82 Own located at The Cathay is a new Korean café. If the name sounds familiar, it is related to 82Bunsik and +82 PlusEightTwo at Rendezvous Hotel – which is a short walk away.
I first visited +82 PlusEightTwo Cafe exactly 3 years ago when they had Korean Bingsu on their menu. Remember the time when bingsu was quite trending in Singapore.
(Currently, their outlet at Rendezvous Hotel is undergoing a change in concept.)
Located right next to the main entrance of The Cathay, 82 Own is a 25 seater-space decked in Scandinavian style with the use of white and brown colour tones.
The menu at 82 Own is a congregation of both 82Bunsik at Ang Mo Kio and +82 PlusEightTwo. I did wish there was a more differentiating factor in the menu though.
Here, you will find Corndog ($4.50 – $5), Ramyeon ($6.90), Ddeokbokki ($9.90), Croffle ($9 – $9.90) and Bingsu ($15 – $18).
I must admit that I haven’t seen a new Bingsu (Korean shaved ice dessert) place opening in Singapore in the recent years, with the exception of say Café de Muse.
Probably a trend that came and never stayed for too long, I was pretty excited to finally try Bingsu again.
8 different Bingsus are available, namely Injeolmi ($15), Oreo ($15), Cereal ($15), Choco Chex ($15), Macarron ($15) – it is spelt double ‘r’ here, Strawberry ($18), Mango ($18) and Melon ($18).
If you prefer something more indulgent, you can add on a scoop of ice cream at an additional $3.
I decided to get the Macarron Bingsu ($15) that had pieces of broken macarons of different flavours as toppings.
A small glass of watered-down condensed milk was served alongside, as the shaved ice was tasteless on its own.
The shaved ice was as good as I remembered – soft, fine and fluffy like cotton whereas the condensed milk added the right amount of sweetness.
The macarons were soft and chewy, provided a contrast to the fluffy snow-like shaved ice.
I also enjoyed that there were different macarons flavours in the bowl.
As the entire bowl was filled with shaved ice except for the toppings, the Bingsu could get a little “boring” after a while.
Perhaps they could add different layers in between the shaved ice to make it more varied-tasting.
For those seeking hot food, there are Corndogs in 4 different flavours: Original ($4.50), Mozza ($5), Cheddar ($5) and Cereal ($5) and Croffle Plain $9, Cheese $9.90, Injeolmi $9.90) also available at 82Bunsik.
The Corndogs comes with choice of toppings such as ketchup, mustard and sugar, after the sausages coated with a thick layer of cornmeal batter are deep-fried.
Expect a #cheesepull as the Mozza ($5) comes with melted mozzarella cheese at the top half of the stick, whereas the sausage only be found at the remaining half.
Is half-a-sausage a thing?
82 Own provides a space where diners can enjoy both hot food and Bingsu after the same roof, and will probably be a popular spot for students from SMU, SOTA, Kaplan, Lasalle and NAFA studying nearby.
82 Own
The Cathay, 2 Handy Road, #01-01/02, Singapore 229233
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)
Other Related Entries
10 Popular Korean Restaurants In Singapore For Easy Takeaways & FREE Delivery
82Bunsik (Ang Mo Kio)
Korfe (Bishan Junction 8)
Ajumma’s (Funan)
The Chir Café & Bar (Holland Village)
* Written by Nicholas Tan @stormscape who loves all things [NEW]. DFD paid for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.