Prized Korean hanwoo beef is finally available in Singapore through Culina
Hanwoo beef, prices of which can surpass wagyu, is a meat sought after by chefs and gourmands alike.
Hanwoo is now sold at Culina (Photo: CNA/May Seah)
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At long last, Korean hanwoo beef is available to consumers and restaurants in Singapore.
Supplier and retailer Culina is the first to bring the sought-after specialty beef into the country, with the first shipment having arrived on Nov 21 and approved by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), said Culina’s general manager Leelyne Yeo.
Bringing hanwoo into Singapore is something she and her team have been working on for the past six years, involving multiple visits to South Korea, discussions with Korean authorities and liaising with the SFA.
The import of hanwoo into Singapore has been tightly controlled due to concerns over foot and mouth disease in cattle. But the island of Jeju is one area that has not seen any cases. So, they focused their efforts there, Yeo said.
This year, they signed a contract with Jeju-based company Daehan F&B to bring in 200 head of hanwoo, as well as 52 tonnes of pork including Jeju black pork.
The hanwoo is now available at Culina at Como Dempsey in a variety of cuts and grades, with plans to add more parts as the shipment stabilises.
They have also seen a lot of interest from restaurants, not only from specialty ones like Cote Korean Steakhouse as well as those helmed by Korean chefs like Sun Kim of two-Michelin-starred Meta and Louis Han of one-Michelin-starred Nae:um, but also from three-Michelin-starred French establishments Les Amis and Odette, Yeo shared.
She added: “The market is really excited to have hanwoo beef in Singapore. There is a lot of anticipation. People know the process is pretty extensive.”
The main challenge in bringing hanwoo into Singapore was that “no one knew when or whether it would be approved”, Yeo said. In addition, communicating in Korean was an issue; however, this was solved with the help of Olivia Lee, an active player in Singapore’s F&B scene and founder of an online store for Korean products.
Earlier this year, Culina was able to bring hanwoo into Malaysia and make it available at their retail store in Kuala Lumpur. “Because we had that experience with hanwoo in Malaysia, it gave us an advantage, or extra knowledge, for securing hanwoo beef for Singapore,” Yeo said.
The hanwoo Culina purveys is from the native Brown Hanwoo (Hwang-so) cow fed on a “top secret” curated diet that results in tender meat and even marbling, and of the highest quality grades.
Hanwoo is graded according to its own unique system that takes into account things like marbling score and fat colour; its cuts are also distinct.
Its scarcity contributes to prices that can surpass wagyu: Hanwoo cattle are found only in Korea and meticulously bred. Virtually all of their prized meat, regarded as a cultural icon, is consumed domestically. The beef is less fatty than wagyu with a more intense beefiness.
