GUUM Contemporary Grill

Last but certainly not least, the Hotteok ($18) was a sweet finale. Filled with cinnamon and brown sugar, their rendition of the popular street snack tasted pretty refine to me as the warm, pan-fried rice flour pancake was not too greasy or cloying. It was also deliciously chewy. The burnt honey ice cream, ugh, was good with the caramelised flavours and the mixed nuts was truly the icing on the cake as the crunchy texture as well as the fragrant nuttiness was so complementary.

As for our choice of carb, we went for the Sot Bibimbap ($32) which would feed 2 hearty eaters comfortably in my opinion. Presented in a traditional cast iron pot before the chef mixed and portioned out for us, the Korean short-grain rice was topped with seasonal ingredients that included a succulent pork patty and assorted fresh-tasting veggies like crunchy beansprouts, sliced mushrooms, as well as shredded carrots. Tossed with their house-made XO sauce, the yummy bowl of rice was sweet, savoury and mildly spicy.

Another starter you have to try is their KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower) ($26). Deep-fried cauliflower and rice cakes evenly coated in a house-made yangnyeom sauce. The superbly battered cauliflower was so good, doesn’t really taste like the vegetable and was so light, crisp as well as moreish. I particularly enjoyed the sweet-spicy-tangy flavours of the glossy gochujang-based sauce.

Off to a great start at GUːUM, their Yukhwae Jeon ($32) is a must try if you love a good potato pancake. Embellished with Korean-style hand-chopped beef tartare, pickled onions and savoury egg yolk jam, the snack was incredibly tasty. A little thick and portion is pretty small but I really enjoyed the flavours as well as textures as it was super duper crisp and crunchy.

I wouldn’t recommend this dish. It was not flavoursome and wasn’t cooked well with no evidence of any “grill”. You can definitely have better beef elsewhere. Presentation was amazing though.

Summary, fried cauliflower that taste like Gu Lo Yoke.