I spent the short New Year holiday back in Korea. I was longing for somewhere warm down south, but I wanted to see my family and friends. Since it was year-end the tickets were insanely expensive, which really hurt.
The first place I went after landing was Boutique Blooming, one of the top Italian restaurants in the country. So many bloggers have already written it up that I’m not sure there’s anything left for me to add. The reason I picked it out of all the options is that there just aren’t many Western restaurants in Korea worth going to. There are places that are luxurious or have good service, but hardly any that also get the food right. (Of course, the biggest reason is probably that I’m picky.) I went as a bit of advance research, in case I ever need to go to a Western restaurant in Korea (a blind date -_- or something…).
The plate
The dining room was smaller than I expected, and it wasn’t even full. Blooming Garden downstairs was packed, but Boutique Blooming wasn’t, which surprised me a little. It’s not like Boutique Blooming is all that expensive (dinner courses are 70,000 won and 100,000 won + 10%), so seeing this gives you a rough idea of how Italian restaurants survive in Korea.
The table
The glasses were so-so, and the service was more part-timer level than professional staff. For a moment I thought of the gorgeous server at ARGO and the sommelier at Acqua Pazza who could pass for a TV star. With places like that, you want to go back just to see the staff. It’s sad to think all of this is an effort to keep the price down.
West Coast rock oysters with cucumber sauce
Oysters. They’re in season, so they were fresh, but since the course is cheap it didn’t look like they used any special oysters. I also didn’t like how the cucumber buried the aroma of the in-season oysters. Then again, did in-season oysters even have an aroma…
Wine by the glass
With a big group you’d order a full bottle, but with just a few people it’s hard to open one. That’s when wine by the glass shines, and the selection here wasn’t bad.
Bread
Not the usual focaccia, but a multigrain bread served warm. Personally it was my favorite thing that day, so I asked for a refill.
Pork belly with bianchetto white truffle, pea purée and duck confit
The pork belly wasn’t as good as dongpo pork, and it was cold on top of that. I have no idea why they put that little bit of truffle on it. Overall, the cooking here shows effort to make something impressive, but for some reason it doesn’t quite pay off.
Grilled abalone and scallop with garlic pesto oil, celeriac purée and salmon roe
Scallops are such a tired ingredient. The salmon roe seemed kind of fake, too. I like celery, so I liked the sauce, but the abalone was hard to cut with a knife and wasn’t especially tasty either. It’s not that the cooking is bad; again, it’s probably the ingredients. The names sound fancy, but the ingredients aren’t as high-end as you’d think…
Olives
The olive oil was fine, but I couldn’t really tell what the olives themselves tasted like. It felt like bar snacks served as side dishes.
Sea bream carpaccio with yuzu sorbet, brioche crumble, horseradish cream and snow
The sea bream carpaccio wasn’t bad, but something like powdered sugar made it really sweet and hard to eat.
Seared foie gras and shrimp scapece with mascarpone funghi and figs
I’ve said this before, but I’m not a big fan of foie gras. And the foie gras here was exactly the style I dislike. I’m starting to get full.
Blue crab fettuccine in rosé sauce
Pasta tastes like pasta ^_^ It didn’t seem to be fresh pasta, which was a bit of a shame…
Sorbet
This was just ordinary too…
Grilled flounder with fennel zabaione
Ordinary too…
Lobster with shrimp consommé and bisque jelly
The harmony with the soup stood out more than the lobster itself.
Charcoal-grilled top-grade (MB9) Australian wagyu sirloin
Finally the main course. Sirloin steak, as always. I asked if there was anything else, and they said no, so there was nothing to agonize over. But wagyu is only wagyu if it’s raised in Japan, and the way you cook a steak from high-grade wagyu is different from a regular steak. In a word: don’t eat a steak like this expecting a real wagyu sirloin steak. That aside, the steak was in very good shape. The meat was tasty and it was cooked perfectly. There was even a very faint hint of real wagyu about it. (Somehow it almost brings a tear to my eye.)
Coffee
Finally, dessert time.
Herbal tea
Just so-so.
Melon sorbet
They got a nice flavor out of cheap ingredients. A satisfying dessert.
Melody cake with vanilla ice cream
This one was ordinary.
So that was the whole course, and overall the quality of the ingredients was low. No wonder, since they keep up this kind of space and service staff while serving food at a low price of 100,000 won per person. To eat properly here, you’d probably need to come with several people, order some wine, and talk with the chef to ask for some better dishes. Eating cheap and plentiful is nice, but when I occasionally want to feel truly perfect joy, it’s hard to find a place in Korea to go to right away. Places like that aren’t going to just appear unless I seek them out myself, so I’ll keep digging. Still, the Korean fine-dining scene is getting better little by little, so I guess that’s something.