Jung Sik Dang, sister to the Michelin 2-star restaurant of the same name in NYC, has been one of my favorite places to eat in Seoul for the past several years now, a great example of modern Korean cuisine. So when I heard that it had moved from its previous location behind Dosan Park to a larger location in Cheongdam-dong, I made sure it would be one of the first places I visited after returning from the States. Occupying an entire building, the new space is quite large, with construction still ongoing on the first floor, so dining is currently limited to the second floor. Like the former space, the new Jung Sik Dang is tastefully adorned: simple and minimal. No changes to the menu structure either. You can opt for the full Tasting Menu (7 courses for lunch) or the 4 or 5 course Choice Menu, in which you select your preferred course from a list of options. Many of the cornerstone items have remained unchanged from previous menus, with some nice new additions. Pics (16) in the order served: Amuse bouche course (4) - hamachi w/housemade chip - Pohang spinach roll - rice - chicken/rice cake skewers (닭/떡 꼬치) ** hamachi and spinach roll were the best of this bunch Starters - fried oysters with anchovy aioli - hanwoo beef carpaccio with perilla leaf (깻잎) pesto ** the oyster dish has been a flagship of the starter selection for a while now and is visually stunning...the carpaccio, a newer entry...both are well seasoned, well conceived and quite delicious. Rice course - uni (sea urchin) bibimbap ** this gem of a treat is a holdover from previous menus as well, but one taste and you know exactly why. As you can see, the uni is piled high giving this bibimbap a rich creamy flavor. Main - pan fried cod with smoked seafood chowder - pan fried snapper with Angelica root vinaigrette - pork jowls with pickled vegetables ** of the three, I found the snapper the tastiest, with the vinaigrette complementing the snapper wonderfully. The pork jowls are another staple from previous menus. Nice crispy skin matching well with the vegetables and broth. The cod, though well cooked, was a bit on the bland side and the most underwhelming of the three. Dessert - raspberry panna cotta - peanut eclair ** its no secret that I love my desserts, and these dont disappoint. Overall, lunch today was nice, but not great like I remember and expected...perhaps my previous experiences set the bar too high or perhaps theyre just ironing out the logistics of being in a new space. And though the food was good, today was not a Michelin level experience, with the service noticeably lacking in attention to detail detracting from the wow moment this experience deserved. Ill probably wait a couple of months before giving it another go to give them a chance to complete the build-out and iron out all the kinks.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:43:03 +0000
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