NAE:UM @ Telok Ayer - Episode One, Food Stories in Chef Louis's Personal Journey

The ever-changing restaurant scene in Singapore sees the new opening of NAE:UM at Teloy Ayer by Chef Louis Han from South Korea. At NAE:UM, the cuisine is progressive vibrancy of Seoul, meeting the flavours of folk traditions with flavours of the world, showcasing the chef's food journey.

Nurungji Beef Tart 4/5

The 5-course menu at NAE:UM starts from $148++ with add on available. The current menu focuses on Chef's favourite ingredients. We started with a couple of snack dishes. The Nurungji Beef Tart's base consists of scorched brown rice, topped with beef tartare, cured egg yolk shavings, pickled turnip and spring onion spears.

Bugak 3/5

Shiso and Lotus Root is coated in glutinous rice paste and deep-fried. The Bugak is then seasoned with chilli and kimchi powder.

Duck Galbi Tart 4.5/5

My favourite of the three snacks has to be the Duck Galbi Tart. Sitting on top of the feuille de brick tartlet is grilled minced duck ball with a rice cake centre, garnished with spring onion curls.

Mulhwae 4.8/5

Mulhwae is a cold spicy raw fish soup popular with Koreans in the summer. The chef's interpretation uses aged kampachi. The yuzu chilli sauce brightens the appreciation of the clean-tasting fish, while the garden salad provides the texture contrast.

Uni Somyeon 4.2/5

A popular dish on the menu is the Uni Somyeon. Diners can opt to add on caviar for an additional $10. The Korean made buckwheat noodle is tossed in a dressing of chopped white kimchi, scallions and truffle oil. It is crowned with bafun uni and kaviari oscietra caviar. I was expecting a light and refreshing bowl of noodles, but this version is strong and bold in flavour. Those with a heavy palate will enjoy this.

Jjjim 4.5/5

Resting on top of the beurre blanc sauce with cured fish roe and finely chopped chives is the Steamed Red Grouper. At the side is the Steamed Roulade of Zucchini, Napa Cabbage and Snapper Crab. The star has to be the sauce, bringing the different components together for a beautiful finish.

Duck 4.5/5

The main for the 5-course menu is Duck. The Irish duck is dry-aged in-house for up to 7 days. Then, it is marinated and glazed with gochujang before grilling over binchotan. Not sure whether it is due to the dry-ageing or the gochujang, it seems to intensify the duck's flavour further.

Nuruk-aged Wagyu Striploin

Diners have the option to add the Nuruk-aged Wagyu Striploin as a supplementary dish for an additional $48. The wagyu striploin is glazed with galbi sauce and grilled over binchotan. It has a hint of sweetness and smokiness that is pleasing to the palate. At the side, there are pickled shiitake, kohlrabi salad, grilled spring onions and shiitake puree.

Summer Bingsu 4.2/5

Unfortunately, the Summer Bingsu does not come in a bowl of shaved ice. Instead, fermented fruits are topped with mascarpone snow, fermented grape granita, and makgeolli sorbet. It is a light and refreshing dessert which can also be seconded as a palate cleanser.

Charcoal Jujube 4/5

For an extra $12, you can add a supplementary dish. The Charcoal Jujube comprises of puffed multigrain, jujube ice cream and charcoal tuille.

Petit Fours 4/5

Ending the meal are Fermented Rice Cake and Yakgwa Cookie for Petit Fours. I love the soft and spongy texture of the rice cake, coated with white sugar and torched to brulee.

Overall, NAE:UM is an exciting entry to the food scene in Singapore. I find Chef Louis loves to use heavy and rich flavours for his dishes. The 5-course set meal at $148++ should be sufficient, and I don't think you need to go for the supplementary dishes unless you are a big eater.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


NAE:UM
161 Telok Ayer Street
Singapore 068615
Tel: +65 88305016
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Telok Ayer (DT Line), Tanjong Pagar (EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sat: 6pm - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Telok Ayer MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to Telok Ayer Street. Turn left onto Telok Ayer Street. Walk down destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk down Telok Ayer Street. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Patbingsoo Korean Dining House @ Plaza Singapura - More Than Just Bingsoo

Patbingsoo Korean Dining House at basement two of Plaza Singapura is brought to you by the same folk behind the popular Seorae Korean Charcoal BBQ Restaurant. Don't be mistaken by the name of the restaurant. Besides the diverse variety of bingsoo, Patbingsoo Korean Dining House brings the latest street food trends of South Korea to Singapore.

