We try the new Modu in Singapore, which specialises in Korean samgyetang

With cold weather hitting Singapore in bouts nowadays, a piping-hot bowl of chicken soup is always welcome. Better yet, it comes with nutritional benefits, too. 

Enter Modu, a new Korean restaurant at Mandarin Gallery specialising in, you guessed it, chicken soup. Only this is samgyetang, a ginseng chicken soup that is plenty nourishing and hearty. 

Opened by the team behind yet another Korean spot, Drim Korean Steak House, Modu takes its name from the Korean word that means “everyone”, a nod to how it hopes everyone has access to its restaurant and dishes. 

The restaurant is located right in the heart of Orchard Road, on the second floor of Mandarin Gallery, across from where its sister outlet Drim stands.

Complete with wooden fixtures, Modu’s interior is not unlike many other traditional samgyetang restaurants in Singapore. However, it adopts a more modern aesthetic with lighter coloured furnishings, the use of soft lighting and spacious seating within the 40-seater space. 

Our take on Modu Singapore’s menu 

There’s a grand total of six different types of samgyetang at Modu, ranging from the more basic collagen herbal samgyetang (S$35) to the more unique-tasting perilla seed samgyetang (S$38).

Lest you find the price tag a tad high for a bowl of chicken soup, each samgyetang features a whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, garlic, red date, and a whole variety of ingredients, depending on your chosen flavour. 

It also comes with a freshly made minari (Korean water celery) salad, radish kimchi and dipping sauces to enjoy your chicken with.

Of all the soups, I found myself really relishing the Beauty samgyetang (S$37), which contains all the works, plus beauty herbs for better skin. Whatever these are, Modu doesn’t say, but it’s all in the name of good skin, so I’m all for it. 

The taste of Modu’s samgyetang is a lot less ginseng-driven than what you might get in Korea, but there are still unmistakable herbal notes. Think of it as the herbal soups you’d get at those Chinese hawker stalls, but with a touch of ginseng and glutinous rice. 

The Hangover samgyetang (S$37) is one for the spice lovers, with its secret spicy sauce, but I personally found the spice overpowered the intended herbaceousness of the soup. 

While it’s meant to mimic a haejangguk (Korean hangover stew), albeit samegyetang-style, you’re probably better off getting an actual robust hangover stew. 

The perilla seed samgyetang (S$38) is a creamy, moreish concoction with slightly minty, nutty flavour. The soup stands well on its own, but can get a bit cloying after three spoonfuls, especially with the glutinous rice within the chicken.

Modu’s black chicken samgyetang (S$37) is reminiscent of the soups your mother would nag you to drink for your health. The chicken is soft and falls off the bone easily, while the soup is bursting with nourishment. This one’s perfect for those days when you feel a cold coming on and need something comforting, stat. 

The menu isn’t all just ginseng chicken soup, though. There’re plenty of healthy-ish dishes that are good for sharing, such as tofu samhap (S$18), which comes with grilled tofu, fish roe, braised cabbage and Korean seaweed (gamtae), or pancakes.

There’s minari pancake or potato pancake (these come as three coaster-sized mini pancakes for S$18) but I’d say go for the former, which is less common on the market.

Minari is a Korean water celery, often consumed in spring, but has gotten so popular recently that Korean restaurants even serve up minari with Korean barbecued meats. (It is also coincidentally the name of the 2020 Oscar-winning film about a Korean family that moves to America to start life anew there.)

If you’ve never tried minari, it tastes like a cross between watercress and kang kong, and Modu’s minari pancakes remind me of a Japanese kakiage (vegetable tempura), but greener in appearance and also grassier-tasting. 

Those looking to try more dishes can consider Modu’s 2-gather set menu (S$98), which allows you a choice of any two samgyetang, a Modu appetiser, one shareable dish, Korean tea and even dessert.

To round off your meal, there’s three dessert options, which range from the more mainstream black sesame ice cream (S$8), to a rarely seen Korean chewy rice cake known as a gaesung juak (S$12). 

With its location right smack in the swanky Mandarin Gallery in Orchard, it’s clear Modu isn’t a place you’d head to, if you’re penny-pinching. 

However, even though the soups can be pricier than what you’d expect to pay for chicken soup, the consolation is that its portions are very generous (I for one, would not be able to down an entire chicken), so you can easily share one between a party of two and grab sides to share. 

The catch? It has very limited seats and is the only one in Singapore with such a concept for now, so either visit off-peak or wait out the crowds. Or you know, just visit it on a very cold rainy day, when people are unlikely to be out and about. 

This was an invited tasting. 

Check out our Orchard Central food guide if you’re looking for more places to dine around town, or head to 49 Seats for some hearty pasta — it even opens till 2am! 

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out. 

You can also book a ride to Modu in Singapore at Mandarin Gallery.