Back from my trip to Japan, I paid a visit to Bistro Polpo. Nokjang has already written this one up, so I feel relaxed about posting a rough version of my own.
Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0
Lately so many premium beers have been coming into Korea that I wonder if they are eating into the cheap-wine market. A good beer beats a wine at a similar price, after all. Stone’s Ruination is strong stuff, but I think I prefer a slightly more floral beer..
Shrimp ajillo
I think the baby squid version beats the shrimp.
Capellini with clams in tomato sauce
A cold pasta that is perfect for summer. The lighting throws a shadow over it, though; is there no way to fix that? Maybe editing it on Instagram really is the best answer. And so the age of the blog is over..
Wild boar neck
They brought it out to show us what they would be grilling for the steak. Fat is what makes it tasty, after all. Surprising that they have meat like this in the middle of the hot season, though.
Linguine with hard clams
Good ingredients, good flavor. The wine just keeps going down.
Blue crab rosé spaghettini
The crab was packed with sweet meat, seriously good. A dish I would have deeply regretted skipping.
The neck steak, finally
The meat is superb. Not a trace of off-flavor. The fat is good, the lean is good, and it went beautifully with red wine.
Coriander salad
A nice palate cleanser.
We were running short on things to drink with, so we ordered a trippa.
Polpo really is about the only place in Korea that keeps a dish like this on the menu. (Mi Piace does one too, but the style is very different.) It is a distinctive place, so it may not be for everyone, but there is no way I could stop going.
Fregola with sea snails
A flavor that demands whisky.
Bunnahabhain 8 Year Old Heavily Peated
Heavily peated in a way that is not like Bunnahabhain at all, yet still smooth. The night deepens and the booze disappears.
Chocolate from Libertable
A dessert shop whose main store is in Akasaka. They have a great sense of style, so I picked some up, and it lived up to expectations. Next time I have a spare moment there I will have to bring some back again..
Jamaica
We finished with a dessert Polpo had prepared. Nearly perfect food from start to finish.
The 2005 vintage of Domaine Serene I brought along that day had aged just right and was really lovely; wine really does need proper aging, it seems. The trouble is that the waiting takes so very long.
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