We love indulging in Korean cuisine, especially Korean barbeques! Unfortunately, Korean food does not come cheap in Singapore, and this reflects even in food courts.

So when one All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ comes to mind, one would often think that it is going to be a wallet-damaging meal. Well, you are neither wrong nor are you right.

Korean BBQ Buffet in Singapore is indeed usually expensive, but that’s not the case at Maru Korean BBQ Buffet. The no-frills Korean restaurant is located along the stretch of Cheong Chin Nam Road and only a stone’s throw away from recently opened Beauty World MRT Station. Buffet prices are incredibly affordable and start from S$9++ per child and S$14++ per adult during weekday lunch. What a steal!

Tuck into endless servings of prawns, sausages, marinated beef, marinated pork belly and whatnot. There are several different marinations to choose from and you can look forward to spicy, soy sauce teriyaki and even herb wine. A selection of vegetables is available too.

You can cook these raw ingredients by yourselves on a hotplate. A parchment paper is placed atop the cooker and the appliance has a drainage at the corner to drain out excess oil. Fret not if you suffer from encavmaphobia–just sit back, relax and let the staff take over the cooking.

Raw food aside, Maru Korean BBQ Buffet also features cooked food such as Korean rice cakes, japchae and takoyaki balls. The japchae was very disappointing, but the free flow of marinated meats made up for it. All in all, Maru Korean BBQ Buffet still delivers for its economical price.

The 2-hour buffet also entitles you to unlimited iced water and fruit cordials. Do take only what you can eat as Maru Korean BBQ Buffet has a policy of charging S$50/100g for leftovers.

Weekday Lunch: S$9++ per child, S$14++ per adult
Weekday Dinner S$15++ per child, S$21++ per adult
Weekend: S$18++ per child, S$24++ per adult

Maru Korean BBQ Buffet
16 Cheong Chin Nam Road
Singapore 599740
Tel: +65 8183 4939
Closed on Mondays
Tue to Thu: 12pm – 3pm, 5.30pm – 11pm
Fri to Sun: 12pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Beauty World

For more recommendations, read our guide on the best Korean BBQ Restaurants in Singapore.

Chicken rice is one of the must-eat Singapore Food. Naturally, there are many places serving this popular dish around the island, you can find it in almost every coffee shop and hawker centre.

When it comes to the best chicken rice in Singapore, most people will definitely think of Wee Nan Kee, Tian Tian Hainanese chicken rice, and of course Boon Tong Kee chicken rice.

Is Boon Tong Kee Chicken rice as good as before? Or has the standard dropped since the rapid expansion of the chicken rice chain?

How do you define what is the best chicken rice? Everyone has different opinions on what is the deciding factor. For some, it is the chicken, while there are others who place a higher emphasis on the rice. For the rest, the chilli and garlic sauces are equally important, and will determine whether it is a plate of good chicken rice.

You can’t fault Boon Tong Kee on any of those factors: the chicken is tender and tasty, the rice is fragrant and the chilli sauce is good enough to accompany them. But is this the best chicken rice in Singapore? While Boon Tong Kee is competent, there are other stalls which have equally good, if not better chicken rice at a cheaper price.

There will be loyal supporters who have been eating Boon Tong Kee’s chicken rice for years, as well as critics who feel that the chicken rice chain is too commercialised.

But the fact is Boon Tong Kee indeed has good chicken rice, and it helps that they have six branches around Singapore. Being a well-established brand, it is safe to bring your overseas visitors to Boon Tong Kee for their first taste of our famous Singapore chicken rice.

Having said that, I probably will not think of Boon Tong Kee when I am craving for chicken rice – it is not a dining destination for me when it comes to this popular Singapore food.

I am not sure if the standard varies between branches, but most people seem to agree that their River Valley and Balestier road branches serve the best chicken rice.

Singapore Food Blog Review
Boon Tong Kee
425 River Valley Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6736 3213

401 Balestier Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6254 3937

The grass is always greener on the other side. I think this is very true as my food adventures totally reflect this. Even though I stay just 10 minutes away from Bukit Timah, I tend to go further in search of good food in Singapore. Come to think of it, I have never really explore the stretch of restaurants at Cheong Chin Nam road (directly opposite Beauty World).

As I was walking along there last week, I realized that there’s actually quite a few eateries that open till late night, and they are now officially my prime-targets for supper. The chicken rice craving gave us the choice between Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice and Boon Tong Kee since both of them are arguably famous chicken rice in Singapore.

There were mixed reactions on twitter when I asked which is the better chicken rice among the two, and we eventually went for Five Star since I had Boon Tong Kee chicken rice before.

Sinking your teeth into the Five Star Kampong chicken ($14 for half, and $28 for whole)… It was actually quite ordinary. But there’s this lingering after-taste which I found it hard to explain. As the teeth made contact with the chicken, it encountered first the roasted skin, then a layer of fat which disintegrated as your teeth moved on to the juicy chicken meat.

Was this the best chicken rice in Singapore? Probably not. Was it good enough? Yes.

DO NOT ORDER the Hainanese Pork Chops ($7)! You have been warned.

I LOVE Sweet and sour pork ($9). I can have it for dinner everyday and not get sick of it. After ordering half a chicken and the Hainanese pork chops, you would probably think that we won’t order any more meat. But I demanded to order the sweet and sour pork and it was surprisingly not too bad. Five Star Hainanese Chicken rice’s rendition of my favorite dish was definitely not the best, but it was actually much better than the usual ones that I had before. The meat retained the slightly crispy texture despite being drizzled with the sweet and sour sauce. Not too bad, not too bad at all.

We can probably also classify Boon Tong Kee and Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice under zi char stalls since both restaurants serve a good variety of Chinese food in the zi char style.

Have you tried both Boon Tong Kee and 5 Star Hainanese chicken rice before? Do share with us which one you preferred.

Restaurant Review
Five Star Hainanese Chicken Rice
6/7 Cheong Chin Nam Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6466 3000