Chef Choi Hyun-seok’s Choi.Dot has been open in Cheongdam for a while now, and I was lucky enough to finally go. As I get older, it’s not easy to make it to a restaurant like this unless there’s some occasion.

Table setting

Very stylish.

Amuse-bouche

Autumn tea, clear mushroom soup, chicken meatball

You eat it like this.

Strong mushroom aroma, a nice starter.

Bread

Champagne

Oysters and chogochujang

Fried oyster, gochujang ice cream, strawberry

Finished

A strange-looking dish, but it tasted good. With creative food like this, modern Korean is more fun than French.

Peas

Peas and shrimp dumplings

The soup goes in.

It feels like a lot of effort went into the presentation, but the taste is good too, so no complaints.

Fallen leaf

Portobello mushroom, scallop, mushroom foam, fried kale
Better quality than I expected. I’d heard the chef keeps a close eye on the food in the kitchen, and it shows.

Probably ganjang gejang

Capellini, ganjang gejang, perilla leaf, gim
The plating was so different from what the menu said that it caught me off guard. Great presentation.

Braised cutlassfish

Cutlassfish, braised radish, cheese espuma, trout roe
One surprise after another. Being Korean food, the familiar flavors are a plus too.

Palate-cleansing tea

A palate cleanser before the main. I didn’t expect tea to suddenly show up midway through.

Lamb chop

Nicely grilled.

Lobster

Frozen

The desserts are pretty too

Roasted chestnuts

Tea

Petits fours

Nothing lacking in taste or presentation. I can’t think of many restaurants in Korea with this level of food at such a reasonable price, so it makes sense that the place is packed even late at night. The only problem with this place is probably that the entrance is hard to find… other than that, I was really satisfied. And if you ask nicely, you can even get a photo with the chef…

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