L'Amitié (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

I like to wrap up a trip with a nice meal and that means going back to Gangnam on our last full day in Seoul before we take off tomorrow. Like most Michelin-starred restaurants in Japan, ones in Seoul also operate with a very strict children's policy. For L'Amitié, children are only welcome in their private rooms which is exactly where we are heading for our lunch this afternoon.

L'Amitié first opened doors in 1999 and its kitchen has been led by Chef Jang Myoung-sik since 2006. The long standing restaurant has since moved to different locations over the years, but continues to offer the same warm and comforting French cuisine.

We got lost on our way to the restaurant so everybody was pretty hungry upon our arrival. Luckily, the homemade bread came to our rescue.

Butter was a nicely salted one that complemented the bread really well.

Our amuse bouche today was beetroot tart with apple purée, topped with radish and chrysanthemum.

Egg custard with spider crab – Our first starter immediately followed. The steamed egg custard was paired with a spider crab bisque, topped nicely with crab meat, fresh chives and diced zucchini. The bisque sauce was very flavorful making this very ordinary egg custard a little more special (and tasty).

Asparagus salad – This dish was an asparagus lover's dream. Inside the crispy ring was

asparagus espuma, topped elegantly with seasonal vegetables including a onion tuile, marmalade, radish, asparagus and blood orange.

It was finished off with a sprinkle of cured egg yolk zest to give the salad some savory notes.

Lobster bisque – Next up was arguably today's best dish, lobster bisque!

Inside the buttery and creamy lobster bisque were superbly cooked lobster flesh (very meaty!), green peas and romaine lettuce. I like the celeriac foam on top to balance off the richness of the umami-rich bisque.

Cod – The fish course was cod fish with an aromatic herb crust. 

The silky smooth fish fillet was served on a bed of beuree noisette onion and spinach with a powerful paprika beurre blanc sauce providing a strong finish.

Silk fowl Assiette – This was when things started to fade. The chicken liver and breast pate made with meat from the confit leg, was matched with mushrooms, rice paper tuile and what our server described as a classic jus.

The combination of flavors was decent but the design of the dish was slightly off.

Lamb chop – Some of us who enjoyed the grilled lamb chop served with cous cous, paprika gel, cashew nut purée and port wine sauce, came away unimpressed.

Korean beef striploin – I had the Hanwoo striploin myself and it was a bit of a mixed bag for me. The striploin itself was pretty nicely done. The gravy sauce wasn't bad but offered no pleasant surprise for my palate. And the condiments of red onion purée, herb oil, deep-fried cauliflower and truffle aioli I thought failed to add to the flavor of the beef. 

Sorbet – A small pre-dessert of Hanrabong sorbet with yoghurt foam was served up as a palate cleanser before our "real' dessert. 

Dessert of L'Amitie – Dessert was a combination of brioche ice-cream, raspberry purée, orange sponge biscuit and kumquat served on an earl grey tea consommé. The earl grey flavors were a little bit light here and Jelloman told me she would much prefer something fruity and refreshing following such a heavy meal.

We weren't done yet as there was still tea or coffee. 

Mignardises were a mini strawberry macaron and financier with cream cheese.

Little nugget couldn't stop thinking about his lobster bisque. I told him he would get his chance at another place some other time.

We had a late start to our tasting menu so by the time everything was said and done, it was already 3pm. Hope we still have sufficient time to explore Anguk, which was next on our agenda.

Food Rating: 6.5/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: 2/F, 30 Dosan-daero 67-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Apgujeong

Tel: +82 02-546-9621

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm, 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sat)