Allons-y!

NAE:UM // difficult to book and deservingly so


The stars were definitely aligned in our favour for our waitlist status to go through on the perfect date, no less - the friday right before Ehren's birthday. 

(Maybe I should also call Burnt Ends and get them to put me on their waiting list recurringly)  

Walked in with high expectations and I wasn't disappointed! 



We went for the non-alcoholic pairing and I thought the design of the menu was ingenious. The drink pairing menu was printed on a translucent paper designed to stack on top of the food menu, which showed the pairing. 

That's so clever! 

Half of the drinks were made in-house. 

Lemon & Ginger Chung Fizz. This was my favourite drink of the night. 

Snacks Quartet - Honghab (mussel), Songeo (trout), Saewoo Kkang (shrimp), Aljjim (steamed egg)

Full marks for aesthetics, and a high score for actual tastiness too! The Songeo tart was my favourite. 

Duckgalbi 

There was a piece of rice cake hidden inside which provided a nice textural surprise. 

Caramelised Pear & Kombu

The taste of cardamom and kombu stood out the strongest for me. 

Gyeojache - Tuna, Cuttlefish, Avocado

I really enjoyed the different textures of the two seafood in this dish.

Somyeon - Buckwheat, Kimchi, Striped Jack

THIS WAS HANDS DOWN THE BEST DISH FOR ME! Nearly missed this dish because it's an add-on but the server high recommended it. 

Tomato Water & Basil

I love tomato, but as a drink this was too savoury for me. 

Greens Beomuri - Scallop, Soybean, Tofu

A very perplexing dish.

Plum & Lime Chung Fizz

This was good too. But really, anything after that tomato drink, as long as it's not too exotic, would be easily appreciated.  

Gui - Coral Trout, Canola Blossom, Leek

I think the amadai with crispy fish scales we had at Sommer pushed the bar real high for all following fish dishes we tasted. This wasn't bad per se, but nowhere close in comparison. 

Samhab - Pluma, Octopus, Kimchi

NAE:UM's version of surf and turf?

Jukes 6

Tasted like a diluted ribena. 

Jeonbok - Abalone, King Oyster Mushroom, Lily Bulb

Honestly for what we are paying I think they should give us two sets of condiments, instead of just one to share?? 

Sparkling Oolong Tea



Subak - Fromage Blanc, Pomegranate, Watermelon

Loved the taste but there was a lack of texture in this dessert, despite the number of elements that made the dish. The shard was surprisingly not crispy? 

Signature Charcoal Jujube - Multigrain, Red date, Charcoal

Loved the red date ice cream (buried under the charcoal shards) 

Korean Sweet Potato & Passion Fruit Mousse Cake 

13 going on 30 club!! Who would have thought we'll still be friends after more than half our lives!!

Dagwa (petit four) 

Jeungpyeon (like a toasted rice cake?)

Jooak (OMG I can't remember what this is, I only remember it to be super dense)  

Sujungwa (ginger and cinnamon tea)

If the entire menu (excluding drink pairing) costs $188 as printed, I'll rate it a 10/10 with no hesitation +  handover the highest CP value award to them, from Chef's Table.

I find it quite irksome that three of the dishes were add-ons, (especially the SIGNATURE charcoal jujube like why would you not want people to try your signature dish by default, but instead give them an option to decide if they want to try it or not??) 

To be fair, the entire menu including all the add ons is still a reasonable and affordable menu with great value for what you are getting. But having not one, not two, but three dishes as add ons?? 

As such, I can only rate it a 9.5 HAHAHA -0.5 FOR MY STINGINESS I GUESS