Fried Samgyeopsal 3.5/5

An addictive snack is the Fried Samgyeopsal ($6.90). Have you guess what is it? It is actually deep fried pork belly paired with honey mustard sauce. It was like having bacon.

House Special Ramyeon 4/5

A favoruite among the crowd at Patbingsoo Korean Dining House is the House Special Ramyeon ($11.90). The warm and hearty pot comes with noodles, spam, kimchi, and nori in special spicy soup. I felt that the soup can be spicier or maybe an option to select the different spicy levels. For an additional cost, diner has the option to add extra topping of kimchi french fries, french fries, cheese, ramyeon and steamed rice.

Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice 3.5/5

The Cheese Kimchi Fried Rice ($9.90) is infused with kimchi and top with lots of mozzarella. It even comes with a fried egg and nori. While the rice was delectable and fragrant, I felt it lacked the robustness of the kimchi flavour. Even the cheese was hardly traceable.

Tteok Carbonara 3/5

How about going Italian with the Tteok Carbonara ($12.90). The sauteed tteok together with bacon and corn kernel is buried in a thick creamy cheese sauce. Unfortunately the sauce was a bit on the salty side and the tteok did not really go well with the creamy sauce.

Dynamite Spam 4.2/5

A very unpleasant looking dish is the Dynamite Spam ($11.90) which surprisingly tasted really good. The server will torch on the special dynamite sauce made up of gochujang and mayonnaise sauce at table side, and then sliced into pieces to pair with the nori riceballs.

Rolling Cheese Pork Ribs 4.2/5

The highlight at Patbingsoo Korean Dining House is the Rolling Cheese Pork Ribs ($38.90) which comes with 4 huge tender pork ribs, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, fries, chips, corn, pineapple and mayo sauce. The server will melt the cheese at table side and then rolled it around the pork ribs for a lifted enjoyment. The rest of the cheese is then tossed with the french fries for a cheesy finish.

Gimpo Bingsoo 3/5

After all the savoury stuff, do save some space for dessert, especially their different bingsoo. The Gimpo Bingsoo ($11.90) is a tiramisu inspired bingsoo infused with green tea. It comes with rum and green tea ice cream. I did not quite enjoy it, the combination and balance was a bit weird.

Sinsa Patbingsoo 4/5

The Sinsa Patbingsoo ($14.90) comes with a whole rock melon that is cut out with a special equipment to maintain the dome shape of the entire fruit. Inside the dome, it comes vanilla ice cream topped with red bean, nata de coco and cornflakes for the extra crunch.

Apgujeong Bingsoo 4.2/5

Among the three bingsoo desserts, the Apgujeong Bingsoo ($13.90) is my favourite. The vanilla ice cream is excellently complemented by the cheese, cheese sauce, cheese cake and cheese wafer. To sweetened the whole experience, drizzled the condensed milk over the bingsoo.

Noted: This is an invited tasting.


Patbingsoo Korean Dining House
Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road
#B2-47
Singapore 238839
Tel: +65 91813038
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut (CC Line, NE Line, NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 1130am - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 1130am - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. Take Exit C or D. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

[CLOSED] CaffeBene @ Vivocity

CaffeBene, the largest coffee chain in Korea, has finally made its way to our sunny island. Pretty close to the coast, up at Level 2 of Vivocity. If you have been to one in Korea, you would have noticed a difference in terms of its interior. Instead of adopting the woody furnishing design as used in Korea, the local owners chose to use the latest industrial chic design while keeping some of the key original elements such as the wooden frames of the seats, a feature wall and a planter. So what I see is almost akin to a hipster café, but with a soft touch and a warm feel of Caffebene.

When I was in Korea, I was quite fascinated by the selection of lattes in different cafes, such as sweet potato, red bean etc. Caffebene's offering is just as wholesome, of which Misugaru ($6.90) is one that I have not seen - a multigrain latte. Not only it sounds nutritious, it tastes just as hearty! I can see why it’s a popular choice for breakfast among the Koreans. Since Caffebene is a coffee house, trying their coffee is a must, at least for me. I had their Macchiato ($4.90 double shot). Although it is slightly acidic, I appreciate its full body. At least, it is a lot better than some of the major coffee chains here (you should know who).

