Captain Kim Korean Bbq, Tampines

Unclaimed

This restaurant offers a halal buffet, and many Muslim diners frequently eat here, so those who don’t consume pork can dine with peace of mind. The luncheon meat and sausages are made from chicken, so there’s no need to worry about eating anything non-halal. There are three types of beef available, which is quite a decent selection for an affordable Korean BBQ restaurant. Many other places at this price point mostly serve pork or chicken, with only one type of beef. The marbled beef slices here are quite fatty and might be better suited for hotpot rather than BBQ. That’s right—this buffet includes both BBQ and hotpot, with drinks included in the price. The ribeye steak is thick and large, and out of the three beef options, it has the best marinated flavor. Just don’t take too much at once, as any food waste will be charged at $20 per 100g. The beef quality is quite good—firm in texture and well-marinated. However, the shrimp is disappointing. The meat is mushy and sticks to the shell, a clear sign of being frozen for too long and not fresh. Not recommended. The condiments for Korean BBQ here are quite simple, mainly spicy sauce. Fortunately, the spice level has been adjusted to be mild—about a 1 out of 10 on the international spice scale—so even those who don’t like spicy food can try it. Globally speaking, the best seasonings for BBQ are sesame sauce, cumin, or yellow curry powder (not the Indian style curry). The kimchi broth has a nice spice level—not too strong—making it a good match for the fatty beef slices, helping to cut through the greasiness. The pickled radish side dish is excellent—its sweet and sour taste is perfect for balancing out the richness of the meat. It's the ideal choice for meat lovers looking for a refreshing contrast. However, the kimchi here is poorly made, with a fermented sourness that tastes almost spoiled. To be fair, this isn’t just a problem with this restaurant—it seems to be an issue across all South Korean restaurants in Singapore. If you’ve ever had authentic North Korean kimchi, you’d immediately notice the difference. Properly made kimchi should have a well-balanced salty, sour, and spicy flavor that is appetizing, without any rotten sourness. (Of course, diners with less sensitive taste buds might not be able to distinguish different types of sourness.) After all, even South Korean cold noodles don’t taste as good as North Korean ones, so this isn’t just a single-store issue. One real problem with this restaurant is that the staff completely ignore hotpot broths that are about to dry out! They will only refill the side where the kettle is placed, while completely neglecting the other side. The staff walk past the table, clear empty plates, and yet fail to notice the broth boiling down to just 1 cm left! The chicken meatball, which is 1.5 cm thick, was no longer submerged (see picture), yet no one even asked if we needed a refill. I have no idea why they are trained this way! This buffet has a strict time limit of 90 minutes. If you exceed the time, the staff will actually come to rush you—not just remind you, but directly take away your plates. So this place is not suitable for gatherings or chatting, only for those who want to eat quickly and leave. One amusing thing I noticed is that the food station has a sign saying "No smelling." Don’t know what kind of bizarre customers they’ve encountered in the past to make them put up such a rule!

We went to this this place to celebrate a birthday and the staff were really accommodating! The food was worth it for the quality too. 10/10 would recommend

Food is nice and value for money during lunch promo. I don’t eat Pork so this place is perfect for me. Just beef and chicken is good enough. Good - kimchi rice, pancake, soup

This is our first time trying the restaurant for my birthday. The Korean food spread is OK. The taste is OK as well. The free flow of drinks is great! The price is good. The place is cool for hangout. Their service is awesome. Truly! We had an incindent at the restaurant. There's other group customer were sitting beside our table. Their table was quite close to our table, so often after their finish the food then they put the empty plates on our table. Thankfully the restaurant staffs catch out that scene so they remove those plates very fast. They even said sorry for inconvenience to us although definitely its not their fault. It's made our day. Amazing! We'll comeback again for sure.