It was only a short visit to Korea, but this time I ended up going to a lot of Western restaurants. What I actually crave in Korea is Korean food, but when it comes to a proper, formal get-together, there’s nothing quite like a Western restaurant. After Trattoria Molto, the next stop was Mi Piace, a well-known Italian restaurant in Cheongdam-dong. I’d met the owner once before, and he really understands food and takes enormous pride in, and puts enormous effort into, his restaurant. So I’d wanted to pay him a visit, and this time I finally got the chance.
The red wine I brought
A great meal isn’t complete without wine. I’d originally planned to pick up a well-rested bottle at its drinking peak from a friend and bring that, but looking at my schedule there was just no time. So, accepting that it would get shaken around on the plane, I picked the most sensible one I had: this Dominique Laurent Chambolle-Musigny. It’s a good vintage from a good domaine, but sure enough it showed almost nothing of what it really is. It broke my heart. Still, it’s not like I could open a Lynch-Bages ’00 or a Clos des Papes for this… Ah, now that I think about it, I should have brought the Papillon Rouge… too late for regrets, sadly.
After finishing one bottle, we opened another that the owner kindly treated us to. It was a 2005 Château Gloria from Saint-Julien: young, but delicious, as you’d expect from a great vintage. The owner had a wine dinner going on that night and was very busy. We’d planned to eat together, but all I managed was to hand over the gift I’d brought.
Olives and cheese
Not much of a side dish, but it looked like great drinking food.
Pretty plates and napkins
This is where I fell for the owner’s feminine taste for floral patterns. Apparently he goes to the flower market himself every morning to decorate the tables. If I ran a restaurant, I’d probably have gone all black and white.
Tomato terrine with mozzarella
I did wonder whether fresh tomatoes really needed to be turned into a terrine, but taken as a fresh terrine it was fine.
Lobster with beans
You can clearly taste how it differs from shrimp ^_^ so the lobster was in good shape. The soft, tender beans and sauce didn’t look like much, but they went surprisingly well with the lobster.
Minestrone, probably
It was just the kind of flavor I like, like coming home to the countryside… The lighting didn’t help, but the photos really didn’t come out well. I rarely go to places this dark, so it never bothered me much, but for some reason I’ve been going to them a lot lately. I think it’s time to seriously consider a new camera body. I wish Pentax would hurry up and release a new model, but that doesn’t look likely… Then again, a photographer shouldn’t blame the camera.
Porcini tortellini, I think…
It was nicely cooked, but the portion was pretty big, so by this point I was starting to get full. Normally this would be nothing, but that day I’d also eaten lunch until I was about to burst.
This was… mackerel, if I remember right.
It was so long ago that I don’t remember the taste at all…
Tonight’s main, osso buco
I don’t remember it well, but it seems to be a dish made from the joint part of the beef. I’m not a big fan of steak as a main, so I tried this, but steak might have been the better call. It felt more like a starter than a main…
Strawberry tart and ice cream
Finally, the dessert time I had been waiting for…
The dessert wine I brought
Dessert wine holds up even if it gets shaken a bit, so I brought one of the better bottles I had. Points aren’t everything with wine, but getting close to 100 does mean something. I was lucky enough to buy it at an absurdly low price. Tasting it, it showed a perfectly balanced wine with not a single flaw, exactly what you’d expect from a high scorer. Complex, sensual aromas, and thanks to the clean acidity, a thrilling sweetness that never turns cloying. Is this what the pinnacle of Sauternes is like? (Though the true pinnacle, I suppose, would mean waking up the Yquem I’ve got sleeping.) I thought about buying a whole case and didn’t, but now I need to run off and grab one right away ^_^
Fondant au chocolat
I was already full and yet more dessert… Cut it open in the middle and hot chocolate comes pouring out. It seems to be a famous dessert, but I didn’t really get to taste it properly. I should have posted this quickly while my memory was still fresh, but it’s turned into a thoroughly half-hearted review. Sorry, sorry. I’ll come back again~
Actually, I thought the theme of the night was a welcome-home meetup for me, but it turned out it wasn’t. I come back to Korea so often that I’m now totally taken for granted, like a sergeant with only days left before discharge… But with the positive attitude of adapting quickly to any unexpected mood, I had a really fun time. Or, who knows. Maybe I was the only one having fun…