Seren in Pangyo is an Italian restaurant opened on Pangyo’s cafe street by a chef I got to know well back at 2chef in Hongdae. Until recently it was operating under the name La Bilancia, but they refreshed the whole concept lately and renamed it Seren. I had meant to go ages ago, but only now finally made it.

The table

It is clearly a step up from the 2chef days. We ordered a bottle of Sancerre white to drink lightly that day, and it was pretty good, but looking back I have no photo of it. Sigh.

Bread

Everyone who has eaten here praises the bread. The bread at 2chef in Hongdae has gone down a notch lately, which was a shame, but at Seren it has actually gotten better.

Appetizer

Octopus carpaccio, arranged in a fresh, zesty way. Maybe because the plating is so pretty, the ladies really loved it.

Aglio e olio pasta

Simple but delicious. The pasta was cooked just right too.

Pickles

They taste like ordinary pickles, but the color has come out beautifully. I really like that they pay attention even to the seemingly trivial things. Knowing the chef’s personality, he probably cannot bring himself to do anything halfway.

Sous-vide salmon

The salmon came out slightly rare. It is more tender than a typical grilled salmon. It is an easy-to-eat, fun dish, but if you have ordinary grilled salmon in mind, the style is just too different. Personally I wondered whether torching it or giving it a quick sear on the grill after the sous vide might work. I hear he is trying out new techniques and new ingredients these days, so I am looking forward to seeing what great dishes come out of it.

Mint jelly and mustard

The sauces are laid out before the steak arrives.

Hanwoo steak

A steak like this on a course of around 40,000 to 50,000 won leaves me with no complaints at all. In Seoul you would only get this quality on a 70,000 to 80,000 won course. And of course there are plenty of places that are pricier and worse. In Seoul I keep going to Polpo and nowhere else, and honestly it is a bit of a shame to only have one place. I hope he hits it big in Pangyo and opens a Seoul branch soon.

Lamb

Excellent quality, as expected. That day I went with regular folks rather than members of my gourmet club, and it hurt to see so much food left over at the end. I have been doing nothing but gourmet meetups lately and lost my sense of scale, so next time I eat with regular people I will have to ask for smaller portions.

Apple sorbet

A house-made sorbet, and it is good. The dessert skills have leveled up as well.

Dojima Roll

I brought this along myself, but in the end we could barely eat any of it, so one of my companions took it home.

Business card

Seren being in Pangyo, it is hard for me to get to as someone living in Seoul, but even so, I think this is the finest dining you can experience in Korea at this price point. I will have to visit whenever I can find the time.

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