Korean dakdoritang (spicy chicken stew) restaurant Kelim Dakdoritang has opened in Serangoon Gardens.

They have over 50 outlets in South Korea. Its first Singapore outlet seats 55.

Established in 1965, Kelim's menu is kept simple. The star is its spicy garlic chicken stew – the keyword here being garlic.

The stew is topped with a generous amount of chopped garlic, which the restaurant aptly calls a garlic bomb.

Here's photo evidence:

Dakdoritang

They have two options for the stew – spicy garlic chicken stew or Korean chicken hotpot.

While the latter is a non-spicy option, it still contains their signature garlic bomb.

The prices start from S$36.90+ for a two-person portion.

In the plethora of Korean restaurants available in Singapore, the dakdoritang was a refreshing change of pace.

We felt that the spicy and garlicky soup had the right kick, but true to its name, the garlic bomb hit us quite strongly – especially in our eyes.

One of us started sniffing minutes after the stew was placed in front of us, with the others seated at the table looking at her with concern.

But it was soon apparent that she wasn't the only one who was hit by the garlicky fumes — by the middle of the meal, just about everyone at our table was reaching for the tissue box.

Interestingly, it seemed like it was just our corner that was affected by these fumes, as we saw guests at other tables who didn't look like they were in the midst of watching a particularly tragic melodrama.

Even after leaving the restaurant, our hair and clothes smelled very strongly of garlic — though we're not sure what to think of that one colleague who said this of the smell: "Nice what!".

Especially after one of us has hair that still smells like garlic after 15 washes.

Yes, we're keeping count.

Taste wise, it might be a tad overwhelming for some, and a rep told Mothership that they will consider giving the option for diners to reduce the amount of garlic they have in their stew.

Toppings

There are various toppings available, such as kalguksu (knife cut noodles) for S$5+ and Korean fried rice for S$8+.

The hand-cut noodles were chewy and firm — pro tip: eat them when they're still al dente.

Meanwhile, the fried rice is made using leftover sauce from the stew and mixed with seaweed, which added a saltier profile to the dish.

The chef fried the rice right in front of us, scorching the rice slightly. We loved it.

Kelim Dakdoritang

Address: 14B Kensington Park Road, Singapore 557265

Opening hours: 11:30am to 2:30pm, 5:30pm to 10pm, daily

Top photos by Khine Zin Htet