Get authentic Korean street food at the new Nana Bunsik at Newest Mall

Tteokbokki and kimbap fans, there’s a new bunsik (Korean everyday food) spot in Singapore and it’s so authentic, we felt like we were in Korea for a good hour or two during our meal.

Nana Bunsik, the brainchild of a shy Korean female business owner who goes by the nickname Nana, opened officially last week after a two-month soft launch.  

In late 2020, Nana Bunsik first started as a home-based business in the thick of the Covid pandemic and was formerly known as Nana K Pot. The business, run by Nana and her mother, sold kimbap, tteokbokki and even jjajang (black bean) noodles. 

More than two years on, Nana and her Singaporean partner, Jackie, have since come together to open a physical restaurant at Newest Mall selling the same favourites.

Both have requested HungryGoWhere not to use their full names for privacy reasons.  

The couple tells us that setting up shop at Newest Mall seemed like a natural option. As a home-based business, most of their clientele was located in the west.

Despite being first-time F&B owners, it’s clear the couple has done their fair share of ground work, including researching customer trends, prior to setting up this quaint, retro-influenced dining spot.

Jackie tells us that the design of Nana Bunsik was inspired by three of the couple’s favourite restaurants in Korea. 

Look closely and you’ll see little elements within the restaurant that add to its authentic K-charm. 

There’s a shelf of cute, crocheted Korean food (made by Nana’s mother), a trio of dolls —said to be popular in Korea in the 90s — and even a rectangular, silver tteokbokki pan used by roadside vendors in Korea. 

We learnt that the latter was sent over to Singapore by Nana’s aunt in Korea, no less. Yes, the whole metal pan. 

If you sit at its counter seats while some tteokbokki is cooking, it almost feels like you’re waiting by a roadside stall in Seoul itself. All that’s missing is the cool, crisp wintry air.

Nana Bunsik’s menu

Since bunsik is its titular offering, we knew we had to put the usual bunsik — kimbap and tteokbokki — to the test for a comprehensive Nana Bunsik review. 

We ordered its original gimbap (S$10.80) and the spam kimchi gimbap (S$12.80), as we hear it’s popular among the Koreans that frequent the place.

Filled with the usual ingredients of spinach, carrot, pickled radish, ham, egg, and crab stick, Nana’s original gimbap was simple yet comforting. My dining companion felt that the kimbap could do with an additional dollop of sesame oil, but I personally found the seasoning just right.

The spam kimchi gimbap didn’t taste too different from the original but it bears mentioning that Nana Bunsik makes all of  its kimchi — and we mean all — by hand. So the kimchi you find inside the spam kimchi gimbap? Also handmade. 

They say you can tell how good a Korean restaurant is by the standard of their kimchi. 

And by all accounts, Nana Bunsik’s kimchi passes with flying colours — it was delightfully crunchy, sweet and mildly tangy, almost like geotjeori (fresh kimchi) which I love, but still bearing the slight sourness of regular kimchi. 

It should be no surprise then that its pork kimchi stew (S$17.80) would be just as promising. We have to admit when we first saw the dish, we weren’t expecting much, as it looked quite watered down compared to what we were used to. 

But we loved the depth of flavour within the stew, as well as how tender the pork slices within were. Kimchi stew isn’t a usual bunsik dish, but you should most definitely include this in your order when you’re there. 

Nana Bunsik executed the grand trio of Korean street food — tteokbokki, eomuk (fish cake) skewer with soup and twigim — perfectly. The tteokbokki wasn’t too spicy, the eomuk soup lightly-seasoned, and the twigim, crispy with the right amount of batter. 

While you’re at it, remember to add cheese to your tteokbokki. The restaurant blow-torches it aburi-style before serving, adding a slightly smoky taste to your tteokbokki. 

If you’re looking to celebrate Christmas K-style, the restaurant has even created a Christmas tree platter (S$148) that comes with twigim, fried chicken, japchae, and assorted kimbap flavours, available till Dec 31.

This was a hosted tasting. 

Hungry for more Korean food options? Check out other authentic Korean restaurants in the West and Singapore’s latest jjajangmyeon entrant. 

Nana Bunsik is on the GrabFood delivery service and offers free delivery (up to S$3 off) with GrabUnlimited.

You can also book a ride to Nana Bunsik at Newest Mall. 

Do explore the new GrabFood Dine-in service for awesome deals.