No-holds-barred review: Korean street food at emart24 S'pore for under S$10

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[Update on Dec. 29, 2:15pm:] The operating hours of emart24 will be from 9am to 11pm, daily, due to the "current manpower allocation", an emart24 spokesperson said on Dec. 29.

The convenience store added that it is looking at operating the store 24/7 once they have "ironed out the manpower". The article has been edited accordingly.

If you didn’t know yet, South Korean convenience store chain emart24 has finally arrived on our shores.

You’ll be able to enjoy exclusive offerings from various Korean brands at its outlets.

These outlets will also feature a grab-and-go gastro bar stocked with Korean street food and banchan (side dishes).

First impressions

As an avid consumer of all things Korean (I'm a big fan of TWICE and aespa, in case anybody asked), emart24's presence in Singapore is welcoming news to me.

Even if it meant making a journey to the wild, wild west... also known as Jurong Point.

Photo by Russell Ang

Based on our first impressions, we were surprised at how sizable the outlet was for a convenience store.

There were plenty of ready-to-eat meals, snacks, drinks, and even cosmetic products.

Photo by Russell Ang

Photo by Russell Ang

Photo by Russell Ang

There were also a few bar tables where you can conveniently eat Korean food.

But what caught our attention was its brightly-lit gastro bar right at the entrance of the convenience store.

Photo by Russell Ang

Seeing authentic Korean street food being made on the spot made us feel as if we were on the streets of Myeongdong in Seoul, South Korea.

Here's a look at some of the food you can get:

Photo by Russell Ang

Photo by Russell Ang

Honey Soy Dak Gang Jung (S$5.50)

Photo by Russell Ang

First up was the Honey Soy Dak Gang Jung, which is fried boneless chicken coated in Korean honey soy sauce.

While crispy fried chicken and sweet-savoury sauce sounds foolproof in theory, emart24's Korean fried chicken left us feeling a little underwhelmed.

Compared to other Korean fried chicken that we've tried, this one was slightly dry and was rather tough to chew.

While the chicken had a spicy kick from the gochujang (Korean red chilli paste), we thought it was still lacking in its overall flavour.

Verdict: 2/5. Perhaps it could have used a bit more soy sauce.

Tteokbokki (from S$3.90)

Photo by Russell Ang

If you're someone who loves textures in food, you can consider trying emart24's in-house tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes).

Now, this really made us feel like we were in a Korean street market.

For someone with a decent spice tolerance, the rice cakes were not overwhelmingly spicy.

Despite being smothered in a thick sauce, we were pleasantly surprised at how it managed to retain its chewy texture.

The tteokbokki came with fried eomuok fingers (Korean fishcake), a common ingredient in Korea used in various dishes.

You can have add-ons like cheese, gimari (crispy seaweed rolls), and hard-boiled eggs from S$1.

Verdict: 4/5. Can't go wrong with spicy carbs.

Kimchi Vegetable Dumplings (S$4.50)

Photo by Russell Ang

Another quick bite you can get here are the vegetable dumplings, also known as mandu in Korean.

You can also get seafood or kimchi mandu.

Sadly, the ones at emart24 couldn't compare to the authentic ones you can get in South Korea.

Although it had a good mix of savoury ingredients, there was a distinct oily aftertaste.

It was also disappointing that it was soggy even when it was warm.

Its only saving grace was the kimchi, which packed a punch to an otherwise subpar snack.

Verdict: 2/5. Save your calories and skip this one.

Cupbap Rice Bowl (S$5.50)

Photo by Russell Ang

Consider trying the convenience store's Cupbap rice bowls.

Similar to the tteokbokki, you'll be able to choose from a range of toppings like chicken bulgogi, tuna mayo, and Korean spam.

It is also sprinkled with seaweed and mayo sauce.

Despite being relatively small in size, we can safely say the portion given was quite filling.

At S$5.50, this is definitely a good steal for those on a budget or who have a big appetite.

Verdict: 4.5/5. Like cai fan (economical mixed rice), but Korean.

Handmade Corn Dog (S$4.20)

Photo by Russell Ang

If emart24's Handmade Corn Dog had an online dating profile, it would be considered a catfish.

While it does look quite promising on the surface with its generous amount of mustard and ketchup, there's not much else to rave about.

After a few bites in, we started to realise that the hotdog was hidden inside its layers.

Photo by Tan Guan Zhen

This is the actual size of the hotdog within the corn dog:

Photo by Tan Guan Zhen

However, we must say that it isn't as jelak (surfeiting) as it looks.

It's just unfortunate that there was barely any filling.

Verdict: 3/5. Good but heartbreaking.

Chilled Sikhye (S$2)

Photo by Russell Ang

My colleague and I had no idea what to expect when we got the Chilled Sikhye.

After a quick Google search, sikhye is essentially a Korean sweet drink made of fermented malt and rice.

It basically tastes like the homemade barley drink that you can get at a local coffee shop.

We would say this is definitely a good thirst quencher, especially after eating a ton of spicy food.

Verdict: 4/5. Very nice on a warm day.

You can check out emart24's full menu here:

Photo by Russell Ang

Do take note that some of the items were not in stock when we went there on Dec.23.

This included the Milo bingsu (Korean shaved ice) and strawberry bingsu. Sobs.

emart24 Singapore

Jurong Point

Address: 1 Jurong West Central 2 #01-16G/H/J, Singapore 648886

Opening hours: 9am to 11pm, daily

NEX

Address: 23 Serangoon Central #B2-50/51, Singapore 556083

 Opening hours: 9am to 11pm, daily