Jung Sung Contemporary Korean 🍷

It has 3 months since I've last blogged, and I blame this on the fact that I started a new job and have been quite busy over the weekends with friends and family. However, earlier last month, I organised dinner with a bunch of friends, where we went out to the new Korean contemporary fine dining restaurant, Jung Sung. 

The restaurant is located at the Old Rum Store in Chippendale (near Spicy Alley) on the third floor. Jung Sung uses ingredients are sourced locally in Australia and combining traditional Korean cooking methodology and fermentation. The space was filled with fitting and decors that are very contemporary, with large glass windows bringing in as much natural light during the day, making the place look more spacious. 

I started the night with a nice red wine, and we decided to go ahead with the 6-course meal, which includes the red snapper hwe, Moreton bay bug two ways, catch of the day, a main where I selected the MB 9+ wagyu beef, sweet corn, and watermelon & limes. The staff were very friendly and attentive during service, however, they do not have a sommelier so if you're after more in-depth information on the wine selection to match your meal, I'd suggest doing your research beforehand or ask to taste the ones you're interested in as they are happy to provide this for you. 

Complimentary scallop dish

The Red Snapper Hwe consisted of raw snapper, white soy crystal, perilla extract, seaweed, and karkalla. It was a nice light dish to ease you into the degustation. 

Next up we had a dish that wasn't on their menu, which came with three types of grains, including quinoa. The presentation of the dish was quite pretty and appealing. You also get a small bottle of sesame oil which enhances the flavour of the dish adding some nutty notes and umami. 

The Moreton Bay Bug was served up and it was seasoned well, with soy-marinated and poached in butter. It also came along with a creamy goshujang aioli sauce, but I couldn't really taste that Korean flavours come through the sauce. 

We also got Red Snapper for the 'catch of the day' dish, which was prepared with glazed anchovy and served with black garlic and potato puree. Flavour-wise there wasn't anything that really stood out to me, nor could I really find any Korean elements to it. 

Now the good thing about going to dinner with a bunch of friends is so you can try all the mains in one go! Starting off with the Berkshire pork, the dish was not bad. The crackling was nice and crunchy, but the pork was a little overcooked. It came with brussel sprout, peach and berry's creek puree, macadamia and grilled lettuce. The nice sweet and savoury flavours complimented the pork. 

I ordered the MB 9+ wagyu beef, which was cooked medium-rare and succulent. There was one larger piece to the side which was the more fatty piece and would recommend having this in between each slice of beef to even out the flavours. The dish consisted of brown rice vinegar, jalapeno jus, brunt eggplant and nasturtium. 

The final main was there Riverina lamb, with summer tomato gochujang, onion powder, and zucchini chutney. I think out of all three mains, I actually preferred the lamb dish the most. It was succulent and the flavours were lovely. 

Moving onto dessert we had the Sweet Corn and Cherry Chocolate to finish off the meal. The Sweet Corn consisted of doenjang, sweet corn custard, soy sauce caramelised pistachio. The dessert honestly tasted like those artificial corn flavouring yet had the creamy texture of ice cream. I wasn't too much a fan of this as it got too sweet for me way too quickly. The Cherry Chocolate, was a milk chocolate mousse which was more up my alley, as this was quite refreshing with the cherry sorbet and coconut meringue. 

Overall, I was actually disappointed about my experience at Jung Sung, as I felt the dishes really didn't feel 1% KOREAN to me at all unless I read the menu to see the actual ingredients. Yes, it is meant to be contemporary, taking different elements from diverse cuisines, but I failed to see, taste or feel any Korean elements at all with all the dishes presented (minus the side dishes that came out!). I felt it was lacking in the use of Korean ingredients, flavours or cooking methodologies, making it a pretty mediocre fine-dining experience but with a bigger price tag, as the flavours or dishes were really nothing to be wow-ed by. By no means do I say "stay away" from this place, but if you're expecting something a little more of a 'fusion' then this will probably disappoint you just as it did me. 

JUNG SUNG | KOREAN CONTEMPORARY

Level 3, Old Rum Store / 2 - 10 Kensington St. Chippendale NSW 2008

Opening Hours:  LUNCH; Tues - Sun 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM // DINNER; Tues - Sun 5:30 PM- 11 PM

Ph: +61 400 991 011
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Have you been to Jung Sung yet? How was your experience and how did you find it.