Golden Cafe Food Court @ Katong Shopping Centre

So, after yoga today, I went out in search place to have lunch. I was going to go to Açaí Project to see how they compare with An Açaí Affair which I went and reviewed last week. However, they were doing some renovations and only had take out. So I walked around the neighbourhood in search of food and ended up at Golden Cafe Food Court.

It is a relatively new food court so the place looks clean and new. It was still pretty empty when I entered and I was able to walk around to see what they have on offer. The stalls seemed like your typical food court food, although more towards mainland China fare like the xiaolongbao and ramen. They have these monitors which show the orders that each stall is serving, somewhat like the monitors in polyclinics. As I was queue-ing to order, a rush of young kids (from PRC?) stormed the place and the place began buzzing with activity.

I decided to try the Kimchi Soup Set (pork; $5.80) from the Japanese/Korean stall. I guess I was hoping that it would be a cheaper alternative to Doongji. I also got a te-bing siew dai ($2.50). The kimchi soup came in a plastic bowl which looks like the authentic ones they serve in a Korean restaurant. The banchan they served is a tiny saucer of kimchi. The food tasted like food court Korean food. The soup is diluted and a little too sweet and not spicy enough. The kimchi was food court kimchi. The ingredients are adequate in quality and quantity, but nothing like Doongji, although I understand that is an unfair comparison. The te-bing was usual food court/hawker tea. Can taste the tea flavour, not diluted like some places. The take-away cup is very sturdy. Maybe that's why the drink is so expensive.

I give this 3 Aunty Karens. It is a okay by food court standard, although they are slightly pricier than some of the hawker centres and food courts around here. I might come back to try the other stalls. But I don't think I have found my replacement/alternative to Doongji. I would pay a bit more for authentic and tasty Korean food with unlimited banchan any day.