked that there was a row of seats by the open kitchen—I saw quite a few solo diners seated there, enjoying their lunch in peace. 

If it helps, more than half the customers during my visit were made up of Korean natives! 

The restaurant was completely packed at 12pm and there was even a queue forming right outside, so I encourage you to visit before 11:30am, if possible, to secure a seat. 

Seoul Noodle Shop is a three-minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT Station.

The verdict

Seoul Noodle Shop will be the first restaurant that comes to mind whenever I think of getting Korean knife-cut noodles in Singapore. Since it’s only a three-minute walk from the nearest MRT Station, I urge you to drop by and try the noodles for yourself if you’re in the CBD. 

For more good eats in the area, read our Alice Boulangerie review. Alternatively, read our Fortuna Singapore review for wood-fired pizza.

Address: 99 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 078520
Opening hours: Daily 11am to 2:30pm, 5pm to 9:30pm
Website
Seoul Noodle Shop is not a halal-certified eatery.

Photos taken by Marcus Neo.
This was a media tasting at Seoul Noodle Shop.