Song Gye Ok Singapore: Popular Korean grilled chicken concept opens at Telok Ayer

K-BBQ shops are dime a dozen in Telok Ayer and the adjacent Amoy Street, but Song Gye Ok Singapore is unequivocally the only one specialising in this protein — chicken. 

Hailing from Korea, Song Gye Ok is said to be the first and most popular name specialising in grilled chicken speciality cuts. It opens officially to the public in Singapore on June 5 (Thursday). 

The brand has a handful of outlets in Seoul (you may have come across it in the more popular Seongsu or Hongdae areas), and outside of the capital city, too.

Song Gye Ok’s Singapore outlet, located a stone’s throw from Telok Ayer MRT, is its first international outlet, and is brought in by the very same team that launched the samgyetang speciality restaurant Modu, at Mandarin Gallery.

It was unsurprising then, that its aesthetic mirrors that of Modu’s, with traditional Korean hanok fixtures, and wood finishings. 

Song Gye Ok Singapore’s look, however, does take on a darker, moodier vibe, and has plenty more counter seats, making solo or couple dining a lot more convenient. (A plus since we hear that the team is only taking in walk-ins for now.) 

Fret not, if you’re looking to dine here with a bigger group, there’s also more spacious booth seats available. 

Digging into Song Gye Ok Singapore’s menu

Since it’s a concept known for its grilled chicken speciality cuts, most would make a beeline for the Song Gye Ok (SGO) signature platter (S$98 for 720g).

The platter comes with chicken thigh and tenders, as well as less often-seen cuts for barbecue such as chicken neck, gizzard, heart, and softbone (also known as the cartilage). There’s more of the crowd-friendly thigh and tenders, but a decent amount of the off-cuts, too, so you get a good sampling of it. 

As someone who loves a good serving of pig’s organ soup and a heaping of liver and gizzards whenever I order chicken rice, the thought of diving into these unique cuts didn’t faze me. 

But for my dining companion who has never had any chicken innards before, the experience was surprisingly palatable. Sure, the slightly bloody heart and the crunchy gizzard and softbone took some getting used to, but nothing was too gamey nor unusual in terms of texture.

It also helped that Song Gye Ok provides a smattering of sauces and condiments, such as sriracha mayo, garlic, and chilli pepper sauce, to have the various cuts with so the experience isn’t as visceral. 

Not sure which sauce goes best with what cuts? The designated crew, who meticulously helps cook your platter from start to end, will remind you along the way. (Tip: We found that the sweet and spicy sauce, which came with its samgyetang dish, went very well with all the cuts, but we’re not sure if it’ll be served outside of lunch hours.) 

My favourite chicken cuts were the heart — this was well-cleaned, cooked perfectly (soft, but still had a good bite) — and the thigh. The softbone could have done with a bit more char, but hey, entirely a personal preference. 

In case you’re wondering why some meats appear cooked on your platter when it reaches your table, the open-concept kitchen pre-cooks the thigh for that seared, crispy finish on the skin, and the cartilage, too. 

The platter was also massive and was definitely too much for two to share, so we’d suggest getting the chicken grill platter (S$68 for 470g), unless you’re seriously bulking up on protein. 

Cuts are also available individually, starting at S$20 for tenders, though you’ll need a minimum order of two portions to get the grill going. 

More than just chicken barbecue

If you want to try and have space for its other dishes, we highly recommend trying the SGO signature doenjang stew (S$24), particularly if you love fermented foods.

It has the funkier-tasting and -smelling cheonggukjang, also a fermented bean paste, on top of doenjang in the mix, so it’s a whole rollercoaster of flavours in one pot that goes so well with plain rice.

For carbs, grab the grilled rice ball (S$8 for two sizable pieces) filled with roe and glazed with soya sauce, and pan-fried for a crispy finish. 

Another rice dish that caught our eye and stomachs is the Uiseong garlic fried rice (S$20), which is a tad pricey. While the combination of premium Uiseong (a province in Korea) garlic chips with mozzarella, and peppers, on a bed of soft rice is plenty yummy, we’re not sure if its price tag is justified considering there are no proteins within. 

The slightly cold bibim noodles (S$24), which came with greens, minced meat, boiled egg, and gochujang sauce, was a refreshing accompaniment, especially in this heat. It reminded us more of the Japanese dish (mazesoba) than a Korean one, though.

If you find yourself swinging by Song Gye Ok Singapore at lunch, you’ll also want to try its truffle samgyetang (S$34), an outlet-exclusive that isn’t found at its Modu store, and comes with actual truffle shavings.

The soup is thick, creamy, and fragrant without being too cloying, and comes with a comprehensive selection of side dishes, as well as a small bowl of glutinous rice, and a very addictive spicy dipping sauce. 

But if you don’t want to get into a food coma, there are the lighter collagen herbal samgyetang (S$28) and spicy Hangover samgyetang (S$28) from Modu that are available at Song Gye Ok. 

You can also opt for its various kalguksu (knife noodles) bowls, from S$22, which is essentially chicken noodle soup, if you prefer noodles to rice for lunch. 

If you fancy a tipple with the delicious chicken cuts, whether as a soup or K-BBQ style, it has Korean draft Cass beer (S$12) on tap, as well as a very yummy earl grey highball (S$14). 

This was an invited tasting. 

If the queue gets too long at Song Gye Ok, look opposite and you’ll find Gamtan, which specialises in King galbi, or visit Club Street Laundry at nearby Keong Saik for a vibey meal. 

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

You can also book a ride to Song Gye Ok Singapore at Telok Ayer.