I really do drop by Ae a lot these days.. and going back after a while, the menu had switched over to seasonal dishes, so I got to eat all sorts of things.

The sign

I wonder if this was here before. Either way, it is easier to find now, which is a relief.

Fried fish cake

This is so good that I keep ending up eating it..

Starting with a highball

A light start..

Carpaccio, I think

I do not really remember.. but it must have been good..

A hidden bottle

It turned out to be a bottle wrapped up in newspaper. Not bad at all.

Raw mackerel

This one melted away in my mouth, rich and creamy with a flavor like cheese. I would not even call it ordinary mackerel sashimi; where on earth do they source ingredients like this? Impressive.

Conger eel

It is good eaten together with sushi

Spring rolls

Having even something like this taste good is one of Ae’s strengths. Not ordering it would be your loss.

Goundal

I brought this one in myself. The price is pretty steep, and for that the taste is a little disappointing. A bit too rough, maybe.. I think a little more aging would have helped, but in Korea there is the problem that aging pushes the price up..

FARTE

Apparently it is a dessert shop in Seocho, and it is said to be very hard to buy from. For a start they are closed on weekends, so unless you live in that neighborhood you cannot buy any. And even if you do live there, you need a free afternoon to go and get it.. Anyway, it tasted great, but it is a flavor you cannot have unless you have a friend living in that neighborhood..

Harid Haiti Rum, 12 years aged, 52.3%.

It is a collaboration rum between Romancing SaGa and Shinanoya. The French oak character is strong, giving it a deep, almost whisky-like taste, so on the first sip I was thinking, this is rum? But gradually the aromas typical of rum come up, pineapple and vanilla and all sorts of others. It is like someone took only the best parts of whisky and rum and then aged them deeply.. Twelve years of aging in the tropics feels like twenty years or more, so you really cannot judge it by the stated age alone. Anyway, it was so good that everyone drank it in admiration. Despite the flashy label, the collaboration with a famous game, and a run limited to just 161 bottles, the reason I was somehow able to get hold of this rum is that back then people still did not think much of rum. I have no idea how long that kind of luck will hold.. it will only get harder..

I think it was Hanwoo tteokgalbi, but I do not really remember..

Sweet and tasty, much like the Hanwoo galbi at Miro. The drinks just go down..

Spring onion and garlic chives

I think it came out as a side.

Hanwoo beef tendon, maybe..

This is another menu item I have wanted to try for ages.

The broth

A taste that cures a hangover.

Tomato

It came out on the house, and it was good.

Grilled tilefish

Their grilled tilefish keeps getting better, it seems. I ate very well that day too..

Somen noodles

I think it was ramen broth.. this was another good one for chasing off a hangover.

Yoichi

I hear they have started selling it in Korea too. I did drink some, but it is a no-age-statement bottle, so it did not make much of an impression..

Bo-sushi

Even with my stomach about to burst, there was no way I could pass this up.. it really is an insanely tasty izakaya.

한국어로 읽기日本語で読む