DaeJon House 대전집: Hidden Korean Gem in Singapore Downtown

The other day, I realised with horror that my favourite eating place in Chinatown Point, Haikee Brothers, closed down. I’m not sure why it closed down, but it made me realise that the pace in Singapore is so fast that many of our eating spots come and go in a flash.

One of my favourite haunts was Daejon House 대전집 at Havelock II. For the uninitiated, it was the unassuming building opposite Hong Lim Park. In fact, we first stumbled upon this eating spot when we were looking for a quiet place far from the crowds for a dining place! I thought I better record my love for this place before anything untoward happens to it 😛

Get to Know DaeJon House

I believe we were the first customers to Daejon House 대전집, because we witnessed it expanding from a spot to expanding to the open concept dining space outside, to taking over the space beside the original restaurant.

The owner really put a lot of heart into decorating the place to make it unlike other Korean food places in Singapore. For example, they plastered the walls with newspaper and magazine cut outs back in the I don’t know what era. It could be the 70s, or 80s. Those cut outs were mainly in Korean, which made the decoration even more unique in its own right!

Budae Jjigae (부대 찌개 Army Stew)

Although DaeJon House 대전집 serves a variety of Korean food, including Korean BBQ, I’ve always eaten the Budae Jjigae (부대 찌개 Army Stew). For one, people who orders Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개 is seated in the open concept dining area, away from the ones reserved for Korean BBQ. That means I could stay away from the BBQ fumes. That doesn’t mean those seated at the BBQ section cannot order Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개. It’s just that the open concept area had no fume suction installed.

Each serving came with the usual suspects: Noodles, Luncheon Meat, Mandu (만두 Korean Dumplings), sliced pork, sliced sausages and plenty of cabbage. However, I liked how the soup was rich and umami, with a kick of spice that doesn’t spoil one’s appetite. They also come in various sizes, with S being good for 2.

Appetisers

I had also tried some appetisers like Seafood Pancake and Gyoza. Both tend to be a little oily. In the end, I only ordered the Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개whenever I was there. However, if there’s a party of 3, it’s actually possible to have an S size Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개 with the Seafood Pancake and/or Gyoza. I find the servings of the appetisers rather generous and filling!

Another thing I liked about going to Daejon House was that they served 2 side dishes that were very yummy! Yes, all Korean restaurants in Singapore serves those side dishes, but half of what they offered were… meh… stuff that I would not eat. However, there was none of those when I was at DaeJon House 대전집!

Additionally, they also served free flow of hard boiled eggs (which were on the table even before an order was placed). Despite being “free flow”, I never exceeded 2 hard boiled eggs, since the Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개and side dishes were already rather filling.

DaeJon House (5) Seafood Pancake and Gyoza

Yup, if anything, the Budae Jjigae 부대 찌개 at DaeJon House 대전집 in Havelock II is one thing I will never mind returning every now and then. Speak of comfort food!

If you enjoyed my entry, please like and share my article! Subscribe to my blog for more foodporn in the future! If you can’t wait, you can also read about my slurp report of Wonderful Bap Sang 원더풀밥상 that serves orgasmic Korean food in Suntec City!

Till then, eat happy!

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