GoroGoro Steamboat & Korean Buffet

After going through the new list of its Weekday Lunch menu, we made a second round of order comprising of mostly cooked food. All the items arrived within 5 minutes and we started digging into the them. As we sample the food, we find the quality of the cooked food and the raw ingredients were average at best. Their dishes did not taste authentically Korean even though they have a Korean-themed interior decor and brand name.

Their soup bases lacked flavours. The Beauty Collagen soup was rather bland, while the Tomato soup came with a sourey taste of tomatoes and was not as flavorful as those we had at other restaurants or from the Haidilao soup pack. One good thing was that we did not feel thirsty after our meal, so their soups probably contained little or no MSG. As for the condiments, the Flavourful Mix Specials was the typical the peanut sauce found in most hotpot restaurants, while the Fiery Mix Specials was like the chilli with soy sauce offered by Tze Char stalls. They are good complements to the meats and vegetables but they are non-Korean taste for sure.

While the quality of the cooked food were generally fine, we do not recommend ordering their Japchae and Kimchi. The Japchae was too oily and came with a strange stale taste. Their Kimchi came with a strange stinging feel. We usually have few servings of Kimchi at Korean restaurants but we decided to stop after having one here. Their Chicken Nanban and Fries were fine but nothing to shout about. The Chicken Nanban was served warm instead of being pipping hot despite us being their first customers of the day. Their best cooked food dish was the Korean Pancake. While unlike the authentic one offered by ManNa Korean Restaurant, it was crispy and tasted like potato chips.

Regarding their raw food for the steamboat, they were fresh and nicely plated. However, as some of us do not take beef, we had issues differentiating between pork and beef from their appearance (see the photos in the menu section). The restaurant could have used a different plate or at least inform the customers on which is which. Secondly, the cut of the beef roll was subpar as it contained more fats than lean meat. Other than these two issues with the meats, the other vegetable and tofu items were good. Ending the meal, we requested a serving of Watermelon and Barley with Gingko Nuts.

Before we were about to check out, the restaurant was then more than 50% full. We were surrounded by few groups boisterous of young teenage girls throughout our lunch that made the restaurant unconducive for our catch-up chats. In summary, our stomachs were full but the food quality, service and dining experience were disappointing. We had high expectations of GoroGoro prior to our visit due to our positive experiences with Kingdom Food Group’s I Am Kim Korean BBQ at SOTA. We rate the average food quality at GoroGoro a 3/5, their value-for-money a 3.5/5, their service a 2.8/5, and their environment a 3/5. It is a place for youngters to have buffets at very affordable prices but not a place for good food and catch-up among friends.