Hadn’t even heard about Hankang Pocha Korean Cuisine, so was pretty confused and then surprised when the co-workers actually suggested trying them out for lunch. As it seems, Hankang Pocha Korean Cuisine takes over the former premises of the now-defunct DAO WEI FROM YUN NAN 道味 which had only been in operations for a couple of months — an establishment that was much focused on serving mainland Chinese food originating from Yunnan; Hankang Pocha having only opened its doors some time in December 2023. Considering that DAO WEI FROM YUN NAN 道味 had already done considerable work to the space when they were in operations previously, it seems that Hankang Pocha had only made more significant changes to the facade of the shop — the entrance having lost the diagonally-positioned door in place of a more usual-looking one; the wooden door with see-thru glass windows being labelled with Korean characters that is very typical of Korean dining establishments. Inside, much of the interior decor of DAO WEI FROM YUN NAN 道味 has been retained; this includes the faux Chinese-style roofings on the walls, as well as the beige walls and wooden furnishings and fittings. There are however some touches made to the place that gave it a Korean vibe; this includes a few wooden planks inscribed with Korean characters, as well as Korean posters on the walls of the establishment. The hard copy menu only lists a limited number of their offerings, but their online POS system does showcase a menu that is sectioned into categories ranging from Korean Specialty, Hot Plate, Army Stew, Fried Chicken, Korean BBQ, Soup, Pancake, Noodles and Rice. Beverages available at Hankang Pocha includes non-alcoholic beverages like canned drinks, as well as alcoholic drinks like Soju and beer.

Having made our visit during weekday lunch hours, we were looking for an individually-sized menu item that would fill us up substantially. It is noted that Hankang Pocha does serve up Banchan the moment that patrons have been seated in the establishment — there is a variety of six Banchan dishes being served up during our visit there, which included kimchi, a dish that features hotdogs, spicy tofu, fish cake, pickled radish, and one that featured some greens. Whilst some Korean establishments do also serve up complimentary tea, Hankang Pocha only provides plain water to its patrons upon being seated. Since we have had quite a number of Korean stew dishes of the late, we decided to switch things up a little and go for the Stone Pot Bibimbap instead — something that we had not went for in quite a while despite it being the very first Korean dish that we were being exposed to in our childhood. At Hankang Pocha, the Stone Pot Bibimbap comes served with a choice of pork, chicken or beef; the former two being charged at the default price of $14++, while the latter is charged at an additional charge of $2++; the addition of the egg yolk is also a chargeable option as well. As with most other Stone Pot Bibimbap that we have come across thus far, the Stone Pot Bibimbap at Hankang Pocha comes with the usual elements such as beansprouts, carrots, seaweed and greens; the choice of meat that we have went with for our order would be pork — the Gochujang comes served on the side so patrons can decide on how much of it they would like to add to the Stone Pot Bibimbap (we eventually added the whole thing).

Giving everything a good mix, we like how the Stone Pot Bibimbap here is served hot enough with the hot stone bowl managing to maintain the heat as went through the entire bowl — we also really enjoyed how there crusty bits of burnt rice they also added texture and flavour to the entire dish as well. Having mixed in all of the elements with the bowl evenly, the Stone Pot Bibimbap was a party-in-the-mouth both in terms of flavour and in terms of texture — this was one Stone Pot Bibimbap which we found to be rather balanced throughout considering how some places tend to be a little too generous with the rice; here, there is a balance between the sauce given and the rice to provide that deep bean-y, earthy and slightly umami note that the Gochujang brings. The elements like the beansprouts, carrots and greens were fresh; the notes of each element is particularly prominent even amidst all that rice and Gochujang — the carrot and beansprouts also providing a bit of a crunch in terms of texture. It does seem that the pork that came with the Stone Pot Bibimbap comes stir-fried before being plated; it comes in a shade darker than usual, while there is a savoury note that is free from any undesirable porky stench as well. The addition of the egg yolk is a must-have personally for us; it seems to be that one element that may not have done much in terms of flavour, though we did always feel that the egg yolk when broken and mixed together with all that Gochujang, rice and other elements in the bowl, helps to gel everything altogether. For those intending to head down, do be prepared to leave the spot smelling like BBQ; they do serve up Korean BBQ here, though there isn’t any exhaust or ventilation to cater for it. An establishment at Tanjong Pagar Road that serves up quite a decent variety of individually-portioned dishes below $15++; probably a spot that would work well with office workers in the ‘hood.