Caramel Cinnamon 3/5

Garlic & Cheese 3.5/5

Their Korean desserts are quite straight forward - Honey thick toasts, bingsu as well as waffles. For their Honey thick toasts, we tried both Caramel Cinnamon ($12.90) and Garlic & Cheese ($13.90). Our preference for the sweet and savoury taste of the latter is unanimous. That explains why it was also the first to go despite the amount of food we ordered.

Green Tea Tower Bingsu 3.8/5

The Green Tea Tower Bingsu didn’t disappoint us at all. Despite the sinfully looking whipped cream atop, the overall taste is actually very light, thanks to their in-house gelato, which is made less sweet to suit the locals’ taste buds. Do give their gelatos a try. I sampled both the Yogurt and Cream cheese flavours. Both are refreshing and finished off without leaving the usual sugary aftertaste which I got from most of the Italian gelatos we have in the market.

Tiramisu Waffle 3.8/5

For waffles, do ask for their walnut base, which is the same price as their regular base. We tried the recommended Tiramisu Waffle ($10.90). The combination of the cold, airy ice cream with the buttery nutty waffle is simple yet extremely delightful.

Chicken Avocado 3/5

Besides desserts, salads and wraps are available. Their Chicken Avocado ($9.90) is quite delectable, probably due to its tangy dressing. However, for the price tag, a more generous serving will be more enticing.

Comparing to its counterparts, Caffebene may not have very complex desserts which some may prefer, I do enjoy their simplicity. The quality of their coffees is also notable. The desserts offered also balances with its selection of coffees and other beverages, which is important for Caffebene to be seen as a coffee house, and not a dessert shop. To celebrate the grand opening of its first outlet in Singapore, there are some good promotions going on, hence don’t miss it!

Photograph and written by Si An. A girl who is allured by travelling, loves the feel of freedom, smell of the rain and the aroma of fine coffee and food.


[CLOSED]
CaffeBene
VivoCity
1 HarbourFront Walk
#02-150
Singapore 098585
Tel: +65 66351778
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 9am - 10pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT station. Take Exit C or E. Walk to Vivocity Level 2. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe @ Tanjong Katong

Is the trend of Korean Bingsu going to stay or will it burst like the bubble tea craze? Not for Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe as it opens another 2 outlets in Tanjong Katong and Bugis. I was in the area at Tanjong Katong a couple of months back and decided to take a break at the newly opened outlet to cool myself from the humid weather of Singapore.

Black Sesame Bingsu 4.5/5

This time round I have the Black Sesame Bingsu ($18.90) which is topped with black sesame, almond, red beans and mochi. The aromatic sesame and nutty almond together with the milky snow flake like shaved ice was a very enjoyable combination.

Black Sesame Bingsu 4.5/5

The red bean and mochi provided the additional lift for enjoying the bingsu. It provided a sweet touch and chewy texture to complete the full suite of ice cooling dessert, fit for the Singapore's weather.

Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe 
232 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 437020
Facebook
Nearest MRT: Dakota (CC Line), Paya Lebar (CC Line, EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 12pm - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Dakota MRT station. Walk to bus stop at Blk 99 Old Airport Road (Stop ID 81181). Take bus no. 10, 31 and 32. Alight 2 stops later. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Paya Lebar MRT station. Walk to bus stop along Paya Lebar Road (Stop ID 81111). Take bus no. 43, 76 and 135. Alight 4 stops later. Journey time about 6 minutes. [Map]

Cafe Insadong @ South Bridge Road

With the bingsu craze storming the island, many Korean dessert cafes such as Cafe Insadong has been opened in the little red dot. Located at South Bridge Road, Cafe Insadong is actually quite a small cafe with limited sitting space.

Red Bean Patbingsu 3/5

The signature item at Cafe Insadong has to be their patbingsu. The Red Bean Patbingsu ($8.50) comes with a a scoop of ice cream and generous topping of red beans, almond and even mochi. While the topping was a lot, the shaved ice came across bland and coarse. It lacked the sweetness of the milk and the melted in the mouth, snow-flake like texture.

Green Tea Patbingsu 3.5/5

Faring better is the Green Tea Patbingsu ($9.50) with green tea ice cream, red beans, almond, mochi and green tea infused shaved ice. Like the earlier bingsu, the ice is bland and coarse. Compared to other Korean dessert cafes such as Nunsongyee and O'ma Spoon, it came across as a disappointment.

