The Place Opened at Circular Road in September, Ilmiri is a new casual Korean restaurant which is a renowned brand in Korea with over 200 franchise stores. This is Ilmiri’s first outlet in Singapore. The brand is known as the leading chicken cuisine brand in Korea, and the Singapore outlet spots a contemporary interior with tables which fit small or large dining groups. 

The Food The menu is quite concise and one of the highlights is Mari (S$47.9), inspired by the culture barrier of Korean BBQ known as “Ssam(쌈)” which means wrapping a variety of meats in green leafy vegetable in a big bite. 

This dish showcases fresh veggies wrapped in charcoal-grilled beef, paired with Korean stews where you get a choice of Korean Tofu Stew or Soybean Paste Stew. 

Quite an interesting presentation which I have not had before, the the cooked beef is placed on the cast iron where I had it with Korean Tofu Stew. Overall, the flavours are not too bad where the marinated meat roll with spring onion is also served with three different sauces to go along – Yuzu Soy, Thai Chilli & Sesame Sauce. 

The other dish I tried was the Cloud Cheese Jjimdak (S$41.9), a classic Korean royal dish where this modern rendition features tender braised chicken with a medley of vegetables, rice cakes, potatoes and glass noodles. This is available in Soy Sauce, Red Chilli, BBQ and Truffle Jjiajang sauce. 

I had the version with Soy Sauce where all the ingredients soak up the sauce well, and the whole plate is covered with Mozzarella cloud-like cheese on top. 

It is also best paired with Seaweed Sunny Side-up Bibim Rice (S$8) where you can drizzle the sauce over the rice. 

Rants The menu is not super extensive here as compared to some other Korean restaurants in Singapore. 

Will I Return Again? Great to see a casual Korean dining concept in the CBD which is an ideal lunch spot with colleagues, or a casual meal with friends for dinner. The portion and presentation of the dishes also make it quite ideal for sharing.  

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 3.5/5
Hole in the pocket: 3.5/5
Ambience: 3.5/5
Overall Experience: 3.5/5

Ilmiri 
25/26 Circular Road 
Singapore 049381 
Tel: +65 8468 8566 

Opening Hours 
Monday to Sunday: 11am to 11pm 

Ranted by The Ranter