It was a blazing Friday night and a friend suddenly rang to say let’s go eat some meat. The place that popped into my head was Tuppul Deungsim. It’s famous these days and apparently hard to book, but I figured it might quiet down once the first seating cleared, so I called and they said a table should free up after 8:30. We had time on our hands, so we decided to meet in Apgujeong first and amble over.
Scored 1+1 Echire butter at the Hyundai Department Store in Apgujeong~
I’d heard the Hyundai Department Store was running a promotion, so I went to look and they really were~ I couldn’t let the moment pass, so I bought some straight away. It’s cheaper than buying it in Japan (though still far pricier than the local price over there…), so stocking up was money well spent. Finishing off all this cheese is what put quite a bit of weight on me…
Side dishes
We did a bit of shopping and strolled over to find a table free. Even for a restaurant that’s booming on a Friday night, turning the whole room over twice is no easy trick.
The table
The tableware is nice and neat. It doesn’t do much for someone like me who only cares whether the food tastes good, but I imagine the ladies would love it.
The charcoal arrives.
Good strong heat, too.
I wasn’t in a position to drink at the time, so Sprite it was…
They apparently keep a wide range of drinks at their ideal serving temperatures, but there was nothing I could do about it…
The menu
We went with the sirloin. Bloggers say that for 1++ grade in this neighborhood, this price is actually good value.
Sirloin
As you can see, the marbling is lovely, just as you’d expect from 1++.
Sizzling away nicely.
Grilling a steak is just a matter of getting the timing right.
Once it’s cooked through enough, time to break it up…
Actually eating it, I didn’t feel it was meat that justified the price. It really is 1++ Hanwoo, but I learned that marbling at the 1++ level doesn’t automatically make something delicious. Meat is only truly good when the meat itself tastes good, and there’s a limit to eating it for the flavor of the fat (and at my age the fat sits heavily, too). On top of that, they say the protein in meat ages, but whether the fat ages as well is a rather murky question.
It wasn’t enough, so we ordered another portion.
What came out was a lower-grade piece than the first one. Most meat restaurants run their business this way (regulars excepted…). That’s how they make the numbers work, I suppose. And since people drink plenty while eating meat anyway, by the second round the palate has dulled enough that there’s no way to catch the drop in quality. We weren’t drinking, though, so we tasted the difference clearly and grumbled our way through it. The story of my life, always losing out…
Beef brisket fried rice
The brisket content was a touch below what I’d hoped for, but it was tasty enough.
As you’d expect from a place with real specialist beef-house know-how, its strengths are the conveniences – free corkage among them – and meat that isn’t bad at all. That said, if you go hoping to enjoy top-grade Hanwoo on the cheap, you may come away disappointed. At just over 20,000 won I’d call it excellent value, but at 29,000 won there isn’t much reason to travel far for it. Then again, factoring in the free corkage, even 29,000 won is a pretty attractive price.
Promo macarons from Hongdae Macaron
When I got home the macaron shuttle had arrived, so I ate one and went to bed. They’re genuinely top-class macarons, and they were going cheap in a promotion, so I couldn’t pass up the chance… I’d love to drop by a place like this whenever I get the chance, but come to think of it, unlike bread, the right moment to eat a macaron never quite comes around. I ought to sit down with some tea at home, but I don’t have that kind of breathing room. I suppose life will loosen up eventually.