Middle Eastern eats at Hummus Kitchen

Hummus Kitchen, one of the latest restaurants to open in foodie-friendly Hannam-dong, adds to the area’s growing gourmet vibe, serving up Middle Eastern fare with a modern slant.

Beet sauce, parsley pesto and whole grain mustard adorn platters of hot, charcoal-grilled kebabs and made-from-scratch hummus and falafels, adding pops of color and flavor to each mouthwatering dish.

Helmed by owner Kim Hyun-sung, the restaurant is the culmination of years spent in the Middle East dining on the region’s famed cuisine, while dreaming of one day running a place of his own.

Not only did Kim’s parents live in the region for three decades, Kim himself worked in the Middle East for two years before opening Hummus Kitchen this April.

“We spent seven months developing our menu,” said Kim, 33, of the extensive work that went in creating Hummus Kitchen’s “contemporary” Middle Eastern fare. 

The endeavor is largely spot-on delicious, from the refreshing creamy, rich avocado smoothies, tart, fizzy apple mint coolers, to the housemade falafels, hummus and kebabs.

“We use ‘bijangtan’ for our kebabs,” said Kim, referring to the high quality charcoal.

Lamb, beef and tangy, yogurt-marinated chicken kebabs are grilled one skewer at a time. Falafels are handcrafted from a blend of cumin, cilantro and chickpeas and hummus is made from scratch with housemade tahini.

Even handmade pita bread is baked to order and served puffy and hot from the oven.

“We also make our yogurt once every one to two days,” said Kim.

All that effort shines through in the fragrant falafels, nutty and slightly chunky hummus and airy flatbreads that emerge from the kitchen.

Lamb is also beautifully-executed, succulent from a stint over a charcoal grill in the form of a kebab or incorporated into a kibbeh pie.

As a pie, the lamb is minced, seasoned with cumin and cinnamon, strewn with pinenuts, topped with housemade labneh (strained yogurt) and served up in a slightly sweet, extra crispy tart-style shell.

Sugary crunch melds with fragrant, piquant meat. The thick labneh takes the edge off the heat for that perfect, creamy, spice-rich mouthful.

Other dishes include a selection of pizza-style flatbreads sporting toppings like parsley pesto and mozzarella or couscous with fig jam, along with salads and soups. 

Hummus Kitchen

1F 736-9 Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul; (02) 790-7922; open Mondays through Thursdays from 11:30 to 3 p.m., 5:30 to 11 p.m. and till 1 a.m. on Fridays, open Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and till 11 p.m. on Sundays; salads cost 15,000 won to 21,000 won, mezze 8,000 won to 23,000 won, kebabs 20,000 won to 32,000 won, pita bread 3,000 won for two pieces, drinks 7,000 won to 9,000 won

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)