Sarang, Orchard Central

This restaurant has since closed.

Sarang at Orchard Central touts itself as a modern Korean dining restaurant.

Located on the seventh floor of Orchard Central, it is has both an indoor and outdoor seating area, which I found to be quite refreshing as the place is located smack dab in the middle of Orchard Road.

Sarang has quite a relaxed, chilled-out vibe and it was nice to just sit and talk after a packed workday. (Bonus points for the SGD 5.00 Asahi draft beer promotion which was available that night!) The patrons are mostly Gen Y working professionals who come for a meal after work – not the happy hour type, more towards couples and smaller groups of friends or colleagues.

We were not particularly starving so my friend and I decided to get some tapas/side dishes and a single main to share. As all Korean restaurants do, Sarang serves banchan, which is complimentary side dishes. Do note that outside of Korea, banchan is normally not refillable.

Kimchi Tofu (SGD 5.50) – At first glance it looks somewhat like Japanese agedashi tofu. The texture of the tofu is silky soft inside and the sauce did not have an overpowering kimchi taste, it was creamy and tasted faintly nutty.

Spicy Rice Cake (SGD 7.00) – Also known as ddeokbokki, this Korean comfort food dish consists of chewy slices of rice cake in sweet and spicy kimchi sauce. This was more of a side dish than a main as it would be rather plain on its own.

Sarang Japchae (SGD 7.00) – Chilled glass noodles with vegetables and sesame dressing. This was by far my favorite dish that night. It was slightly sweet yet flavorful and very refreshing.

Honey Yuzu Chicken (SGD 20.00) – Chicken covered in slightly caramelized honey and yuzu accompanied with some steamed veggies and mashed potato. I thought that the chicken could have done with a slightly stronger yuzu flavor so as to really bring out the sharper citrus taste in contrast with the honey. However, my friend really liked it and found the balance in flavor to be just right. This dish was also the most expensive, considering that the portion size was supposed to be a main.

In my opinion, the quality of the food and the taste at Sarang was very good and it surpassed my expectations. For the price that you pay, you will get a pretty good meal in a nice environment with decent service.

• 10% service charge and 7% GST applies to total bill
• Opening hours – 12pm to 10pm (Sunday to Thursday) and 12pm to 11pm (Friday and Saturday)