Um Yong Baek

My foodie neighbour has been singing praises about the food and service he received at this little Korean restaurant along Boon Tat Street so we decided to check it out.

Famous for their Busan-style dwaeji gukbap (돼지국밥), Korean Pork broth with rice, Um Yong Baek opened it's door in Singapore a few months ago.

We did not get to eat the famed pork rice soup as it is available only during lunch time. For dinner, the restaurant serves Korean BBQ using three-way aged pork. The aged pork is first sous vide and then charcoal-grilled in the kitchen, before it is sliced into smaller pieces and grilled in front of you at the table-top grill.

To be honest, I have not tried aged pork before but their signature three-way aged pork here did not really wow me as much as some aged beef I have tried before. Although overall the BBQ pork was quite good, I did not find the meaty taste more pronounced nor the meat more tender from the aging process.

Unlike most Korean BBQ restaurants, we were not served many Bachan side dishes to go with the grilled pork but the Meljorim (Jeju style sauce with fresh anchovies) was really something different and enjoyable. Onion pieces (with maybe red pepper and tomato?) cooked until soft with anchovies. The savory depth of anchovies flavour is balanced by the natural sweetness of onions. Scoop a spoonful of the sauce with the anchovies and eat it with a piece of the freshly grilled pork. Nice!

The Doenjang-jjigae stew was hot, hearty and packed with bold flavours, perfect with rice. Skip the button mushrooms stuffed with chopped mushroom and truffle oil. Totally non-Korean and I think it went a little too far trying to glamorize the menu.