Once again I ended up at Molto, my usual haunt. The chef always takes care of so many little things for us, which makes it a great place for a special get-together.
Inedit beer
Following on from my last post, this time again someone who had just come back from a trip to Spain brought it for us. Apparently it’s a beer the elBulli chef had a hand in, and it sells for around 50,000 won in Korea. But it’s really cheap over there, so they bought some and carried it back. Tasting it, it was smooth and refined, but it didn’t seem worth 50,000 won. For that price, champagne is way better.
Something similar to jamón..
The chef sliced it up nicely and served it to us.
A present brought back from New York
Somehow this turned out to be the day everyone showed up with a present. I got a pair of socks in a very loud colour. I’m still keeping them carefully tucked away – no idea when I’ll ever wear them..
Today’s assortment of gifts
This is how many presents got brought along that day.
Tomato and mozzarella
Jamón
Inedit beer
I think they said it’s brewed with wheat rather than barley, and it did have a classy taste. Still, it’s beer after all, so the finish wasn’t all that clean.
Bread and Echire butter
The butter was my contribution.
Bottarga pasta
Mackerel pasta
Hamburg steak
Risotto
As always, the chef looked after us with some dishes of his own choosing.
Assorted dessert plate
Cacao Sampaka chocolate, Amandier macarons, Hokkaido Camembert and Ispahan jelly. The one on the bottom right is the Ispahan jelly, and it tasted beyond anything I could have imagined. How can a jelly carry such a strong rose aroma? It isn’t that expensive either, so I’m definitely buying more next time I’m in Japan..
Well fed, we headed off to Umjibin to round things off with dessert.
Patbingsu at Umjibin
Umjibin is a patbingsu specialist. It’s on the ground floor of the Raemian shopping arcade in Banpo. It’s pretty tasty, so I reckon it’ll be really popular come summer.
Juice
They even make juice out of red beans.
Patjuk (red bean porridge)
A sprinkle of salt made it even better. It’s a decent patbingsu place, but it’s a bit far to go out of your way for. People who live in the neighbourhood will probably be regulars..