Korean fine dining in Bandung? Only if you can snag a place

The restaurant is at least three hours from Jakarta by road, two by high-speed rail when you factor in transfer time.

- Clara Lock

Yet, the 12-seater private dining session regularly draws diners from the Indonesian capital, including a couple seated next to me during my visit in July, who planned an overnight trip to Bandung around a meal at Jung Chan Dining.

Reservations, released a month in advance on its Instagram page (@jungchan_dining), are usually booked out in two to three minutes.

Singaporeans, too, have snagged spots on the coveted guest list. Around 10 from the country each month, says South Korean chef and founder Jung Chanhyuk, 34, who runs the restaurant with his Indonesian wife, Ms Miyagi Stela Monica, 30. The duo met while at cooking school Le Cordon Bleu Melbourne and have been married for two years.

Fermentation features strongly on the restaurant's menu and, for that, Bandung is ideal. The climate and water lend themselves to the process - indoor temperatures remain between 23 and 25 deg C year-round.

"Time transforms things slowly," says Jung.

Under his care, a hunk of prawn meat is blanched, soaked for 10 days in ssamjang, a spicy Korean dipping sauce, and grilled. It is served as part of an appetiser platter and leaves the strongest impression among the six items. The springy crustacean takes on a meaty texture and umami flavour reminiscent of grilled pork.