NAE:UM’s contemporary Seoul cuisine warms both the heart and soul

Like the fine leather bag you see in glossy magazines, NAE:UM is an experience best savoured up close and in person. Reservations open 3-months in advance and even then it’s tough getting a table, but this is a dining experience truly worthy of patience.

It’s not often I come across a restaurant that immediately catapults to the apex of my (upcoming) ‘top eats’ list. Everything was seriously superb—from the warm, woody interiors to printed menus, pacing or service.

And according to those who had the pleasure of enjoying Episode 1 of Chef Louis Han’s stellar ‘contemporary Seoul cuisine’ when NAE:UM was launched mid-2021, his Episode 2 'Mountain Lodge' menu (from 6-Courses at $168)–inspired by Seoul’s scenic peaks and of hearty meals meant to re-energise and comfort—is even more complete and cohesive with storied plates of earthy seasonal ingredients.

The ‘Mountain Lodge' menu kicks off with a presentation of snacks that immediately set the stage.

Luxuriating amongst moss, smooth stones and pinecones, the Kkotge (flower crab) seizes your taste buds with a delicate sweetness that melts into bursts of freshness and heat from pickled chilli, pommery mustard and kimchi powder, then the bitter-tang of calamansi and pomelo.

The Nurungji with Nuruk-aged Australian Wagyu beef tartare snack is on the other side of the spectrum. It intrigues more with a delicious play of textures: crisp, puffed brown rice cracker with toasty hints and dreamy, velvety beef tartare with ultra fine cured egg yolk shavings, pickled turnip and spring onion spears.

Duckgalbi—a word play on Tteok-galbi (grilled beef short rib patties)—is the last of the snacks, and also my favourite from the trio. Shatteringly crisp Feuille de Brick tart pastry filled with a ‘reverse mochi’ of mouthwatering, bincho-grilled minced duck ball with a secret gochujang sauce and a rice cake (tteok) centre.

Next up is a very botanical presentation of Konbujime Matsugawa Sea Bream—the fish is wrapped in konbu and aged Edo-style, before being dousing with hot water over the skin to enhance its texture. Sashimi slices dance around a garden of ice plant, romanesco, edible flowers, ‘Dotorimuk’ acorn jelly in citrus soy dressing ‘soil’ and capped with a subtle cucumber foam ‘snow’.

The Somyeon (supplementary dish, $38) will not disappoint. Inspired by Chef’s mum’s cold noodles dish at home—but served with much more pizazz here—humble Korean-made buckwheat noodles is tossed in an aromatic white kimchi-truffle oil dressing, then crowned with a seasonal luxe topping (we were lucky to savour bafun uni), Kristal caviar and white sesame seeds. An extremely delicious and silky mound.

Chicken-abalone combos are quite common in Korea, and I’ve had quite a number of such hot, soupy dishes in Seoul myself. Chef presents it with a twist here as a Naengchae (meaning cold meal or salad in Korean) instead.

Succulent, slow-cooked French chicken meets Jeju abalone—the mollusk braised in a chilli dashi so there’s a lovely warmth and complexity—alongside doenjang (fermented bean paste) caramelized baby carrot, puffed millet, Korean herbs chimichurri and pulled together with a creamy soybean sauce.

Inspired by the fish stews that are typically served at mountain lodges where hikers stop, the Samchi spotlights a doenjang brown butter slow- roasted Japanese Spanish mackerel—the fish brined and smoked with apple wood chips prior, so it has this incredible, captivating smokiness—on a base of sweet onion puree.

A spicy winter mushroom broth—made from shimmering Shiitake mushrooms, mushroom trimmings, doenjang, and gojuchang—whets the appetite further with its gorgeous depth and a dose of invigorating, earthy spiciness.

Drawing reference to the autumnal ingredient of acorns, chef features acorn-fed Iberico pork as his penultimate entree. A very rounded dish of tenderloin grilled over binchotan with a Korean 'galbi' sauce, and served with fermented burdock, char-grilled broccolini, confit onion and dollops of potato puree.

Then arrives the Sanchae Sotbap that’s designed to draw gasps, aahs and (of course) cameras. Korean rice, both white and brown, and barley cooked in a traditional cast iron pot. It’s topped with char-grilled nuruk-aged Wagyu striploin, winter vegetables ‘namul’ and Korean nori flakes.

After our trigger-happy moment subsides, the staff whisks it away and returns with an artfully mixed portion, studded with dots of egg jam, to be enjoyed with pickles, homemade white kimchi and an awesome XO ‘makjang’ (traditional Korean fermented sauce) that will have you wolfing everything down and shamelessly requesting for seconds.

Thankfully chef’s childhood was spent snacking on mandarins because that fresh acidity is highly appreciated after the rich meal. The Mandarin sees lovely ginger snow with dreamy Madagascan vanilla yoghurt, fresh mandarin and grapefruit segments, crunchy and sweet ‘dalgona’ honeycomb, and a flavour-packed mandarin mint sorbet.

If you’re in the mood to indulge (bearing in the mind the petit fours), go for the Charcoal Jujube (supplementary dish, $12). Intense, rich jujube ice cream with a fragrance that floods the palate is served with charcoal tuille and puffed multigrain for a touch of smokiness.

The meal ends with petit fours that interestingly reminded me of my childhood snacks. The grilled Fermented
Rice Cake has a texture similar to that of a sticky ‘Huat Kueh’, and Yakgwa—a deep-fried Korean cookie traditionally enjoyed on festive days and for celebrations—is reminiscent of ‘Mahua’ (fried dough twist) but with hints of ginger and cinnamon.

Some have drawn parallels to Michelin-starred Mingles in Seoul, though I feel their styles are quite nuanced. Mingles is more contemporary interpretations of Korean classics (based on my visits in 2019), whilst Chef Louis’ cuisine comes across as fundamentally modern and more international, layered in with the familiarity and flavours from his memories of Korea, which is what sets NAE:UM ahead IMHO.

This was an invited media tasting session, though all views expressed are my own.

NAE:UM
Address: 161 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068615
Contact: +65 8830 5016; reservations@naeum.sg
Reservations required: https://cho.pe/dineatnaeumsg
Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 6pm-10.30pm (Lunch will be introduced in the future)