Sunday, December 3, 2017

Jungsik Seoul - Apgujeong, Gangnam gu

Apgujeong is known for luxurious shops, chic department stores, high-end beauty clinics and global business centres. It's Gangnam's Rodeo Drive and Milan. It's also home to many prestigious restaurants like the Michelin restaurant Jungsik.


This is one of those must visit restaurants when you're in Seoul. Their 4-course lunch menu at ₩60,000 (roughly AUD $72) per person is value for money and a steal considering this is a prestige Michelin restaurant. When I say prestige I mean a very chic contemporary interior with clientele ranging from businessmen, new money to ladies of leisure. The essence of Jungsik's cuisine is a modern (almost on a molecular gastronomy level) take on traditional Korean cuisine using cooking techniques. Chef Yim Jungsik is basically the pioneer of modern Korean cuisine. There are no gimmicks here. Just great food executed and presented well to please all the senses.

We started with their amuse bouche bite sized dishes. They had us already with their take of a mini corn dog! There was also velvety salmon mousse in a cone topped with roe, rice wrapped in fancy seaweed and fish seaweed pancake.


One of our starters was the "Mushroom", which is a pile of umami packed buttery field mushrooms hiding a perfectly crisped egg with runny yolk.  

Their octopus (10,000 won surcharge) was the best octopus dish I've had to date. It was perfectly cooked with a nice char caramelisation that gives the octopus smoky and sweet notes. The sweet, spicy and garlicky flavours of the creamy gochujang aioli pairs nicely with the octopus. 

The Aromatic rice with barley and perilla oil was all about roasted nutty and umami flavours. The egg yolk serves a nice textural contrast to the barley and rice. 

Their sea urchin was a luxurious bowl of beauty and it also packed with so much umami flavour and sweet notes. 

The tenderloin (20,000 won surcharge) was fatty, buttery and nicely seasoned. This is one of the tastiest steaks I've had in my life. Pairing this with lovely mushrooms may seem simple but you need some simplicity to bring balance to an outstanding dish.  

The duck was one of the most beautiful duck dishes I've come across. It was twiced cooked leaving the meat tender, juicy and so tasty whilst the caramelised skin was so crisped.  

The desserts were impressive too. There was Cheongdam pie, which is their interpretation of the apple pie. Beautiful caramel sauce, apple puree, and ice cream layered with two crispy flaky pastry-like biscuits. 

There's also the rose de versaille, which tastes as beautiful as it looks. It consists of blueberry mouse, milk ice cream, yoghurt meringue and blueberry sauce.
Complimentary sweet treats
I love the fact that you can make reservations via their website. You can book up to a month prior to your preferred visit. Whenever you decide to visit Seoul or on your next visit to this vibrant city, I highly recommend dining at Jungsik. I will definitely pay them another visit next time I'm in town.

Jungsik
11 SEOLLEUNGRO 158GIL
GANGNAMGU SEOUL
Hours: 7 days 12pm-3pm, 5.30pm-10pm






1 comment:

  1. Amazing photos Raff! Agreed, $72 is an absolute steal for what looks like a really well executed meal, plus Michelin accolades. It's on my list for when I return to Seoul.

    ReplyDelete

Let me know what ya think, aight! Would love to hear from ya.