Korean BBQ restaurant Daejim offers a modern style of pojangmacha

Daejim is the latest addition to the wide variety of Korean restaurants at Tanjong Pagar. Located at 4 Craig Road, the new Korean restaurant features delicious seafood barbeque, quality meat and honey makgeolli. 

Derived from the Korean word dwaeji, which means pork, the restaurant offers a modern twist to traditional pojangmacha, a popular traditional small tent or street stall found in Korea usually serving food such as tteokbokki (Korean spicy rice cakes) seafood, meat and drinks.

Being a fan of Korean food and a K-BBQ lover, I was extremely excited to get an invite to visit Daejim for a media tasting to try out their menu offerings before the official opening on Thursday, Sep 1.

Daejim was easy to spot, as the restaurant has a classy black exterior and brightly-lit signboard. The interior has a modern design and is pretty spacious with many seats.

Side dishes, also known as banchan, are an essential part of any Korean meal. Daejim’s side dishes are prepared every day and their kimchi is made by their in-house Korean chefs.

They served each table five side dishes – kimchi, japchae, Korean egg roll, seaweed, hotdogs and squid. The japchae stood out the most to me, as it was flavourful and seasoned perfectly.

Daejim’s menu includes the iconic Korean soy sauce marinated raw crab, also known as Ganjang Gejang. The crabs were fresh and were marinated with just the right amount of sweetness and saltiness.

Next up was the meat, cooked and served by the friendly Korean staff. They explained that the non-marinated meat is usually served first, followed by the marinated meat afterward. The meat was also cut for us into smaller pieces for easy consumption.

I had a meat platter with pork belly, beef ribs and marinated beef. The meat was juicy and tender, and was especially tasty when wrapped in lettuce and paired with their kimchi.

I also had the seafood platter which consisted of oysters, scallops and abalone. The plating of the seafood was well done, which enhanced the eating experience. The seafood was grilled on the barbecue grill by the skillful staff, and they served the scallops with cheese and butter. 

Although I’m not a seafood lover, I found the various seafood Daejim offered palatable as they did not have any fishy taste and tasted fresh. As I don’t eat seafood often, I did not know how to grill them on the barbecue, but thankfully the staff did it all for me and I felt well taken care of.

Besides the meat and seafood, I also tried their kimchi soup and soft tofu stew. The kimchi soup was spicy and sour, with generous amounts of kimchi in the soup. I preferred the soft tofu stew as it was more savoury and the tofu was both soft and silky.

I ended off the meal with Daejim’s special honey makgeolli, Korean rice wine served with honeycomb. It was a unique experience trying makgeolli with honeycomb, and I was surprised that the sweetness of the honeycomb complemented the milky taste of makgeolli.

Throughout the meal, the friendly staff frequently checked with us to see if I needed anything, and they also actively refilled our barley tea without us having to ask.

Overall, the dining experience at Daejim was pleasant. They had unique and authentic Korean menu offerings such as the honey makgeolli, and I would recommend Daejim for your next Korean restaurant adventure! To all the seafood lovers, you will definitely enjoy Daejim’s wide range of fresh seafood.

Daejim will open its doors to the public on Sep 1 and you can check them out on Instagram and Facebook.