Noryangjin Fish Market-Style Eatery A Hit With Korean Expats In S’pore, Fab Soy-Marinated Raw Crabs & Live Seafood On Menu
Mention sashimi and Japanese cuisine like melt-in-your-mouth cuts of otoro and uni come to mind. Korea too has its own version of sashimi, called hoe (pronounced ‘hwe’), which is chewier and has more bite, and this is what Woon Shiman, 43, chef-owner of casual Korean sashimi restaurant Fish & Bones, loves about it.
Located on the first floor of UE Square, the two-year-old joint offers live seafood imported from Korea. It also serves Korean classics like army stew, bibimbap, and seafood pancake. And it’s very popular with the Korean community in Singapore - in fact, we heard about this place via our colleague’s Korean hairstylist.
Just two months after opening its doors in July 2022, Shiman and his Korean wife Irene Yang, 41, who runs the business with him, converted their retail store to a restaurant as “there was always a demand for dine-in”.
Like a more chic, mini version of Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, you can choose your own live seafood from the tanks and have the chef prepare it for you or take it to go like you would at a supermarket.
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Husband and wife are Le Cordon Bleu-trained chefs
Shiman and Irene met when they were studying at culinary school Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney. Specialising in modern Australian cuisine, the couple, who married in 2011, worked Down Under for around eight years as chefs before moving to Singapore when Shiman was headhunted to helm the now defunct mod Aussie restaurant Don Ho at Keong Saik Road in 2016. He joined Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel a couple of years later and then Tanjong Beach Club as head chef, while Irene was a stay-at-home mum to their now eight-year-old son.
In 2022, Shiman decided to strike it out on his own, and with Irene’s help, started Fish & Bones as he loves Korean sashimi. He also wanted to give customers the option of buying sashimi a la carte, unlike most Korean restaurants in Singapore where you “have to order a set which comes with things that you don’t want”.
They started off as a retail business as they wanted “work-life balance”.
“We wanted to open at 11am, close at 7pm, and have time for our kid, but obviously it didn’t work out that way,” he laughs.
Barely made ends meet initially, sales only $200 a day
Despite working “seven days a week, from morning till night” when they first opened, they “were not making ends meet” due to the lack of foot traffic at the mall.
“It was quite scary. There were times where our sales were only $200 a day. This went on for about a month. I lost 10kg and she lost 8kg due to the stress,” Shiman recalls with a chuckle.
“We tried anything and everything to make it work. We kept bringing in new things and specials [like seasonal items], we were burning money. Our mindset was if it’s not going to work, it’s not going to work. Just give it your best shot, no need to save money.”
It was only after Irene started an Instagram account to promote their business and specials that word about Fish & Bones spread among the Korean community and demand for dine-in came in.
70 percent of customers are Koreans
“We just went for it [and converted to a restaurant]. We were so desperate and hungry,” shares Shiman.
Best decision ever. In the first month, sales jumped by “10 times” and “has been on an upward trajectory”. They managed to recoup their investment of $200K in the first six months and investors have been knocking on their doors to invest in a second outlet, though that is not something they are considering at the moment as they don’t want to compromise on the quality of their food.
“To go from that to where we are now, I feel very blessed,” shares Shiman.
“I always tell him don’t forget your first day and the first people that supported you,” adds Irene.
Shiman runs the kitchen with his team of four chefs, while Irene handles front of house. He credits much of their success to Irene, whom he calls the “face of the business”. Around 70 percent of their clientele are Koreans and “a lot of them are here for her”.
“They trust her and want her to introduce the food and make recommendations, and she’s amazing at selling, to the point that sometimes I have to tell her to slow down ’cos not enough stock already,” laughs Shiman.
The menu
Fish & Bones has 12 staples of live and chilled seafood on its sashimi menu, including halibut, sea squirt, live octopus, and soy sauce crab. Prices range from $25 (feeds 2-3 pax) for Norwegian salmon to $70 (feeds about 3 pax) for a mixed seafood platter. Unlike most Japanese sashimi, the Korean version is not aged, and hence firmer and chewier. To ensure freshness and quality, the live seafood are served from tank to plate, or killed just before meal service. Nothing is kept for more than 24 hours.
