Odem prides itself as an artisanal Makkoli bar which offers a curated list of unique and different makkoli made in small batches. We headed down to explore and wow, it’s really crowded. Reservations recommended. Located in the corner on the ground floor, the place isn’t big and there is a turnover time of 2 hours.

They only had 2 options for flight tasting which you get to try 10 different makkoli. Else, pretty much everything else you have to order the whole bottle. So if you are thinking of ordering a single portion of makkoli while waiting for your friend, nah, there’s no such options

ODEM QUINTET $60 (back)

Consisting of the following:

Mars Brewery (Zero) – Medium Body, Pure Rice Aroma; Tasted really sour. It really hit you just to keep your appetite started

Cheongmyeongju – Grainy, Matty, Earthy, Light Floral Notes; Clear filter makkoli that tasted pretty normal

Hwacheon Il Chui (Takju) – Infused with 22 varieties of flowers; Rather sweet with the floral notes

Jiran Jigyo (Takju) – Fig Leaves & Coconut; I really liked this with the coconut finishing though the friend seems to disagree

Odem Lychee Rose – Lychee, Korean Rose; We agreed this house-brew makkoli was the best we tasted

MOONSHOTS $88 (front)

Consist of the following:

Jiran Jigyo (Yakju) – Grainy Umami; Another clear filter makkoli yet with no infusion for this

Love on a Jujube Tree; The red-date taste was rather impressive

Sucre – Mint, Green Apple, Green Grapes; You could taste the slight mugwort in it, which I thought tasted rather decent as a whole

Pangjeong Sagye (Takju) – Ricey, Nutty; Tasted more creamy, I couldn’t really taste the cheesy taste in it. I thought it just tasted like normal makkoli

Soolpang Magnolia – Very Floral, Fresh Magnolia, Complex; Supposedly extracted from the mountain, this was too floral for my liking

We were told the first light was the basic version of makkoli flight tasting while the moonshots is the upgraded version. And the friend and I concluded we preferred Quintet to Moonshots and also agreed that if they had swapped Cheongmyeongju for Love on a Jujube Tree, this would be a perfect flight tasting. Cos each makkoli was so unique and you could really taste the difference from one to another. But well, this was just our opinion. lol

Moving on to the food..

HWE ( SEASONAL FISH ) $32

Aji, Hamachi, Salmon, Pickled Radish, Lemon-soy sauce

I was interested in the sashimi even though I didn’t expect such a big portion. I really liked this dish but would have preferred if they haven’t use salmon. But the sauce was really tasty and it went really went with the makkoli. I personally though this appetiser was the best among those we ordered

GULIM MANDU ( 4 PCS ) $21

Black Truffle, Pork, Prawn, Soy, Chive oil

Tasted rather different from the usual Korean style. It felt rather Chinese mandu-like. Also, I couldn’t taste much of the black truffle in it either. It was okay but not wow

KIMCHI MOZZARELLA PANCAKE $24

Kimchi, Mozzarella & Cheddar, Bacon Cauliflower puree, Smoked Gochugaru

The pancake was not bad but it was a rather filling pancake since they had used cheese as the filling. But the pancake was done well, with a nice char taste and goes well with the puree

IBERICO SECRETO $68

Iberico Secreto, Doenjang marinade, Grilled vegetables, Soy

We chose the pork over the beef cos a friend of ours who had visited told us the beef wasn’t great. And the next table who ordered the Kalbi loudly proclaimed the pork was better (than the beef). So well, I guessed the troop had spoken. I thought the pork was average. At least, it didn’t leave much of an impression on me

ABALONE BORIBAP $52

Abalone, Makkoli-abalone jus, Pearl Barley, Gamtae butter, Zucchini, Gosari (mountain fernbrake), Abalone liver sauce

The abalone boribap wasn’t what we expected. In short, you need to eat the rice together with the abalone slice. The rice itself was just strange but yet, it went well with the abalone slices and also made a good pairing with the Iberico pork as well

The staffs came around to give us a free tasting of this makkoli spread, that supposedly goes well with crackers. It tasted pretty good I would say and also, pretty interesting

CHAPSSAL DONUT, PINE NUT GELATO ( 3 PCS ) $18

Pine Nut Gelato, Burnt Honey, Donut with Red Bean paste

The friend wanted the donuts and I helped her with one piece. The donuts were well-made. It had good texture with the mochi and sweetness of the red bean paste and I thought the pine nut gelato complemented pretty well too

I would go back for the makkoli but not for the food. It was okay, but not wow. And if I were to suggest, the appetisers were better than the mains. So get the makkoli with the appetisers, skip the mains and straight for the desserts. It would be a better combination this way

Odem

46 Kim Yam Rd, #01-17, Singapore 239351