I had a casual New Year get-together at Polpo with friends who are regular folks, not foodies. I have known them for more than ten years, but this was the first time we met at a proper Italian restaurant rather than a chain. It turned out to be such a fun evening that I wish I had seen them more often.
Starting with bubbles
Madame Coco is good value as far as bubbles go.
Bruschetta
The drinks arrive but the first dish takes a while, so a simple snack like this is very welcome. Otoshi is a given in Japan, but I have not seen many places in Korea that serve something like this. With such lavish beef on top, the taste goes without saying.
Mussel ajillo
Slightly salty with a nice spicy kick, all melded together. Dipped with bread, it makes the best drinking snack.
Trippa
Even when it is not a heavy-drinking crowd, when tasty snacks like these keep coming in all sorts of varieties, the mood naturally warms up. Nothing formal like fine dining; we just enjoyed the wine in a relaxed atmosphere, each catching up on how life has been lately. Korea seems really short on places with this concept. Most well-known restaurants are either for dates or for business entertaining. In that sense, I hope Polpo will be a good start.
Octopus and avocado
A light palate cleanser.
Hanwoo carpaccio
I have yet to meet anyone who said they did not like this dish. It is Polpo’s signature.
Salad
You dip it in bagna cauda sauce. The order of Polpo’s menu is a bit different from a typical Italian restaurant’s antipasto, pasta, main progression. It goes light snacks with white wine, a palate cleanser, heavier snacks with red wine, a palate cleanser, main/pasta, and a cheese plate and coffee to finish; rather than pairing wine with the food, it feels like the food is paired with the wine. Probably the ideal tuning for wine lovers.
Oyster and green laver pasta
I do love oysters, but I think this might be the best seasonal dish of the winter.
Eggplant rigatoni
The eggplant is delicious too, of course.
Steamed egg custard loaded with truffle oil
Another breather in the course: steamed egg custard. Lots of dishes came out in small portions that day, and by this point I was full. Maybe it was because I was eating with regular folks..
Steak
Since the carpaccio had already come out, I figured there would be no main, but out came a steak. When they serve it like this, you cannot help but order more drinks.
Atteca VV
It looked promising, so I ordered it, and as expected it was a delicious wine. (You all know what VV means, right? It is explained in detail in The Drops of God.) Every wine at Polpo is thoroughly vetted by the chef, one of the top gourmets in the country, before it goes on the list, so a bad wine simply cannot make it on there. Pick one at random and you will not go wrong.
Cheese plate
Wrapping up the evening. We had met a little late that day, but the mood was so warm that we stayed until quite late.
Yoichi 15 Year
As time went on, the power it had when first opened faded and it felt a little weaker, but it was still plenty delicious. Wine culture has more or less taken root here already, but single malts are still fairly new, and yet, maybe thanks to the mood, everyone strangely enjoyed it.
Until now I had only ever held get-togethers with fellow foodies, and that was inevitable, since most places worth calling great are far away and not cheap (and regular folks often cannot eat that much either..). But at this age, nobody really minds the price, and if it is a bit far you just take a taxi, so the old constraints are gone. I should hold more get-togethers with my non-foodie friends from now on.
For the course that day I asked them to keep the food at 50,000 won. With wine it came to about 70,000 won per person, which is not exactly cheap, but I think it is the highest satisfaction you can get in Korea at that price range. Everyone was so happy that they suggested another get-together, but with my tight schedule I have no idea when that will be. Setting up a gathering is surprisingly not an easy thing.
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