AHTTI Korean Restaurant — Restaurant in Jurong East

Taste: Our group of seven ordered two sets of full boneless chicken (which was actually just 16 pieces of chicken and not a "whole" chicken per se) in the Yang Nyeom (Sweet Mild Spicy) and Gan Jang (Salted Sweet) flavours, a kimchi pancake, a stir-fried squid and pork belly set and a pork kimchi soup set. Of all the food ordered, the fried chicken was definitely the best of them all. The succulent and juicy meat was enclosed in a crispy outer shell, which was then sufficiently coated in your choice of sauce. Each piece was also bigger than what any of us imagined. I personally preferred the Gan Jang flavour to the Yang Nyeom one, although the group had split opinions on which one was better. I do think that the Yang Nyeom flavour, while advertised as spicy with one chilli rating, wasn't actually spicy at all. What was spicy though, was the kimchi soup and the stir-fried squid and pork. The group didn't like those two as much, with the only positive being that the pork belly in both dishes were tender and that the pieces came in a significant size. The kimchi pancake was great though, and I liked that the edges were thin enough to be crispy. The fried chicken also came with pickled radish, which is sorely missing from many other Korean Fried Chicken places. It's great as a palate cleanser when you are switching between two constrasting flavours of chicken!

Service: I'll be honest and say that our group waited quite long to get seated - however, I would say that it is not really the restaurant's fault, as most of their seats were catered to groups of four or less and it just so happens that there were no tables available that were side-by-side. With that being said, we were willing to wait and the owner/manager (I presume) managed to squeeze out a table for us. The lady did recommend for us to make a reservation next time. Besides that, the food was ordered via a QR code, and came pretty quickly after the order was sent in. Ice cold roasted tea was also provided for free, and the service staff attended to us quickly when we need refills for the tea or side dishes.

Price: This place charges only service charge and no GST. This amounts to about $18 per person for a weekday night dinner. The fried chicken was priced at around $35 to $38 for 16 pieces, with an 8 piece option available as well. The other dishes were around the $12 to $15 range. I would say that this place provides good value for money for the fried chicken, with the other dishes being less so. The bill was paid via GrabPay QR, and I believe that there were options to pay via ShopeePay and PayNow as well.

Ease of eating with utensils: The chopsticks provided is essential in making sure that you don't get your hands all dirty with the sticky sauce clinging to the fried chicken. I was able to poke the chicken pieces easily with my chopsticks for a better eating experience. There were also spoons since we ordered the kimchi soup as well. We were also given a small plate each for putting your food!

(Visited...

My very first Google review, dedicated to AHTTI Korean Restaurant. (To all 4D punters, some combinations below for you guys. May you strike it big.)

After a long day at work, my friend and I just want to have a nice dinner and chill to reward ourselves. The evening operating hours of the restaurant were listed to be 17:00-22:00.

20:00: Reached the restaurant. 20:18: Placed our order.

20:30: All the food came. One of the staff came to our table, asked for any last order and to settle the bill, even before we started eating. Few other staff started clearing cutlery and tissue holders from other tables. Our cutlery holder was quietly taken away too while we were eating. It was still 1.5 hours away from supposed closing time. With nothing much to do, some of the staff hung around facing our table and talked among themselves. Felt to us like they were watching some animal feeding time at the zoo.

21:15: One of the staff came to ask if the army stew's pot can be cleared. There was still some food in it. We asked if the restaurant closes at 22:00. Staff said yes.

21:18: Another staff came and told us politely that all customers will have to leave the restaurant by 21:30. We asked why, when it was stated as 22:00 for the closing time. She replied that they need to clean up the place.

21:25: I requested to takeaway the remaining pieces of fried chicken, and left the restaurant as I've lost my appetite.

Our bill came up to be $88.55 after service charge, for just 2 main dishes, 1 hotdog & 2 non-alcoholic drinks for 2 pax. Only the fried chicken was really good, hence the 1 star rating for it. Army stew was mediocre, small portion and not worth the price. For the banchan, only the kimchi and pickled radish (that came with the fried chicken) were okay. Service staff were polite, but need to be more professional.

We were not informed that customers had to leave by 21:30 when we placed our order, and ended up having to rush through our food. My friend had indigestion after the meal. If your restaurant wants to start cleaning up at 21:30, don't put the closing time to be 22:00. It's deceiving and annoying. Totally spoilt our meal.

This was my 3rd visit to the restaurant, and will be my last. To all who would like to visit the restaurant, I would advise you to go over earlier for dinner and leave by 830pm, before all the cleaning up starts taking place around you while you are...

Visited during Friday dinner. Venue is a 7min walk from the MRT. Place was fully reserved when we arrived, so reservations are highly recommended for weekends.

The interior is basic and cozy. Service crew served us barley tea right after we got seated. The service crew was also intuitive to flip the menu straight away to the menu for the right crowd size (2pax)! Note that their menu has different sets catering for different crowd size.

We ordered the 55 set (which is named after the price @ $55, very direct naming convention indeed 😂) which consisted of a medium sized army stew and a whole chicken portion of their fried chicken (available as boneless, wings/drumlets or as whole chicken). Only a whole portion for the fried chicken has the option to mix 2 flavours. We had the yangnyeon and honey butter flavours.

They served a basic banchan of kimchi, chilli Korean fried fish cake and chilli spinach. They make great munch while waiting for our orders to come.

Our orders didn't took too long to come. The army stew is on the lighter side but the taste does build up after cooking it for a longer while. Just don't expect a heavy taste for those who like it flavourful. It isn't that spicy too.

Our fried chicken followed shortly after. They are indeed the star of our meal! The skin is wonderfully crispy while the meat maintains the tenderness and juiciness.

The honey butter is a dry power coating. The fragrance heightens the sensory while the crispy sweet coating satisfies the palate. On the other hand, the yangnyeon is generously coated in a wet sauce.

The sweet and mildly spicy sauce combined with that crispy chicken skin, impress with the first bite and invites one more bite after the next.

The portion size is good for 2 big eaters or sharing among 3 pax.

They also sell their kimchi at $13/kg or $7/500g.

They have many sets and promotions catering for different groups. I would definitely be back with a different crowd and try out the others!

Visited...