Great fun with Korean
Namu OOO (out of four) Location: 5182 Yonge St. (north of Sheppard Ave.), 416-222-8100. Chef: Yoon Kim Hours: Lunch: 11:30 to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday; Dinner: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday. Wheelchair access: Washrooms are downstairs Dining Out Korean fusion. The very idea is enough to make the American White House worry about weapons of mass destruction north of the 49th parallel.
Looking on the bright side, perhaps the pair of words presages a détente between North and South . . .
But no, all the action in this case is taking place north of the 401 in North York — and the détente is between grilled cheese and kimchi, between mori soba and seafood pasta.
Former Korean restaurateur Steve Lee opened Namu, his first North American dining room, about a month ago. It’s located along the busy North York Yonge corridor crowded with eateries: Korean, South Asian, Italian and even an outpost of St. Louis Bar and Grill. As much as I love wings — in my version of heaven the wings aren’t gossamer and attached to angels, but rather deep- fried and slathered with sauce so hot it’s imported from below — I would still opt for Namu when I’m on north Yonge.
For one thing, it’s fun — a fresh, cool space, light and white with simple bamboo stalks set in clear glass cylinders. The menu is inventive and the dishes are fancifully constructed, each a visual feast. Decorative asides abound, including long slender Chinese chives with buds intact threaded through a hole in a crispy, lacy lotus chip.
Chef Yoon Kim hopes culinary crossover and flamboyant presentations will seduce diners unfamiliar with, and perhaps even intimidated by, Korean cuisine which, he insists proudly, “ is fancier than Japanese food.”
Besides, he says, fusion is all the rage in Korea: “ Very trendy, trying to be globalized right now.”
At Namu, that means gilding pan- seared duck breast ($ 17.95) with a glaze of marmalade and Chinese five spice. Tender slices lean against a haystack of barley risotto with mushroom, while crunchy cool sprouts contrast with velvety beet purée. Typically at Namu, the palette of hues, texture and taste is maximally exploited to please the senses. One appetizer brings plump, meaty oysters ($ 5.75), warm and moist, encased in a hot, crispy fried crust. Cool lemon slices are the base for shavings of rosy daikon radish and, resting on a nest of sprouts, a white ceramic Chinese spoon cups creamy wasabi sauce that’s adequately spiky without being overwhelming. A lunch salad with Cajun chicken slices ($ 11.95), baby spinach, sweet red onions, toasted almonds and fresh mango is served over a great, green sesame leaf, and the ripe fruitiness of the mango dressing is tempered with the astringency of white wine.
While much of the assembly that comes with the territory when you eat Korean has been taken care of in the kitchen, there’s still enough do- it- yourself to let you get happily involved with your meal. An appetizer order of Mini Crepes ($ 5.75) arrives with two large, thin rice pancakes, a sour mustard to spread on them, and several tasty fillings to mix or not, as you please, including grilled shrimps, grilled peppers, caramelized onions, and morsels of beef salty, sweet and spicy all at the same time. On the other hand, when you order a main dinner entrée of bulgogi ($ 12.95), the meltingly soft Black Angus rib- eye is already rolled around grilled peppers and caramelized onions — and served with three rices, regular, saffron and black. Namu is a great introduction to Korean food for anyone apprehensive about sampling a new cuisine, with plenty of traditional North American options for those too chicken to be a little adventurous.
Speaking of chicken, there’s both roasted ginseng chicken stuffed with sweet rice in soup ($ 17.95) and baked, honeyglazed chicken breast with thyme jus ($ 14.95). Lunch choices include udon ($ 7.95 to $ 10.50) and penne pasta with vegetables and rose sauce ($ 7.95), while the dinner menu offers both bibimbap with miso soup and kimchi ($ 8.95), and fish and chips made with fresh white fish ($ 9.75). On the appetizer menu, you’ll find both traditional smoked salmon ($ 5.75) and Korean- style beef tartar ($ 6.75).
Prices at Namu are pleasingly modest for such good food and luxurious presentation; the service, however, while friendly and helpful, isn’t always consistent, with some uncomfortable gaps.
Korean fusion may not be the first thing you think of when you’re planning to go out for dinner — but don’t overlook it just because it’s non- traditional: Namu is a terrific fusion of value and fine dining.
Take- out and delivery are also available.