I have heard so much about Um Yong Baek's aged meat barbeque for dinners and have been wanting to visit them so I made a booking 2 weeks in advance just to make sure we get a table
Due to the popularity of the restaurant for dinner, I only managed to get a table at the newer outlet located at Telok Ayer. Spotted the same wooden rustic look, the exterior of the restaurant resembles a traditional Hanok restaurant in Korea
The design concept of a Korean Hanok is extended to the interior with wooden pillars, tables and benches used throughout the restaurant as their main furnishings. The space is quite dark and conducive to drinking with a hearty barbeque meal
Um Yong Baek Grilled Pork Jeju style Three-Way Aging Pork is the main highlight so we ordered the pork collar and pork belly priced at SGD 28 per serving. They have the usual pork jowl and Angus ribeye but one unique item on the menu is the boiled pork maw which I hardly saw in other barbeque restaurants
The moment you place the order, the server will bring to your table an array of stuff which is uncommon in other Korean Restaurants. The restaurant promotes eating barbequed pork with specific Jeju-styled side dishes like anchovy sauce, barley Makjang, and pickled assorted vegetables. The Jeju anchovy sauce was served in a mini stone pot and left on the stove to heat up while other side dishes like barley sauce, fresh onions and pickled vegetables were arranged nicely at the side
After the meat was brought to our table, we had a server who stayed at our table to barbeque the meat for us before painstakingly showing us the preferred way of eating the meat with the Jeju-styled side dishes. Firstly, we tried the meat with the fermented barley soybean paste with a piece of raw onion. The combination of flavours was quite mind-blowing as the earthy savoury flavours of the fermented barley actually paired extremely well with the raw onion. The onion gave a good crunch to the meat and the refreshing hint of spice reduced the greasiness of the meat
The 2nd method of eating the meat is with anchovy sauce which is boiling in the earthen pot by the time the meat is cooked. The sauce itself has a tinge of chilli with strong tomato-based flavours. The anchovy and onions are well cooked till soft and it kind of reminded me of the flavours of canned sardines. While I feel that the sauce goes wonderfully with white rice, the strong flavours covered up the flavours of the barbeque meat so this is my least preferred paring with the meat
The final method of eating the meat is with the washed cabbage kimchi and pickled cucumber which adds an additional layer of spicy and tangy flavour to the meat and also helps to cut away the greasiness of the meat. The addition of the kimchi and pickled vegetables actually complement the natural meaty flavours
Customers can also choose to eat the meat by making a lettuce rice wrap as provided with the usual kimchi side dish and bean sauce or having the meat on its own with just dipping it into salt
We also ordered the Soondubu-jigae which is the soft tofu stew which was very thick and packed with soft tofu. The soup was more gravy-like as it was thick in consistency and packed full with ingredients. The stew included seafood like clams and prawns, which was perfect with the silky and smooth tofu. The dish was also good with plain rice as the stew itself was full of flavour which was highly authentic compared to the ones I had in Korea
Lastly, we had a cold noodle to help complete the meal. To avoid ordering noodles using beef stock, so I went for the cold buckwheat noodles mixed with perilla oil. The dish is simple with noodles tossed in perilla oil, and soy sauce and topped with generous amounts of sesame seeds, perilla powder and soybean powder. The end result is very refreshing and light in terms of flavours with the chewy texture of the noodles
Overall, the attention to the meal given by the staff is commendable and an experience on its own as each staff will explain to you the difference in the meat, the different flavours of the side dishes in pairing the meat and most importantly cooking the meat perfectly and serving it in your dish. The quality of the meat is definitely a highlight but as more restaurants offer aged meat, the experience of the side dish pairing was the main differentiator for me which might make me visit them again
Address: 80/82 Telok Ayer St, #01 Singapore 048466
Operating hours: 5.30 pm to 10 pm ( for dinner)
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