Injeolmi Toast with Salted Caramel Ice Cream 3.5/5

Having tried a couple of Korean dessert cafe, I would say the Injeolmi Toast with Salted Caramel Ice Cream ($7.80) is more generous in its ingredients compare with the others. The injeolmi sandwiched by the lightly toasted bread and dusted with an abundance of kinako is both nutty and chewy enjoyment.

Cafe Insadong pricing is very competitive compare to the other Korean dessert cafe. They are also very generous in their ingredients and toppings. However the bingsu ice needs much improvement to be considered as one of the best bingsu in Singapore.


Cafe Insadong
279 South Bridge Road
Singapore 058828
Tel: +65 85332003
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Chinatown (NE Line, DT Line), Telok Ayer (DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu: 12pm - 930pm
Fri-Sat: 12pm - 1130pm
(Closed on Sun)

Direction:
1) Alight at Chinatown MRT. Take Exit A. Walk down Pagoda Street towards South Bridge Road. Turn right on South Bridge Road. Cross the road and walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Telok Ayer MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk down Cross Street towards Club Street. Turn left onto Club Street and walk to the end. At the end of Cross Street, turn right onto Ann Siang Road and walk towards South Bridge Road. At South Bridge Road, turn left and walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe @ 313 Somerset

Started with the first outlet at Marina Square in March 2015, O'ma Korean Dessert Cafe soon opened its second outlet in June 2015 at 313 Somerset. The current Bingsu craze has seen many of such cafe opened around the island. My favourite has been Nunsongyee and I am wondering how O'ma Spoon compares to it.

Green Tea Bingsu 4.5/5

After browsing through the menu, we ordered the Green Tea Bingsu ($13.90) to start with. The finely shaved, snow like bingsu generously topped with ice cream, green beans, cashew nuts, almond and green tea powder. For a full enjoyment of the milk flavoured bingsu ice, green tea powder is layered underneath the pile of shaved ice to give a consistent enjoyment from the top to bottom.

Chocolate Brownie Bingsu 3.5/5

Even more majestic than the green tea bingsu is the Chocolate Brownie Bingsu ($18.90). Topped with chocolate ice cream, brownie, whipped cream, almond, cashew nuts, oreo cookies crumble, banana and drizzled with chocolate sauce, this was unfortunately not as sweet as it looks. It pales in taste and sweetness compared to the green tea bingsu.

Chocolate Strawberry Honey Butter Bread 3/5

A signature at O'ma Spoon is the 2 inch oven baked thick toast directly imported from Korean. The Chocolate Strawberry Honey Butter Bread ($14.90) is covered with butter and Korean honey, slathered with nutella and topped with strawberries and vanilla ice cream. To be frank, I think my palate was more distracted by the butter and honey, instead of the chocolate and strawberries.

Injeolmi Cheese Toast 3/5

Next we have the Injeomli Cheese Toast ($9.90) that has chewy injeolmi rice cakes sandwiched two lightly toasted bread. I have tasted more chewy injeolmi toast so would have preferred more of it as well as the kinako.

O'ma Spoon did come in close to my favourite bingsu from Nunsongyee. It currently is probably my second choice for bingsu until I find another to dethrone it. Bingsu huge servicing is usually good for 2-3 pax but at O'ma Spoon it has the unique Petite Bingsu that is good for one.


O'ma Spoon Korean Dessert Cafe
313 @ Somerset
313 Orchard Road
#04-20/32
Singapore 238895
Tel: +65 63330995
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Somerset (NS Line)

Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 1130am - 10pm
Fri-Sat: 1130am - 12midnight

Direction:
1) Alight at Somerset MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]

SG Food on Foot’s 5 Favourite Dessert Places

Reflecting back the years I have been blogging, the joy of this journey is not just about finding and sharing good food on my site. In this food discovery journey, these delicious moments were not possible without the company of like-minded friends who shared the same passion in discovering good food. Indeed food bonds people and these delicious moments are not perfect without ending with some yummilicious desserts in each meet up or food trails. With that I would like to share 5 of my favourite dessert places where you indulge in your own great little moments with your friends and families.

Mad About Sucre located along Teo Hong Road, beside Outram Park MRT station is one of the hottest and latest patisserie that I went with a group of foodie friends. The exquisite and elegant desserts, together with the ambience have left all of us impressed. Among the cakes I tried during my visit, my favourite is the Coco Citron which comes with a harmoniously execution of lemon curd sourness and refreshing coconut mousse on top. In fact, I have heard that they have recently introduced a new series of cakes. I can’t wait to go back and try them.

