OGOG

Marina One has been seeing quite the influx of new F&B tenants taking up space within its basement — Feng 丰 being one of the establishments that had moved into the building in recent times. Whilst Park’s Kitchen had since moved out of its premises at the basement of Marina One, it seems that yet another establishment specialising in Korean food had sprouted up there; taking over the former premises of the now-defunct outlet of MOS Burger there is OGOG — an establishment that describes itself as one that serves Korean Homestyle Food. These folks are situated just right beside the Fun Toast outlet there; whilst the entire establishment does seemed to come with a refreshed look that is fairly different from how the former tenants had decked the space out to be, it seems that OGOG had maintained the layout of the space at least — OGOG has split the left side of the shop to be the dine-in area, while the right side of the space is where the kitchen and food preparation area is. The entire shop is kept bright, clean and spacious; the use of pastel and earthy tones which includes elements of wood in its furniture and fittings keeps things simple but well-decorated — cosy and welcoming, which is pretty befitting for a store that describes their offerings as homestyle food. The dine-in area features seating that is dedicated to two-seater dining tables, featuring a mix of padded and cushioned seating lined against the wall and individual dining chairs. The food menu at OGOG revolves around Gimbap, Bansang , and Soup; there is also a line-up of teas offered as part of its selection of beverages that they have to offer.

Skimmed through the menu and does seem that OGOG does serves up Gimbap offerings such as Original Gimbap, Chilli Soy Egg Gimbap and Black Pepper Tuna Gimbap. Some waiting time is required for the Gimbap offerings as the Gimbap are all made-to-order; the staff can be clearly seen behind the counter assembling the Gimbap especially during lunch time. The Chilli Soy Egg Gimbap is described as OGOG’s signature Gimbap offering; this sees the usual Gimbap that comes with omelette wrapped within the middle. Served warm just like a typical Korean Gimbap, the Gimbap does come suitably tightly wrapped — does not fall apart even when one takes a bite into it. That combination of umami from the laver and the sweetness from the rice infused with vinegar provides most of the flavour of the Gimbap; that being said, the fluffy egg omelette gives a good contrast of texture to the Gimbap that otherwise carried a good bite, while the addition of soy sauce and within the Gimbap and chili helps to add a touch of saltish-ness and spiciness to round things off nicely — enough to tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable moderate levels of spiciness.

Apart from the Gimbap offerings, OGOG also offers two variants of Bansang items on their menu; this would be the 3-Dish Bansang and the 4-Dish Bansang — patrons do get quite a fair bit of flexibility here where they are free to opt for 1 Main and 2 Sides, 2 Main and 1 side or 3 Mains for the 3-Dish Bansang, while those going for the 4-Dish Bansang can opt for 1 Main and 3 Sides, 2 Mains and 2 Sides, 3 Mains and 1 Side or 4 Mains. Mains at OGOG mainly refers to dishes that are either variants of meat or seafood, while Sides refer to small-sized side dishes as well as what some would find being served as Banchan in other Korean establishments elsewhere. One thing worth noting is how OGOG also pairs each order of the Bansang with a complimentary serving of kimchi at the side. We went for the 4-Dish Bansang in order to give a number of their dishes a go; we went with the OGOG Multigrain Rice which is an addon of $1 over the default option of the White Rice that all Bansangs will come with. Going for the 2 Mains and 2 Sides variant of the 4-Dish Bansang, our choice of the mains would be the Gochujang Pork and Soy Shrimp, while the sides we went for were the Kimchi Pancake and Spicy Fish Cake.

The Gochujang Pork was a very predictable dish but one which we were able to tell that OGOG did put a lot of emphasis to create its own unique flavour. This featured pork slices that came with a good meaty bite, though weren’t considered to be tough to chew through by any means. The Gochujang here didn’t feel particularly run-off-the-mill like how one would expect such dishes from causal Korean establishments to be — for one, we absolutely loved the earthy undertones of the soy bean paste used which gave the Gochujang quite some depth in flavour amidst the sweet and spicy Gochujang; the dish also does carry a kick of spiciness but it should be pretty manageable even for those whom are tolerable to slightly lower than moderate levels of spiciness overall. The added cabbage that has been stir-fried together with the pork slices and Gochujang also carried a bit of a soft crunch that would pair well with the rice. The menu only describes the Soy Shrimp as “marinated shrimp in a savoury soy sauce” — didn’t really catch that these were raw shrimp that are actually served chilled. Nonetheless, the raw shrimp does carry a firm bite much like how one would expect fresh shrimp that is being served in dim sum dishes would be like. The savoury notes of the soy sauce having been absorbed by the shrimp which adds on to the natural sweetness of the shrimp (no undesirable fishy notes here) — the inclusion of onion providing a crunch while the addition of sliced chili also inherently adds a tinge of spiciness to the shrimp; albeit less intense than that of the Gochujang Pork. We were actually had an iffy feeling about these considering how it is our very first encounter of marinated raw shrimp, but these were definitely as fresh as what one would be able to get.

The Kimchi Pancake is probably one of their weaker offerings here — only because these seemed to be prepared way beforehand and how they are also sized a little smaller than the full-sized pancakes that other Korean dining establishments would serve up. This meant that there was less shreds of kimchi, while the Kimchi Pancake was also served lukewarm being more chewy and lacking of a crisp crust; to their credit through we did notice how the Kimchi didn’t end up being particularly greasy though. The spicy fish cakes in the meanwhile were nothing much to shout about — these would definitely please those whom enjoy Korean-style spicy fish cakes that can be found as a Banchan dish at other Korean dining establishments. The Kimchi here does seem to be made in-house though considering how it carries quite a refreshing crunch while it comes with a spicy tang. It does seems that the folks at OGOG are filing up a void of casual Korean fare that is catered to the busy office folks of the Central Business District pretty well — whilst their Gimbap offerings are something that is likely to appeal to those looking for a lighter eat during meal hours, the Bansang is a concept that is almost similar to that of mixed economy rice or salad / grain bowl stores that are abundant in the Central Business District; they do seem to keep to their motto of “Bringing You Korean Home” fairly well especially with how they seem to be run by a bunch of enthusiastic young Koreans behind the counter whom are also venturing into the unknown. Prices of its Gimbap / Bansang offerings start from $9.90 for its Original Gimbap all the way to $15.90 for the 4-Dish Bansang (3 Mains, 1 Side). Being an earnest establishment that seems to put in a lot of heart, effort and passion into their home-style Korean cuisine, OGOG is likely a spot that would be well-received with office folks in the area; we would definitely be patronising them again to give their other offerings a go!