Umi Nom, Kuma Inn Sister Restaurant, Moving Along

The crew was able to salvage a skylight uncovered during the renovation. (Tejal Rao )

It’s beginning to look a lot like Umi Nom: moving along, right on schedule, is the Pratt-area Brooklyn outpost of the popular LES restaurant Kuma Inn, at 433 DeKalb Avenue. Chef/owner King Phojanakong gave us another tour of the space last week; the rubble has gone and the drywall is up. Phojanakong also recently received some special sake pouring equipment to install at what will become a wood paneled bar where twenty sakes by the glass will be available. The chef is in process of refining the new restaurant’s menu, which will follow Kuma Inn’s small-plate format, including the ever popular Chinese sausage and sticky rice dish.

Just as the name Kuma Inn is a play on the Filipino word meaning to eat, the new restaurant’s name Umi Nom is a play on the word meaning to drink. Umi Nom will take the place of an old Laundryland; Phojanakong said that the Umi Nom sign will likely be superimposed over the restored, backlit laundromat sign. We’ll be checking in a few more times before Umi Nom’s May 1st target opening. Coming up next: the finished space and the menu.