Have came across this particularly new Korean restaurant that had been opened for quite a number of weeks before we had decided to make our visit there. Named MOA Restrobar, the Korean restaurant-cum-bar concept is one of the newest entrants to the F&B scene along Robinson Road. Situated at 61 Robinson Road, MOA Restrobar takes over the former premises of the now-defunct Black and White Cafe which used to be a Coffee Hive-esque establishment which served up both local-style and specialty coffee alongside local delights for its hot food selection. Having been to Black and White Cafe when they had just opened their doors, it seems that MOA Restrobar hadn’t really done much to the interior of the shop unit after Black and White Cafe had vacated the premises — in fact, the most notable changes would only be that of the dining furniture into ones that can be described as more “space efficient”. One will also notice the installation of a new television at the back of restaurant that was not there during the days where the space was occupied by Black and White Cafe — the television being used to play Korean music videos when we made our visit on a weekday lunch service. The menu at MOA Restrobar differs during lunch and dinner service — the lunch menu sees a focus on individually-sized stews, rice and noodle dishes, while the dinner menu comprises of sections dedicated to Noodles, Soup, Dolsot Bibimbap, Tteobokki, K Platter, Jeongol, Stir Fried Octopus on the Hot Stove, and Korean-inspired Taps dishes which seems to be more suited for sharing. The drinks menu appears to cater to the alcoholics, comprising of sections dedicated to Draft / Korean Beer, Makegeolli, Wine, Sake, Soju and Whisky. Non-alcoholic beverages includes carbonated drinks, juice, tea, coffee and yogurt.

Having made our visit to MOA Restrobar on a weekday for lunch, it does seem like MOA Restrobar has quite a fair bit to offer even for those whom are visiting it during lunch service. For instance, patrons do get to pick between 17 dishes that are priced from $13.90++ to $24.90++ — apart from the main dish that one opts for, MOA Restrobar also provides complimentary hot and cold banchan, as well as Korean Tea with the order of every main dish. This doesn’t sound like a lot, though it is noted that MOA Restrobar serves up their Banchan in a way that is almost like a salad bar buffet format — patrons can help themselves to right at the counter; the wait staff does assist should they have the time to do so, but there are a good variety of around six Banchan items to go for. We opted for the Andong Jjimdak — the menu describes the Andong Jjimdak as a dish that comes with elements such as soy braised chicken, glass noodle, potato, radish, carrot and rice cake that comes served with rice. Essentially also known as Korean Braised Chicken, the Andong Jjimdak here on first look does look pretty hearty and balanced with root vegetables and a good amount of chicken that comes along with it.

Digging into the Andong Jjimdak, the braised liquid here comes a savoury with a slight dash of sweetness; all that accompanied with a slightly peppery finish right towards the end — something which felt rather comforting to be had especially on a cold rainy day that is pretty much the norm during this time of the year in December, and best to be had with the bowl of rice on that absorbs all of its goodness. The soy braised chicken here comes having absorbed all of the goodness in the flavours of the braising liquid; though it does come bone-in and thus not too friendly especially for those whom do not wish to deal with small pieces of chicken bones from the various parts, the meat does fall off the bones very easily. The sweetness of the root vegetables added could also be easily tasted in the braising liquid — the root vegetables having also cooked to a level of softness that doesn’t require much effort to chew. We are usually quite afraid of the addition of glass noodles in Korean stews, though we were glad that they did limit the addition of glass noodles to the minimum here — not overly filling especially considering how the Andong Jjimdak does come with a bowl of rice by default (patrons do get a flexibility of ordering no rice or less rice through the online POS system nonetheless). The only qualm we have had with the Andong Jjimdak was the lack of rice cakes which was listed as an element for the dish in the menu; that being said, we were still good for it to come without since there were enough carbs here anyway. At $16.90++, we would say that the Andong Jjimdak does work well for those looking for a Korean stew that is largely considered to be non-spicy; would really like to check out their other offerings like the Cheese Spicy Pork Rib Stew some other time!