Between cooking impressive dishes, Culinary Class Wars chefs ate instant cup noodles, Jung Ho-young reveals

In Singapore for a collaboration with Korean restaurant Bulgogi Syo, the chef and popular TV personality spilled some beans about what it was really like behind the scenes of the reality cooking competition show – and also why he likes laksa and kaya toast, but not so much oyster omelette.

The Culinary Class Wars mania continues, with chef Jung Ho-young swinging by Singapore for the first time in his life – that’s 49 years, by the way – so fans can taste his creations.

The Season Two finalist, who made it to the top four, is collaborating with local restaurant chain Bulgogi Syo, which will serve a selection of his dishes at their four outlets for the next six months, including two made famous by the show: The much talked-about Monkfish Liver chawanmushi, for which he brought in a custom-made rack for hanging and butchering monkfish; and Grilled Sea Eel Renkon Manju with Crab Sauce.

Additionally, diners can also taste the Signature Beef Curry Udon with Grilled Yakibuta from his Jeju restaurant Udon Caden, as well as a Creamy Prawn Croquette with Sesame Sauce and a dish of Citrus-Soy Grilled Cod Fish.

Meanwhile, Jung is making the most of his time here: The number one thing on his to-do list is to taste chili crab, he told us. Other local dishes he’s sampled and enjoyed so far have been laksa, char kway teow and bak kut teh, which was “really delicious”. Kaya toast was a hit with him too, as it’s “crispy and sweet”. But one thing that was just “so-so” was oyster omelette – because the Korean version is better, he opined.

He’s composed and quite reserved in real life, but on the show, there were actually moments in which he forgot that he was on TV, he shared – moments of stress and panic.