I am not a big fan of overly sweet desserts but I do have a weakness for a good cup of gelato or ice cream. In fact, I can finish a tub of gelato/ ice cream all by myself. Over the years, many gelato places have popped up around the island but my all-time favourite has always been Alfero Gelato for its full body flavour, rich, creamy and smooth texture. Currently it has 3 outlets at Macpherson, Marina Square and Orchard Gateway.

Recently, I fell in love with the ice cold frozen yogurt as I like the hint of sourness in them. Beegurt has been one of my recent discoveries and I simply fell in love with this yummy ice cold yogurt desserts. It is also perfect for cooling down in the hot and humid Singapore weather. In addition, the frozen yogurt allows one to be creative with their own choice of toppings.

As a food blogger, we need to be always on the alert on the latest trend so that we can share with our readers. Korean Bingsu is the latest craze in town now. Many bingsu cafés have recently been opened to jump on the bandwagon. Having tried a couple of these Korean snowflake desserts, my recommendation would be NunSongYee at Burghley Drive (Serangoon Garden) for its varieties, fresh ingredients and ambience, especially the melted in the mouth snowflake texture of the shaved ice. The huge serving is also perfect for sharing with friends.

Going back to my root, my all-time favourite dessert is this humid little dessert stall tucked inside a coffeeshop in Bedok. No Name Cheng Tng painstaking boiled the longan soup everyday at its stall instead of taking the shortcut of using syrup. For only a dollar seventy cents, we got a bowl of refreshing and sweet traditional Chinese Cheng Tng dessert packed to the brim with ingredients such as dried longan, white fungus, gingko nuts, dried persimmon, winter melon, glutinous ball, malva nut and sweet potato. Unlike most Cheng Tng stall, the uncle prefers to use ice cube instead of shaved ice. I like the idea as it keeps the cheng tng cold while not over dilute the broth when the ice melted.

THE SINGAPORE TEA PARTY

In collaborating with Sensodyne, the choice of toothpaste that relieves pain from tooth sensitivity, we will be holding The Singapore Tea Party, showcasing a list of dessert vendors nominated by Miss Tam Chiak and me, entirely voted by the public, sharing our great little moments with each and everyone of you.

You can cast your vote at https://www.facebook.com/SensodyneSG and stands a chance to get invite to The Singapore Tea Party together with a friend. Join us and eat to your heart’s content in one of the greatest dessert tea party of the year.


*This post is brought to you by Sensodyne

Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe @ Burghley Lifestyle Hub (Serangoon Garden)

Korean Bingsu seems to be the latest craze in town with almost daily posting of this towering snowflake dessert from various bingsu places over the island. It so happened that I was in the vicinity of NunSongYee at Serangoon Garden and I popped by to check out what the craze is all about.

Choco-Banana Bingsu 4.5/5

There was like nine different of varieties of the Korean snowflake ice selections on the menu. I did have a hard time deciding which to go for but eventually settled on the Choco-Banana Bingsu ($13.90). The servicing is actually huge and is good for sharing.

Choco-Banana Bingsu 4.5/5

The Choco-Banana Bingsu comes topped with slices of fresh banana, coco powder, roasted almond, a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some extra milk to be poured over the ice mountain

As you see from the photo, the shaved ice has a very soft texture, so light and soft as snowflake. Infused with milk, it gave the ice a creamy sweet texture. Unintentional I discovered another way to enjoy the bingsu. When the snowflake ice, infused with milk melted and mixed with the coco powder, it becomes milo!

After trying the bingsu from Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe, I have to admit I do enjoy it. Besides the fresh ingredients, the shaved ice plays an important part of a good bingsu. At Nunsongyee, the ice is light, soft almost snowflake like texture.


Nunsongyee Korean Dessert Cafe
Burghley Lifestyle Hub
45 Burghley Drive
#01-04
Singapore 559022
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nunsongyee-%EB%88%88%EC%86%A1%EC%9D%B4/368517929996835
Nearest MRT: Serangoon (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu: 12pm - 10pm
Fri: 12pm - 11pm
Sat: 10am - 11pm
Sun: 10am - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Serangoon MRT station. Take Exit G. Walk to Serangoon Bus Interchange (Stop ID 66009). Take bus number 317. Alight 13 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 25 minutes. [Map]