Hwang's Korean Restaurant, NUS UTown

This authentic Korean restaurant in NUS serves out decent Korean food at reasonable prices. Located in the spanking new and bustling NUS University Town, it is a popular lunch place for many students and it gets really packed during lunch hours.

They serve a variety of barbecued meat sets, rice, noodle and soup sets. This restaurant operates in a typical Amerian school cafeteria style- First, grab a tray, then join the queue. As you move up the queue, grab drinks and/or appetizers to go. (BTW they have quite a few interesting Korean can drinks available). Place your orders with the waiter and wait for your food order to arrive then pay. I realised the waitress at the counter was Korean only after attempting to order my set in Chinese and she didn't really understand me. (Me so embarrassed!) So just order your desired meal set number in English.

I had a Fish (mackerel) and Chicken BBQ meat combo set for $6.20 (after NUS student discount). I really thought it was worth it, especially since the portions of meat were really big. The combo also came with a bowl of rice, soup and two korean condiments (kim chi and seaweed). Taste-wise, the meat combo was really decent, somewhat above your ordinary food court stall standard. The mackerel was really fresh and the outer skin was grilled to crispy perfection, whereas the flesh inside remained soft and juicy. The chicken was tender, well marinated and as a result, flavourful. The sauce is a typical Korean marinade sauce- a combination of sweet and spicy which tingles your tongue, definitely a delight with white rice.

Location: NUS University Town, Town Plaza

Late Plate

Late Plate is located in the NUS Kent Ridge Campus, serving up affordable all-day breakfast sets catering to the NUS student and staff population. It is open to public, but getting there might be difficult for the unfamiliar; board a NUS shuttle bus that stops before the Shaw Alumni Foundation House, where the restaurant is located.

I bought an inSing voucher and decided to pop by together with S during weekday lunchtime. There are not many seats in the eatery and it was almost filled up by lunchtime. This place is very popular with the NUS crowd. (Psst, students get 10% off).

There is no service charge, no menu. Look to the walls around the cashiers for the menu items and place your orders!

First up- Eggs Benedict with Smoked Trout ($17.90). 

I absolutely love this dish. The poached eggs, thick slices of smoked salmon and spinach are wedged between kalamata rosemary scones, drizzled with citron hollandaise sauce. The scones seemed to be toasted to a perfect crispy texture which adds bite to the runny eggs and fish combo. Every bite is a burst of flavours- from the tangy hollandaise sauce, combined with a slightly salty edge from the smoked salmon and semi-runny egg yolk.

We also shared their special item for the day, Honey Ham Croissant ($11.90).



It's shaved honey ham served slathered with horseradish cream in a buttery croissant served in potato crisps. It also comes with a generous portion of salad greens to go with the dish!

And for dessert: Mango Cheesecake ($5)



Very pretty presentation and served with apricot peach sauce and cream with strawberry and blueberry fruit garnishing. It does have a nice tropical fruit taste, with the infusion of mango in the cheesecake although I didn't think the sauce really complemented it. But it's a great and satisfying dessert to end the meal nonetheless!

Late Plate dishes out affordable quality food and a nice getaway from lecture halls and the usual drab NUS canteen food. I would imagine this place would be a quiet oasis on weekends (though not on weekday meal hours).