If you're following me on my IG, you should have seen me raving about Eatigo for a while (before circuitbreaker, of course) now. Some of my really satisfying meals at a range of 20 to 50% off includes Iron Supper Club, Harry's (HERE & HERE), Meats N Malts, Princess Terrace Cafe, Yummo Chow & many more.
And so recently, my #koreanfoodkaki with S and her HB has finally formed, and we decided to kickstart our Korean Food outing with a 50% off at Chowon Garden via Eatigo.
S was craving kimchi pancake so we ordered a Haemul Kimchijeon ($27) and a large Budae Jeongol ($58) to share among the 3 of us. And we did double check with their staff on their serving size, and confirmed that the large one is meant to serve 3 to 4 pax (while the small one is for 2 to 3 pax).
And, before we get to the actual food, we were already kind of disappointed by their banchan (so disappointed that I didn't even wanna take a picture). They only had 4 different banchan served (kimchi, braised brinjal, beancurd skin and shredded cabbage in coleslaw dressing) and only allowed a 1x refill.
Anyway, here's our very disappointing food....
Budae Jeongol (L) - $58
Yes, your eyes aren't pulling a trick on you. This is not some visual magic that's worthy of an exhibit in the Trickeye Museum.
THERE WAS REALLY JUST HALF A CAKE OF RAMYUN IN OUR LARGE JEONGGOL, MEANT FOR 4 PAX.
And this picture was taken before we've scooped anything (not even a teaspoon worth of broth) out of the pot, and see just how shallow the pot itself is (the ladle at the side was dipped all the way in) and how low the content of the pot came up to the edge. Not sure how 4 pax is supposed to get satiated just on this miserable pot of jjigae, but I could have easily finished the entire pot on my own, no joke, and then perhaps go elsewhere for something more filling.
To add salt to (our) injury, it was just a very normal pot of budaejjigae, the very standard kind of taste that you may even find in some better Korean food stalls at foodcourts.
Haemul Kimchijeon - $27
The awkwardness of us staring at the jeon in silence when it was served; followed by S's disappointed whisper of "it's so small" when the server left our table would have been quite a funny story to retell, as long as you're not (one of) the protagonist.
Portion size aside, this has definitely done better in the taste aspect as compared to the budae jeonggol. Crispy with a bit of charred bits at the edges and still moist and chewy in the middle.
But have I tasted better kimchijeon elsewhere? Yes, definitely.
And are they cheaper? Yes, definitely.
And because the jeonggol and kimchijeon could hardly fill us (only three of us!) up, we decided to add in another order for their Dolsot Bibimbap ($17, not pictured).
And tell you what, there must be a reason why when you google "chowon garden dolsot bibimbap" you won't be able to find any pictures or reviews. Their Dol-Bi is definitely the worst bibimbap I've ever eaten, even with consideration of random $6 bibimbap served in a metal bowl at random foodcourt/kopitiam korean food stalls.
OMG, this is.... jjinja cannot, Chowon Garden.
Not sure if they're doing this because it's tough times for them now with the Covid-19 situation, or it's their SOP to cut portion sizes for all Eatigo reservations, but the serving size for the jeongol shown HERE is definitely way more than what we were served, and a lot more deserving of being $58. While I fully understand that it's some very tough times now, and many business are tanking. But if they're unwilling to truly fulfill their part of the agreement (of offering 50% discount) with Eatigo, then they should have taken themselves off the app first, instead of outright shortchanging paying customers? There's many restaurants/eateries on Eatigo currently with reservations blocked out and tagged as "coming back soon", I don't see why Chowon Garden can't do likewise.
Not cool, Chowon Garden, really not cool.
All menu pictures credit to Chowon Garden
If you're still not on Eatigo, do sign up via this link or with referral code 'simi15ipv' to enjoy a $10 reward after completing your first Eatigo reservation!
Till then,
Mia Foo
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