Poom (주)품글로벌 (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★☆☆

Poom Seoul is a restaurant that I've always wanted to try but somehow it was always full so I had to make sure that I would have a table this time around. Located on the Namsan mountain, Poom is a highly acclaimed Korean restaurant serving traditional banga cuisine (cuisine of the royal or noble class) with a modern twist. They have a nice view of the Seoul city at their terrace which could also be seen in the dining room downstairs.


 


Just a few words of advice regarding transportation - try to take a cab to Poom and avoid walking from the nearest subway station coz there's NONE. The closest one available is Seoul Station and it's about a 20-25 minute walk if you walk really fast.



There are a lot of adjectives which could be used to describe Poom's dining room - artsy, zen and tranquil immediately came to mind.




What a lovely view from the ceiling-to-floor window in the dining area. Five minutes in and I'm already in love with this place!



Before our meal officially started, we had an amuse bouche of daechu (Korean dates) chips and toasted pine nuts to get our tummies ready.



Then the first course arrived. A poached egg sitting on a pine nut sauce and sprinkled with organic dried fish eggs all over. That was very nice.



The egg was half-boiled to perfection and I really enjoyed the dried fish eggs on top. Felt like I was having anchovy with my poached egg with that salty flavor and fishy odor.




Fresh white whelk seasoned with sour chili paste dressing was next. This was served cold and I thought it's a pretty refreshing dish with a nice combination of contrasting textures and flavors.



This was followed by a tower of Julienne summer squash, mushroom and pan-fried glutinous rice cakes, a modern take on Wolgwachae which is usually a mixed vegetable dish made with zucchini, beef, pyogo (shiitake) and glutinous rice cakes in the traditional banga cuisine.



This was prepared with minimal or no seasoning. Very nice.



Up to this point, I still thought we were having a vegetarian lunch but no, finally some grilled pork with a bowl of seasonal vegetables was ready on deck.



These looked very much like grilled pork neck or belly with a touch of green onion. We were supposed to eat it like a lettuce wrap by wrapping each piece of pork with a leaf and some special fish sauce.

What made this dish special was that, each one of these leaves had a slightly different texture and most importantly different flavor (some were bitter, some sweet and savory). So each wrap was an unique experience on its own. Very tender (the pork) and tasty.




The meal finished with a crossover between gangdaenjang (soybean paste) and boribap (rice and barley with vegetables). 



We started mixing the steamed soybean paste with the clams, zucchini, onions, peppers, boiled barley and rice and finally came up with this! Very lovely bite.



This came with a tofu soup that also tasted a little like a Japanese miso soup.
 


Here came our dessert plate.



First with a pair of steamed glutinous rice flour stuffed with chop jujube, pine nuts, citron and mung beans.



That was accompanied by Poom's fruit of maximowiczia typica tea which was a type of Korean tea that was supposed to help the body recover from fatigue and also boost stamina. After this cup of tea, I think I am ready to walk to Seoul Station now.
 

Poom Seoul offers a unique brand of traditional Korean cuisine (or more especially, banga cuisine) that is both creative and exciting. Although this might not necessarily satisfy everyone's appetite, it's definitely one that will appeal to those who appreciates the finer things in life.




Food Rating: 5.7/10 

Price: ₩₩₩

Address: 3/F Daewon-jeongsa B/D 358-17 Huam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: N/A
Tel: +82 2777-9007
Website: www.poomseoul.com