Namu Bulgogi is the newest restaurant edition to Tampines One, offering Singapore’s first Korean oakwood barbecue! Their meats are flame-grilled over an open fire and presented on a hotplate.
Simple But Spacious Interior
The eatery is located in basement one of the mall and boasts an all-wooden theme with a good amount of seating.
You can watch the kitchen cook the meats over the smokey grills at the back!
Namu Bulgogi Menu
The menu features two main meats – chicken and beef – in various sauces and marinades grilled over the oakwood.
Their signature is the Original Chicken with Green Chilli ($13.90) topped with a tangy chilli sauce, but you can also get it in Gochujang with Corn Cheese ($15.90) or Soy Garlic ($13.90). Both sets come with a bowl of rice!
The beef options include Beef Galbi ($32.90) made with USDA Prime beef ribs or the thin-cut slices in Spicy Jeyuk Sauce ($16.90).
There are plenty of side options available! Choices range from the Jeju Haemul Seaweed Jjigae ($16.90), Chapagetti ($13.90) with grilled chicken to Fries ($8.90) and Fried Chicken Chunks ($12.90).
We tried the Namu Signature Set ($59) with a combination of their signature offerings.
2-in-1 Oakwood Smoke-Grilled Chicken with Corn Cheese
The 2-in-1 Oakwood Smoke-Grilled Chicken with Corn Cheese ($15.90) came with a combo of their Original and Gochujang chicken. We found both sauces on the sweeter side but had difficulty distinguishing between them. The gochujang flavour could be spicier!
We liked the added creaminess from the cheese sauce, though it could do with more corn. The meat itself was well-cooked and had a slight smokiness from the oakwood.
Oakwood Smoke-Grilled Oxtail
The Oakwood Smoke-Grilled Oxtail ($23.90) was our favourite of the dishes! It featured chunks of meaty 8-hour slow-cooked oxtail with a savoury side sauce.
Every chunk was fall-apart tender with a richness from the gravy and a slight spiciness. We think it could do without the side sauce as it’s quite oily, but we enjoyed the added flavour. It would do quite well with rice!
Seafood Soy Fried Rice
The Seafood Soy Fried Rice ($14.90) came with three grilled prawns, which was quite visually appealing. However, we think it fell flat on the flavour and needed more seasoning. It did come with a generous amount of squid.
Seafood Sundubu Jjigae
The Seafood Sundubu Jjigae ($16.90) also caught us by surprise. It had a spicy and deep seafood flavour that made it satisfying. The soft tofu and egg provided a nice mouthfeel contrasting the thicker soup!
Sides
We tried the Haemul Pancake ($12.90), Oakwood Smoke-Grilled Spicy Baby Octopus & Squid ($19.90) and Tteokbokki ($12.90).
We enjoyed the crunchy exterior of the Haemul pancake but think it could do with more seafood! The accompanying dipping sauce was good, spicy and vinegary to complement the fried foods.
The octopus and squid had a good spiciness, almost reminiscent of sambal seafood! The Tteokbokki was not memorable but we liked the chewy texture of the rice cake and the crunchy homemade kimari (seaweed rolls).
Korean Grilled Meat In Tampines
All in all, Namu Bulgogi presented a novel concept! While some dishes felt lacklustre, we think the meat offerings are good options for a quick meal. This joins more options in Tampines, including the newly-opened Hawkers’ Street!
Namu Bulgogi
10 Tampines Central 1, B1-K18, Singapore 529536
Opening hours: 11.30am-9pm
*This article is based on a media-tasting event, but all opinions expressed about the food are entirely our own.
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