I had wanted to try Naeum for the longest time but cos reservations were hard to secure, and nobody wanna try it with me (sad), I finally got down to the place when the friend suggested to try their previous menu for lunch. They have Episode 3: Seaside Dreams as their current dinner menu and would serve their previous menu for lunch instead. So even though this review might not be very relevant anymore, but if anyone of you would like to relieve Episode 2, you can feel free to read on

Yay, excited to be dining here finally

First table in da house!

Our personal cutlery box. Personally, I find this very cute. There were a number of cutlery inside and we could finally understand why cos some dishes do really require the use of spoon even though we tried to just survive with the chopsticks

Songeo – Nurungji

The first dish came to us like a painting

We love the light start to the dish with their own take of wagyu and salmon tartare. It was beautiful to look at, but also delicious and I was glad we started our lunch on the right note

Duckalbi

Oh, this was so good. I like how they incorporate grilled duck meat with such flavour into this starter. The taste simply lingered on your tastebud even after finishing the dish

Domi

Sea Bream, Acorn, Citrus Soy

Moving on to our first dish proper, the whole dish was presented very prettily no doubt. We enjoyed the cucumber foam and thought it really rounded off the dish very nicely, We found the texture of the sea bream a little too soft for our liking else this dish was a whole, was just okay

Somyeon + $38

Buckwheat, Kimchi, Hokkaido Scallop

Definitely recommended to add this. Inspired by Chef’s childhood memories of kimchi noodles, this was his interpretation of the modern version. Using white kimchi for that robust flavour with a nice chewy texture on the buckwheat noodles, alongside some fresh and sweet scallops, this dish was one to remember

Naengchae

French Chicken, Abalone, Soybean

The chicken impressed us. Cooked really well, the protein was tender and you could taste the natural sweetness of the chicken which was really clean in terms of its flavour. We thought the pairing with the soybean worked too and of course not forgetting the tender piece of abalone as well

Samchi

Winter Mushrooms, Daikon, Onion

The broth was good. And you could taste the sweetness of the daikon infused with all the goodness in it. But I thought the mackerel could be smoked a little more. I found it somewhat lacking which brought the whole dish down a little

Iberico Tenderloin

Burdock, Potato, Galbi

A delicious piece of tenderloin which you would have thought this was beef it you had eaten this with your eyes closed. Burdock pickled in house and a smooth creaminess of the potato puree

Sanchae Sotbap

X.O Makjang, Nuruk-Aged Wagyu, Namul

The pot was first brought out to allow diners to take photos

Before plating it into small portions, with the addition of the cured yolk

The condiments were really good too. The pickled onions, white kimchi and x.o gonchujang sauce all went really well with the rice

This is bibimbap, atas version. I love how the yolk burst in your mouth so you have the runny texture alongside the beef and rice. I thought the rice lacked a little fragrance, else the dish as a whole was pretty decent

Mandarin

Vanilla Yoghurt, Honeycomb, Ginger Snow

The dessert took quite some time to come and cos I was in a rush to go for class. So I literally gobbled this down and dashed out of the door. Coming back to the dessert, this was light and refreshing and considering we were all pretty full, I felt like it actually complemented the meal without making it too heavy for us. The mandarin oranges were sweet and a delight to have and I like the addition of the ginger snow which made it really refreshing

Charcoal Jujube +$12

Multigrain, Jujube Icecream

Jeongpyeon – Jooak

And the friends kindly sent me photos of the last 2, and ate my share too :]

They didn’t tell me how it was but I guessed from the pictures, they don’t look too bad. lol

I actually like Naeum, even though I heard from friends the review was average. But I was glad I had a good experience in general. Perhaps the menu is important too. And as they are preparing for Episode 4 now, I’m actually excited to see what’s to come

Naeum

161 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068615