I had not really planned on going to Polpo that day, but suddenly we had enough people for whisky, so round two was Polpo without a second thought. Among the places in the Gangnam area where you can bring your own whisky, the ones that come to mind are Molto (corkage 30,000 won) and Polpo (corkage 25,000 won), but Molto is such a popular pasta place that it is not somewhere you drop into casually. If Polpo blows up in popularity too it will get hard to visit, but maybe because of the location, it is still fine for now.
Baby squid ajillo
They had introduced it on Twitter as a dish so good you would not notice if your dining partner dropped dead. I am not sure it is quite that good, but it was tasty. A slightly spicy kick is its signature. When you say ajillo, shrimp ajillo is usually what comes to mind, and I do not think baby squid manages to overtake the taste of plump, bouncy shrimp.
White wine
First of all, it is only polite to buy some of the house’s own drinks. A white wine to freshen the palate, and it goes well with Polpo.
Nibbles
Once we brought out the whisky, a thoughtful little plate of nibbles appeared. The raisins dried still on the stem, hard to find in Korea, were especially good.
Trippa
These days the dishes I always order at Polpo are the trippa and the carpaccio. No matter how full I am, it feels wrong not to.
Royal chocolates
Chocolates brought back by someone who had just been to Paris. Apparently they are supplied to some European royal household.
Hanwoo beef for the carpaccio
The beef was in great shape that day, so the chef brought it out to show us himself. Make carpaccio with meat like this and it can only melt in your mouth.
Royce’ Popcorn Chocolate and Yoichi 20 Year
We opened a whisky a friend had brought back from Sapporo. A complex flavour with a touch of peat. A high-class whisky that stands comparison with Yamazaki or Hakushu. The Royce’ popcorn was really delicious too, and as a whisky snack it is unbeatable, it just keeps going down. I was thinking I would have to haul back a big load next time I am in Japan, but from what I hear lately, word has already got out and it sells out a lot. Hmm.. this is the kind of thing you should keep to yourself.. the downside of blogging.
Sponsored chocolate, part 2
They went all the way to Europe and came back with all kinds of snacks for us.
Sponsored cheese
Except this cheese turned out to be one you can get in Korea too..
Oyster and green laver pasta
Pasta to finish, of course. It was cooked well, but I love oysters to begin with, so I enjoyed it all the more.
Abalone pasta
Abalone goes really well with pasta too. A generous plate.
Hanwoo carpaccio
Not just the looks, the taste too is the best I have had so far.
Bottarga
After the Yoichi we switched to Oban 14 Year and kept drinking for a good while, and a complimentary snack came out. Another day of eating and drinking really well. From now on I do not think I can imagine a second round anywhere but Polpo.
For round three we moved to Isu. We were going to try a place called Makgeolli Hakgyo (Makgeolli School), but it was closed, so we went to a sundae place.
Sundae
Well, we had already eaten a lot, and this style of sundae is not really my thing, so I just had a bit to go with the soju.
Sundae-guk
Another night of drinking well before we wrapped things up. It had been a while since we all got together, which made it all the more fun.
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