The good folks behind Chir Chir have brought in another popular Korean restaurant, Masizzim. “Masizzim” is a portmanteau of Korean words “delicious” and “stew” because it serves marinated meat stewed in Massizim’s secret recipe sauces.

Australian pork stew in soy ($16 individual/ $29 double)

You can customize your stew. First, choose the meat (spicy chicken, Australian pork rib, or Australian beef rib).
Then choose your sauce: soy or spicy (levels 1 to 4).
And then choose your carb: udon, or glass noodles.
Lastly you can have add-ons such as cheese ($2) or toppoki (Korean rice cakes, $2).

Australian beef rib stew in level 2 spice ($18 individual/ $32 double)

The stews are available in individual portions (250g of meat) or double. The meats are marinated overnight, pressure-cooked for 40 minutes, and then slow-cooked for 6 hours. All three meats we sampled fell off the bone; texture was amazing.

Spicy chicken stew (level 2, $16/$29)

As for the flavors, they are not subtle, layered, or complex; they are super shiok, super comforting. They are full-bodied blast in your face. The soy flavor is a blend of soy sauce, pineapples, and Korean pear, to give you a sweetness. The tanginess in the blend undercuts whatever grease there is in the meat.

To quote Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, “The spice flavor gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t go around killing other people.” The spice gives you a high, but be forewarned that while I could take level 2 spiciness of the chicken, the level 2 for beef is way hotter. I think it’s the way the spice interacts with the meat.

But I fear the rice balls ($8) may have overshadowed the stews. It may be that the fun factor of working for your own food, of squeezing your own balls, increases the appeal. The different textures of rice and ingredients have a nice bite.

Furthermore, Mr Fitness commented that both the anchovies (non-spicy) and tuna (spicy) options make excellent quick lunch option. We finished the two bowls of Korean cai fan entirely. We’d return for them.

The only thing I didn’t like was the Korean pancakes. There is nothing wrong with the 3 flavors of pancakes we tried here, but to me, Korean pancakes must be very shiok; fluffy, crispy, and dense enough to give that nice mouthfeel, topped with tender ingredients. But pancakes here didn’t give me that shiokness and the squid and leek ($14) was too chewy. Mr Fitness did like the pizza-flavored tomato cheese kimchi pancake ($13) a lot.

That’s it. We tried almost everything on the menu. It is a small menu, and Masizzim isn’t going to win any culinary awards but the food is hearty and comforting for lunch, on rainy days, and on any bad days one is having.

Masizzim also proves that food doesn’t have to be expensive to be delicious. The food left me in such a good mood. As I am typing this, I am planning a reunion for the food and my stomach.

Masizzim Singapore
313 Orchard Road, 313@Somerset, #B3-02, Singapore 238895
T: +65 6509 5808
facebook
Sun-Th 11am-10pm, F & Sat 11am-11pm

Value: 7/10
Food: 6.75/10
Decor: 6/10
Service: NA (tasting)
Rating: 3.292/5

Written by A. Nathanael Ho.

This is an invited tasting. Thanks, Rachel and Alex, for the great company.