Menbolah: Korean boneless chicken, menbosha, Korean toasts & Korean fried rice at Tanjong Pagar

Are you working at the Tanjong Pagar district and getting bored of the same ol’ cai fan or Western fare for your lunch? Well, if you’re looking to spice things up while seeking something convenient at the same time (or make your colleagues jealous), why not swing by Menbolah at Tanjong Pagar Plaza for some drool-worthy Korean street food?

Setup by 30-year-old Andy and 31-year-old Cara, the vibrant orange-hued takeaway kiosk stands out in the sleepy neighbourhood. Dive into a world of flavour with Korean-inspired grub, featuring menbosha (Korean shrimp toasts), toasts, Korean boneless chicken, fried rice, and an array of finger lickin’ good sides.

The couple discovered menbosha during a trip to Korea and were surprised to find no one else selling it here in Singapore— making them exclusive! Despite the initially tedious replication process, their determination drove them to conduct numerous trials in order to perfect the flavour.

Before I get into the food, I must mention that Menbolah currently offers a Weekday Lunch Special from 11am to 2pm, where you can purchase any kind of Korean Fried Rice for S$4. You can also top up an additional S$1.50 for Flame-Torched Chicken (U.P. S$3).

What I tried at Menbolah

We started off with the piece de resistance of Menbolah, the menbosha Trio Box (S$12.90). It consisted of 3 flavours: original, garlic and mentaiko. Now, I’ve whipped up prawn toast at work before, but I’ve never ever seen it being sold on the streets. Thus, I couldn’t wait to pop the bite-sized morsels in my mouth, as though they were beckoning me to savour them immediately!

According to Andy, all of their menbosha undergo double frying for added crispiness— make sure you don’t consume them in the library, though. As I savoured the original flavour, my head instinctively nodded in approval at the satisfying experience. The bread achieved the perfect balance of crispiness without being overly hard, and the prawn filling had texture.

“We didn’t mince the prawn finely and purposely left chunks of prawn inside for a better mouthfeel,” he added. Smart move… I will say.

The garlic menbosha exuded a fragrant aroma with robust spiced notes that weren’t overpowering. It was akin to enjoying a piece of garlic bread with prawns— super shiok!

The mentaiko was creamy and had a slight-smokey flavour from the earlier flame torch treatment. Gradually, a gentle spiciness crept up, but the heat was bearable. As bread absorbs oil easily, I was pleasantly surprised that the menbosha here aren’t oily— I can easily eat 10 of them at a go!

We learnt that the Beef Bulgogi Menbo Toast was one of the top sellers at Menbolah and we dived straight into it. The entire range of Menbo Toast has 2 bread options available: french toast and garlic toast. I love garlic bread! So of course we had to settle for the latter which cost S$8.70.

Starting off, sliced raw onions, beef slices and bulgogi sauce are stir-fried on the griddle. Next, 2 slices of bread are slathered with a layer of homemade garlic herb butter before hitting the grill. Finally, a house-made egg pattie filled with sliced cabbages and onions joins the grilling process.

While assembling the toast, an additional serving of bulgogi sauce is drizzled on top of the meat before it’s packaged and sliced in half.

Before I started on the first bite, the sight of the glistening reddish beef and onions was already making my stomach rumble. The fiery heat of the bulgogi beef filling made its presence known as the temperature of my tongue’s surface surged.

With each subsequent mouthful, the heat dissipated and the sweetness of the onions came through. The sliced beef had a good ratio of fat to meat and complemented the soft, garlicky bread very well— super shiok, indeed!

We also tried the medium Korean Soy Garlic Crispy Chicken (S$8.90). There were about 6 pieces of boneless crispy chicken tossed in soy garlic glaze (made from scratch) and topped with sesame seeds, accompanied by 2 pieces of tteokbokki.

I appreciated the convenience of savouring them boneless, eliminating the usual hassle of navigating around bones. The chicken pieces were coated with a batter that wasn’t overly thick, yet it retained its crispiness even when drenched in sauce.

After the couple experienced fried chicken wings in Korea which were coated in sauces that lacked depth of flavour, they were determined to create sauces which pack a punch. The soy garlic glaze, true to their mission, didn’t disappoint— it was a perfect balance of savoury and sweet.

There was no need to worry about bones so I just wolfed down the entire piece as it was. The meat was perfectly cooked while still retaining its natural juices. Crucially, the flesh had flavour. Unlike many places that tend to under-season their chicken, relying solely on the skin for taste, Menbolah doesn’t have that issue— thankfully!

The pieces of tteokbokki were addictively chewy, offering a lovely contrast in texture in between bites of the crispy chicken.

For the Kimchi Fried Rice (S$7.30), short-grain rice is stir-fried with minced garlic and kimchi atop the hot griddle until it’s nice and fragrant. Just before serving, more kimchi is added together with seaweed strips for that touch of oomph!

The tangy and spiced flavours of the kimchi infused into every single grain of rice, while the seaweed introduced a subtle umami essence. You may be thinking, how good can rice, kimchi and seaweed be? Don’t judge too early! In spite of its simplicity with only 2 ingredients, the fried rice was delicious, tangy and comforting.

Final thoughts

With menbosha being a rare offering in Singapore, I wouldn’t mind travelling all the way from Ang Mo Kio (or even Punggol) once again, just to have a taste.

It’s hard to believe that the owners of Menbolah were once property agents when their food tastes so good. Their determination and passion have truly paid off and I thoroughly enjoyed most of the dishes.

If you’re in the vicinity of Tanjong Pagar, make sure you add Menbolah to your must-eat list!

Follow Menbolah on Facebook and Instagram for upcoming promotions and events.

Expected damage: S$7 – S$13 per pax

*This post is brought to you in partnership with Menbolah.

Order delivery: foodpanda Deliveroo GrabFood

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