NEW: GUUM Restaurant – Elevated Modern Korean Grill and More

GUUM opened in April 2024 as the second venture by Chef Louis Han, the man behind the successful Korean fine dining NAEUM. In contrast to Chef Louis’ first venture, GUUM is more of a casual dining concept while still retaining elements of modern Korean cuisine. 

Located in Keong Saik Road (and counting other recent openings such as Imbue as its neighbors), GUUM is among a number of Korean restaurants in the area. While these other Korean joints can also be described as casual, GUUM differentiates itself by offering touches of high-end dining in a beautiful space.

The name GUUM means to “cook over fire” or “grill” and the Korean barbecued items are the heart of the menu here. However, in contrast to DIY approach of traditional Korean BBQ restaurants, the grills are cooked in an open kitchen before being served to diners. Moreover, the folks at GUUM employ a number of cooking techniques rather than standard grilling. 

Many of the courses in GUUM are the result of merging 2 or more traditional Korean dishes. An example is the excellent Yukhwae Jeon (S$32). This dish is a combination of 2 famous street foods found in Gwangjang Market, the Yukhwae (beef tartare) and Jeon (pancakes). 

By including traditional techniques, one is bound to find familiar ingredients as well such as with the Nacho Dakgalbi (S$26). The ubiquitous gochujang sauce makes an appearance here as marination for the boneless chicken thigh. There’s also a drizzle of nacho cheese and accompanying sourdough toast as a break from Korean sensibilities. 

A play on words, the KFC (Korean Fried Cauliflower, S$26) was inspired by Korean fried chicken. Think: the 4 Fingers kind with crispy skin and coated in the popular sweet and spicy yangnyeom sauce. The cauliflower I had, while it possessed the same sweet and spicy combo, just wasn’t as crispy as I expected.

As mentioned previously, the barbecues are the star at GUUM and I got to try 2 of their meats – Grilled Tajima Wagyu Ribeye MBS 8 (S$188 for 280grams) and the Iberico Pluma (S$118). The wagyu was seasoned merely with salt so the flavor was quite subtle and relied mostly on the natural juices of the beef. The Iberico pork on the other hand, was the star with its addictive flavor. The secret here is the fermented fish sauce marination which made all the difference. 

If you have room to get just one barbecue meat dish, let it be the pluma. 

The pork’s flavor was quite pronounced even when wrapped under the accompanying lettuce. This, it was able to achieve without tasting overly salted or flavored. 

There aren’t too many seafood options in the menu (there are 4 to be exact). I tried the Atlantic Red Prawns (S$56 for 5pcs) which is marinated with (you guessed it!) gochujang sauce before being grilled. The prawns were rather huge and plump but I found it a tad salty. 

What’s a Korean restaurant without bibimbap? The Sot Bibimbap (S$32) in Guum is quite a surprise because it comes topped with a different meat each time, depending on the season. At the time of my visit, it came with minced beef patty. 

An alternative carbohydrate dish is the Cinderella Noodles (S$24) which is great for those who prefer something on the  tangy side. The noodles were refreshing and and possessed a salad-like quality.

I do not typically associate Korean restaurants with desserts so I was pleasantly surprised with the assortment of inventive sweets at Guum. My favorite was the Hotteok (S$18), a nod to the similarly-named pancake which is a Korean street snack. Here, the flaky pancake is topped with fruits and nuts but what really made this dessert was the house-made burnt honey ice cream which provided for a great contrast to the round pastry at the bottom. 

Other beguiling desserts to choose from in GUUM include the Koguma (S$16) – roasted sweet potato served with smoked vanilla ice cream and the Yuzu Makgeolli (S$16) which is presented in sorbet form and served with Korean pear and garnished with edible flowers. 

All in all, GUUM successfully combines elements from street food culture and casual Korean cuisine and presents them in an elevated and imaginative manner. Perhaps this “elevation” stems from the fact that the idea behind GUUM actually came from one of the past menus offered at NAEUM. I enjoyed my dinner at GUUM and there were quite a number of dishes I’d go back for. These are the Yukhwae Jeon, Iberico Pluma and Koguma. This is one new opening worth checking out.

GUUM
29 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089136

+65 8831 6308