MODU Samgyetang Mandarin Gallery Ginseng Chicken Restaurant

MODU Samgyetang is a Korean restaurant in Mandarin Gallery, Orchard Road Singapore. We have walked by it several times before in the past, but there were long queues. This time we were there at an off-peak time and were able to get seats immediately to try this popular ginseng chicken soup in Singapore.

Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup Restaurant at Mandarin Gallery

This samgyetang restaurant in Mandarin Gallery has quite a unique design. Its open concept design may have been a reason this restaurant always draws our attention when we walk by. It looks like an elaborate type of doll house that had its front wall removed, exposing its innards to anyone looking in from the front.

The restaurant decor combines a mix of traditional wooden Korean hanok features with some rough wall textures that look cave-like. Whether it is nice or not is subjective but we could agree that it is quite a creative decor for a restaurant. The large queue number display also provides eye-catching contrast to the old wooden door.

MODU Samgyetang Korean restaurant in Mandarin Gallery,

There are three seating zones: the counter seats that provide a view of the kitchen, the regular dining tables at the front and an internal dining zone deeper inside. The open kitchen is not very big. What we saw were mainly lots of boiling pots on the stove.

MODU Samgyetang Menu

Chicken soup in seven variants form the backbone of the MODU Samgyetang menu. Making up the rest of the simple menu were a few side dishes, referred to as the “shareable dishes” and three dessert choices.

MODU Samgyetang 2-gather Menu

A meal combo option was available for two people dining together. Known as “2-gather”, this menu costs $98++ and caters for two choices of samyetang, a Modu appetiser, one shareable dish and one dessert. We decided on this option as it seemed like an easy way to try two types of ginseng chicken soup and an assortment of other things on our first visit to this restaurant.

Appetiser and Shareable Dish

The first item to arrive was the Modu appetiser. We were told it was fried pollack, a type of white marine fish that is popular in Korea. The fish was served in deep-fried strips. They were mostly chewy, some were rather hard. It was like a fish version of beef jerky but made with fish. The taste was not bad but we would probably enjoy it more if we had stronger jaws.

For the shareable dish, there were four choices to choose from. We selected the minari pancake. This was served soon after the chicken soup arrived. Minari is a type of vegetable commonly used in Korea. It has a taste and texture that reminded us of watercress. They were served fried in three round pieces. This was nice and easy to eat like a snack.

MODU Samgyetang at Mandarin Gallery

This being a specialist ginseng chicken restaurant, the samgyetang was obviously the main event. We could choose from all the seven flavours of samgyetang available on the menu. We selected the Hanbang SamGyeTang (전통 한방 삼계탕) and Perilla Seed SamGyeTang (들깨 삼계탕). Both of these were described as restaurant signatures on the menu. Both soups were served with some sauces and two side dishes, some rice and a small cup of ginseng liquor. Other than the last item, the rest were refillable.

The ingredients of the Hanbang SamGyeTang (picture above) include chicken, ginseng root, glutinous rice, leek, jujube, chives and pine nut. This was a classic dish of the restaurant. On their website, Modu describes themselves as the best ginseng chicken soup in Singapore. The soup was indeed complex and delicious. We have not tried enough Korean ginseng chicken in Singapore to make any comparison. We do however recall the Korean ginseng chicken soup we tried at Gobong Samgyetang (고봉삼계탕) in Myeongdong Seoul on a recent trip. I think they are about on par with each other.

The Perilla Seed version (picture above) had a thicker soup. That added an extra feeling of richness but diluted the ginseng flavour somewhat. The listed ingredients of this soup are chicken, perilla seeds, ginseng, glutinous rice, garlic and jujube.

The chicken in both soups looked and tasted the same – very well cooked till the meat and bones separate easily. The main difference was the soup. Our conclusion was that we preferred the Hanbang SamGyeTang. The pure taste was enough without additional flavours. It was also cheaper if ordered as a la carte items – $35++ vs $38++.

Dessert

After the main courses were done and the bones (picture above) had been cleared, dessert was served. It was Gotgam Mari from the dessert section of the a la carte menu. This was a smaller dessert than we imagined. Made with sweet dried persimmon, creamy cheese, and walnuts, this was a sweet tiny dessert to be shared by two persons.