We’ve waited nearly 6 months for this. When we first heard that Um Yong Baek was opening in Singapore back in October 2021, we were super excited to try some authentic Korean gukbap. However, due to logistical issues, their opening was pushed back, until now!
Currently, the restaurant is still in its soft opening phase, so they only accept reservations and no walk-ins. You can read on to find out how to secure a slot at Um Yong Baek.
Popular Busan Restaurant
Featured widely in Korean media, Um Yong Baek is a popular name for Dwaeji-gukbap, which is a pork and rice Korean dish. If you’ve ever been to Busan, you’ll know that Dwaeji-gukbap is a must-try dish.
Just this sign outside the shop alone reminds us of Korea.
Interior-wise, the restaurant is decked in neat wooden elements and an open kitchen where you can witness the chefs in action. Also, most of the patrons visiting the restaurant were Korean, which is undoubtedly a mark of authenticity.
Menu at Um Yong Baek Singapore
Um Yong Baek serves 2 different menus, one for lunch and one for dinner. Do note that the popular Gukbap dishes are only available for lunch.
For dinner, the restaurant serves Korean BBQ and you can see the aging meats on display.
For lunch, you’ll find Gukbap in two styles – Busan and Milyang.
The Busan-style Gukbap ($18.5, U.P. $21) featured a clear-styled flavourful soup that’s been boiled for hours. Inside it was slices of pork collar, pork cheek, and pork stomach and a generous portion of short-grain rice.
We found the cuts of meat to be tender and cooked well. To our surprise, the thin slices of pork stomach were extremely tasty and had no gamey smell to it at all.
If you’re a fan of Japanese ramen, you’ll probably enjoy the Milyang-style Gukbap ($18.5, U.P. $21) which has a pork bone-based broth topped with chives. Inside, you’ll find similar items like Pork Cheek and Stomach that are equally tender and well-cooked.
The Milyang-style Gukbap is definitely thicker and creamier compared to the Busan-styled one.
Our personal pick is the Busan-styled Gukbap, which reminded us of our recent Korea travels.
If the taste isn’t to your liking, you can find salted shrimp and salt on the side where you can add it to your broth to match your tastebuds.
Another item we tried was the Pork Belly Suyuk ($45), which featured a side of steamed chives, garlic, and tofu. The dish requires at least a 15-min wait as the meat is pressure-cooked right before it’s served.
We absolutely loved how melt-in-your-mouth the fatty portions of the meat were, and how different each bite was when paired with different ingredients. The staff mentioned that there were 3 ways to eat this:
- Dip it in some salt to get the best original flavour of the meat
- Pair it with the steamed chives and garlic – the garlic was almost like butter!
- Dip it in some of the Salted Cutlassfish, known as 갈치속젓 kalchi-sok-jeot in Korean: the slight fishiness goes surprisingly well with the meat!
A special shoutout to their banchan, especially the side of pickled chillis, which have a beautiful blend of sour and spicy flavours which cut through the greasiness after having too many slices of suyuk.
Their kimchi was slightly on the salty side for us but paired well with the meats. Make sure to try the green onion kimchi (pa-kimchi) as it was really refreshing!
Experience Busan in Singapore
After having our fair share of Gukbap in Korea, we’re glad for Um Yong Baek’s entrance into Singapore. Now, whenever we crave some hearty Korean soup and rice, we’ll know where to go.
As mentioned earlier in the article, Um Yong Baek currently only accepts reservations, so you can head over to this website to book a slot. Slots are open each Friday at 5pm.
Um Yong Baek (엄용백)
27 Boon Tat Street, Singapore 069623
Mon-Sun, 11:30am-3pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
*This is an independent review by MiddleClass.sg
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