Wonderful Bapsang Thomson : Searching For a ‘Jinny’s Kitchen’ In Singapore

Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza was the Korean restaurant we ended up in after watching the Korean cooking reality show series, Jinny’s Kitchen. Gimbap, tteokbokki, fried chicken, and ramyeon were on our minds as we headed towards the restaurant.

Jinny’s Kitchen

Jinny’s Kitchen is a reality show available on Prime Video. It is set in a small town in Mexico and features a group of Korean celebrities running a small restaurant. The celebrities include famous actors and Kim Tae Hyung, a member of the boy group BTS (better known by his stage name V). All that is not important. What is interesting to us are the delicious food that they managed to whip up in a small kitchen. You can read more about the show and its cast members here.

Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza

Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza seemed like a place to replicate a Jinny’s Kitchen meal in Singapore as it is a family restaurant in a quiet suburban mall (on a weekday). It was also convenient as we had to do some grocery shopping at NTUC Fairprice upstairs. It is quite a spacious restaurant with a small convenience store attached selling Korean food products (more pictures at the end of this post). They also have outlets in Suntec City and IMM.

Restaurant Menu

There is an extensive food menu at Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza. They seem to cover most types of Korean food that we are aware of. Here are pictures of some portions of the menu. There are special set lunch deals for weekdays.

What We Ate At Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza

We decided to take small steps into Korean cuisine that day. We tried the gimbap + ramyeon set ($19.80) and a grilled flounder served with rice ($14.80).

Gimbap and Side Dishes (Banchan)

Consistent with the practice in other Korean restaurants, the side dishes were first to arrive. There were six types including kimchi, vegetables and fried eggplant. These side dishes were refillable over the course of the meal.

The gimbap arrived soon after. They are like large sushi rolls. We thought that the gimbap made by Jung Yu Mi looked more attractive. The Wonderful Bapsang gimbap looked and tasted quite ordinary.

Grilled Flounder With Rice

This dish was not on the Jinny’s Kitchen menu, but we decided to order as it seemed like good value – a whole fish for $14.80. It turned out to be a good choice. The fish was not big but the meat was clean and fresh.

Ramyeon

Our noodle dish was the one that most closely resembles a dish that was on the Jinny’s Kitchen menu. This was the kind of noodles that was happily slurped by the customers in Bacalar, Mexico. We did the same. This dish made up for our disappointment with the gimbap.

Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Store

Here are some pictures of the convenience store that is also run by the Wonderful Bapsang folks.

Rows and rows of Korean snacks, packaged food, instant noodles and drinks.

Tteokbokki and Kimchi

Tteokbokki is a type of rice cake (in long thick noodle shape) cooked in a spicy sauce. This was a popular dish in the show but not on the menu. But it was available as a takeaway item.

Different types of kimchi are also available for takeaway at the store.

Wonderful Bapsang Thomson Plaza
301 Upper Thomson Road 01-112/113
Singapore 574408

Nearby MRT Station: Upper Thomson

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The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog