Elbon the Table (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

It wasn't too long ago that we tried very hard to avoid western food whenever we visited Seoul. Luckily the dining scene in Seoul has slowly evolved in recent years with the arrival of Pierre Gagnaire and the emergence of a few local rising stars.

One of the names to remember is Hyun Seok Choi who was nicknamed "Crazy chef". His restaurant, Elbon the Table, came highly recommended in various popular restaurant guides and even got the honorary mention in the 50 Best Restaurant in the World blogs. Could this be the revolution we were all hoping for?

Elbon the Table is situated at an unbeatable location on Garosu-gil in Sinsa-dong. As neighbours to some of the hippest cafes and boutiques in the city, the Elbon building also finds itself sporting a contemporary look.



The dining room is largely decorated in a sexy black tone. Near the entrance is a small bar table capable of hosting around 8 people. A more conventional dining area is available just deeper inside.




Grilled Foie Gras with orange chutney, Truffle Ice Cream, 7/10
Chef Hyun Seok Choi does not shy away from incorporating molecular gastronomy into his cooking and this is one of his molecular inspired starters - charcoal grilled foie gras with truffle ice-cream.

A crispy slice of chargrilled foie gras laying on two pieces of eggplant and topped with a slab of truffle ice-cream. The contrasting temperature and flavor induced a wonderful sensation much to the pleasure of our palates.



Grilled Lobster with Four Kinds of Textured Rose Sauce, 8/10
Another molecular inspired dish from the kitchen came in the form of a grilled lobster served with four textures of rose sauce on top.

The four textures included (from left to right) a collection of rose caviar made using the spherification technique, a rose-flavored foam, a rose cream and last but not least a rose jelly. Each of the textures combined with the lobster to provide us with a unique and everlasting fragrance of rose.



Spaghetti with bacon and Arrabbiata sauce, 6/10
I had a bit too much to eat in the past few weeks so instead of trying their chargrilled meat, I decided to order something lighter starting with spaghetti in an Arrabbiata sauce.

The spaghetti, I thought, was really al dente and full of flavor but the sauce had too much seasoning and was a bit over-spicy.



Linguine with shrimp in a spicy curry sauce, 5/10
This was not the first time I have experienced pasta in a refined curry sauce and I admitted they could be a match made in heaven.

But the execution was slightly off the mark. Again the linguine was not the culprit and it was the sauce that they could have done a little better job with. 



Cold Cappellini with shrimp and "Godeulppaegi" kimchi, 1/10
The wheels suddenly fell apart here with our last pasta - a cold cappellini with shrimp and "Godeulppaegi" kimchi (Korean lettuce kimchi). We were sold on the Italian (cappellini) and Korean (dry kimchi) connection but this marriage of cold capellini and dry kimchi was doomed to fail.

First and foremost, the cold cappellini felt too much like eating elastic strings. The absence of a sauce was also quite an enigma.





Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: 530-5 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 2-547-4100

Website: www.elbon.co.kr