NAE:UM :: Episode 7 'Jeju Blossoms'

It was a brand new Episode 7: Jeju Blossoms at NAE:UM. The menu held loads of fish and shellfish. No beef, no quail, no pigeon, no chicken and no lamb. It was just pork and fish for the mains. My allergies are still flaring, but I didn't ask for menu swops. I took an antihistamine and hoped for the best. Figured that I could toss the shellfish over to the husband. 

The really cute starter box of each Episode never disappoints. In this Episode 7, there was a little dol hareubang / rock statue (many are seen dotting Jeju Island) in the box too, setting the tone for some Jeju Island specials. On the Signature menu, the starter of duck galbi could never seem to disappear. Hehehehe. This time, it was served with a wrap and they called it 'taco-galbi'. Dohhh. 

I loved the oi-naengguk (chilled cucumber soup). It was deftly boosted with sea snapper and seaweed, then the chilled cucumber soup/brine was poured over it. Really tantalizing. What a great appetizer. The ama ebi, radish and pine nuts came layered with a squid ink wrap. It was fun! I ate everything but the prawns. Gave them away to the husband.

My favorite NAE:UM somyeon is not on this menu. In its place is mul milmyeon, which is a Busan iteration of cold noodles / mul naengmyeon. This is a dombegogi memilmyeon of pork, buckwheat noodles, and white kimchi. Dombegogi is pretty much boiled pork placed on a board. It honestly paired well with mul milmyeon. Loved it!

The first main was a lovely golden threadfin with minari and sweet cabbage. I was soooo taken by it that I told myself to get a Balai threadfin (ikan kurau) to steam it as a snack for the Smol Girl. I wouldn't be able to buy a golden threadfin at Meidi-ya. 

The servers trotted out the box of knives for our selection to use for the meat. The second main of pork was a total hit for me. It was iberico presa, abalone and celeriac — absolutely perfect. Tender and flavorful. I wished there was a second slice of abalone too. Hurhurhur.

The first dessert of tangy tangerine ice-cream with shredded carrots and basil hit the right notes with me. It wasn't sweet — it was slightly sour and savory. That was sooooo good. Then it was my favorite jujube ice-cream with a bit of truffles and white chocolate topped with the familiar crisp charcoal leaf. The dagwa at the end came with kombucha (thankfully not so sour), candied tangerines, nuts and sweet sticky rice.

I'm very taken with the 'lighter' notes in this menu. A lot more fish and shellfish. Totally works for me. The husband loved it too. He's always enthusiastic by the menu switch. He loved the pigeon and the quail in the previous menus. He might have been a bit sad that this menu doesn't hold game-y meat.