Chilled and live seafood are air-flown weekly from Korea and the best time to visit for specials is on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Besides seafood, there are hot dishes like spicy rice cake ($19), minari pancake ($27), grilled meats like duroc pork belly ($20 for 200g) and rib-eye ($45 for 250g). Their lunch menu featuring familiar Korean fare like bibimbap, jjajangmyeon (black bean sauce noodles) and pork tonkatsu, is priced from $14.
Dishes come with three types of housemade banchan like kimchi and spicy cucumber.
Halibut Sashimi, $50; feeds 2-3 pax
We went with the halibut, one of the most popular fish for Korean sashimi. The raw slices are served on a bed of shredded daikon accompanied by a veggie basket consisting of perilla leaves, wasabi leaves, and two kinds of lettuce.
Thinly cut and almost translucent, the halibut has a subtle flavour and a firmer, QQ texture – a testament to its freshness. You can eat it dipped in zingy chogochujang (chili pepper paste mixed with vinegar) or soy sauce and wasabi, but we prefer having it ssam-style in a veggie wrap.
When cloaked in perilla leaf along with sliced garlic, chilli and their housemade mildly spicy ssamjang (fermented bean paste), you get a nice combination of savouriness and spiciness from the garlic and ssamjang, plus mintiness from the veg. For more kick, go for the wasabi leaf which tastes just like horseradish.
Our order also came with four luscious slices of halibut fin. Irene recommends dipping those in soy sauce and wasabi so as not to distract from its buttery flavour.
Jjampong, $18 (8 DAYS Pick!)
We love jjamppong (spicy seafood noodles) and this is one of the best we’ve tried in Singapore. Our large bowl of noodles comes packed with oysters, clams, mussels, squid, prawns and veggies, and filled with full-bodied soup. Made by simmering ingredients like kombu, anchovies, radish, and fish bones for six hours, it is bursting with oceanic flavours. Very shiok and comforting. Available only for lunch daily.
Hoe-deopbap, $22
Also only available for lunch is hoe-deopbap (raw fish and vegetable rice) which is like the Korean version of chirashi don, but with more textures, spice and aromas. On a bed of short-grain rice sit salmon and halibut slices, lettuce, perilla leaves, topped with tobiko, seaweed, all drizzled with sesame oil. Add chogochujang dressing and give it a good mix like you would bibimbap. It’s refreshing with a nice mingling of tangy, savoury and spicy flavours. This hearty offering can feed two small eaters.
Soy Sauce Marinated Raw Crab, $50 for a medium-sized crab (8 DAYS Pick!)
Soy-marinated raw crab is growing in popularity among K-food fans in Singapore and the ones here are highly recommended. And we can see why. Made with Irene’s family recipe, the umami and slightly herby marinade complements the natural sweetness of the crab. It is addictive and not fishy at all, though the slightly fermented flavour might be too strong for some.
Only female flower crabs are used for their roe, and Irene tells us the crabs are tedious to prepare. After scrubbing them clean, the crustaceans are bathed in a soy sauce-based marinade consisting of 12 ingredients including pear juice, garlic, and “secret recipe of Chinese herbs” for three days. The marinade is then strained and boiled to bring out the flavour. When it is cooled, the crabs are marinated in it for another three days.
Only 10 soy sauce crabs are available each day, so best to call to pre-book them before going down.
Minari Pancake, $27
Crispy pancake loaded with minari, or Korean watercress, and prawns. Compared to most Korean pancakes we’ve tried, it is on the thicker side and has a satisfyingly chewy centre. Thanks to the fresh, grassy taste of the minari, we feel a little less guilty indulging in this fried pancake.
Bottom line
If you’re a fan of Korean sashimi or looking to try it for the first time, Fish & Bones is likely to impress. Served from tank to plate, the seafood doesn’t get fresher than this. The cooked food here is also well-executed and unpretentious – the kind of comforting and homely fare you’d expect at Korean hole-in-the-wall joints. While it lacks the ambience of a traditional K-eatery, the excellent food makes up for it. Prices are pretty reasonable too, for the quality. Some dishes are only available for lunch, so be sure to call up before heading down.
The details
Fish & Bones is at #01-13, UE Square, 81 Clemenceau Ave, S239917. Open Tue – Sun from 11.30am – 10.30pm; Mon from 5.30pm – 10.30pm. For reservations, WhatsApp 9724 7488. More info on Instagram.
Photos: Kelvin Chia
No part of this story or photos can be reproduced without permission from 8days.sg.
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