Vinho (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

It was tough to find a dining spot during my stay in Seoul this time around. China’s National Day Golden Week likely brought an influx of tourists, making it even harder to book the top-notch restaurants. Thankfully, I was able to get reservations at all three places I wanted to try. Mission accomplished.

Vinho was my third and final choice for a serious dining destination on this trip. An acclaimed one-Michelin-star contemporary fine-dining restaurant in Gangnam’s Nonhyeon-dong neighborhood, it is a counter-only restaurant co-owned by Chef Sung-bin Jeon and award-winning sommelier Kim Jin-ho.

Like Y’east, which I visited yesterday, Vinho serves a multi-course omakase menu. It is best known for its contemporary cooking techniques, minimalist plating, and traditional Korean flavors re-imagined.

The counter seating was a major draw for me as the view into the open kitchen added another exciting element to the dining experience.

I was started off with a crispy corn chip with caramel and hazelnut, topped nicely with black truffle. I thought it was going to be flaky but instead it was much harder than I first expected.

Tomato, cheongyang pepper, olive oil, marigold — If the aim of this first starter was to wake up my senses, it certainly succeeded. Refreshing summer tomato sorbet was paired beautifully with the bright, lightly spicy flavor of ripe tomatoes, small dabs of cheongyang pepper paste, olive oil, savory pine nut sauce, paprika, and fresh marigold leaves. The fresh tomato flavor hit first, followed by an explosion of cheongyang pepper. 🌶️

Dubu, scallop, whey, caviar —  A layer of silky-smooth dubu (두부, Korean for tofu), made with white beans, black beans, and almonds, was topped with small chunks of scallop from Goheung. Gourd sauce, hazelnut oil, and a light white bean foam rounded out the dish, while zucchini and caviar added the final touches.

The dubu, scallop, and white bean emulsion came together beautifully for a soothing, palate-friendly dish. The umami-rich caviar was the icing on the cake.

Jack mackerel, lettuce, sourdough, parsley — I was told this was one of Vinho’s most iconic dishes.

Underneath the smoky sautéed lettuce was mackerel tartare with shallots, poached egg, and sourdough crumble, served with a tofu and anchovy cream on the side.

Chicken, green onion, ginseng, mushroom — This wasn’t the first Korean ginseng-chicken-inspired dish I’ve had in Seoul, and it likely won’t be the last. The sous-vide chicken breast was presented in a very simple manner, with a sauce made from chicken, vegetables, and traditional liquor, then finished with mushroom and red ginseng foam.

The meltingly tender chicken breast reminded me of the dish I had at Y’east yesterday. It was equally delicious and presented in an almost equally minimalist style, but I liked this version a little more because its lighter sauce let the chicken take center stage.

The dish was accompanied by a small bowl of vegetable broth. Unlike the chicken tea served with yesterday’s chicken dish, this broth was lighter and smaller in volume. This came with a small dumpling made from chicken leg.

Eggplant, Jeju salted anchovy, black rice, apple — The eggplant had been fried and dried for two days, then stuffed with shrimp paste, pickled garlic, and garlic powder.

It was served with an eggplant-peel sauce enriched with myeoljeot (salted Korean anchovy) and a black apple-herb sauce. I liked how the shrimp paste worked with the other flavors: the saltiness of the anchovy sauce, the fruity notes of apple, and the woodsy, earthy notes of sage, while the toasted black rice added a satisfying crunch to the filling. The combination of flavors and textures was fascinating — I don’t think I’ve had anything quite like it before.

Abalone, carrot, chorizo, potato — Charcoal-grilled abalone topped with stir-fried namoonjae (wild herbs that grow along Korea’s coastal shores) was served with two distinctly different sauces.

There was a sweet sauce made with Jeju carrot and a slightly spicy one made with shrimp mussel oil, both served over a bed of roasted pumpkin that I initially thought was Korean rice cakes.

A Korean rice-cake doughnut filled with cream cheese and topped with sea urchin was served alongside the abalone. I thought it was an interesting pairing.

At this point, they served a lightly infused sujeonggwa (Korean cinnamon punch) made with beet, tomato, cinnamon, and ginger as a palate cleanser.

Butter fish, pumpkin leaf, green pea, Bang-a — I was told this was another of the chef’s signature dishes. The mild-flavored butterfish was nicely complemented by an array of green accompaniments, including sancho pepper leaves, pumpkin leaves, green peas, and Korean mint (bang-a). Not bad.

Lamb, burdock, perilla leaf, fennel — I enjoyed this meat course a little more than the butterfish.

Beautifully cooked lamb fillet was served with endive, white fennel emulsion, and red burdock sauce. I found it refreshing to have the lamb served with a flavorful burdock sauce. At high-end restaurants, lamb is so often served with lamb jus, red wine reduction, or artichoke but burdock? That was ingenious.

Watermelon, plum, hibiscus, herbs — Watermelon ice cream, with a marshmallow-like layer underneath, was topped with a hibiscus tuile and finished with hibiscus sauce. There was plenty of acidity there, so it seamlessly worked as a perfect palate cleanser for me.

Pine nut, hojicha, espresso — I’ve found contemporary Korean fine-dining restaurants to be particularly good at pine nut desserts, and this one was no exception. The scoop of roasted pine nut ice cream worked beautifully with the pine nut praline crumble, pine nut espresso, and hojicha milk foam. Perfectly balanced.

Exactly two hours after I sat down, my amazing culinary journey through modern Korean cuisine came to an end. As I took an Uber back to the hotel, a few dishes stood out in my mind — the dubu and scallop, the ginseng chicken, and the lamb. My favorite was definitely the abalone with its two sauces.

As I looked back on this trip, which would end the following morning, it felt like I have exceeded what I have set out to do at the beginning. As always, I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience wonderful cuisines around the world. My appreciation of food has certainly defined my life so far, and I hope it continues to do so.

Food Rating: 7.5/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: #162 Wellstone Building, 108 Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Gangnam-gu Office

Tel: +82 10-9677-2302

Website: https://www.restaurantvinho.kr/

Opening Hours: 5:30pm - 11:30pm daily

Y’east (Seoul, SOUTH KOREA) ★★★★☆

Unlike most of my recent trips to Seoul, I decided to skip the longtime culinary heavyweights like Mingles, Jungsik, and Soigné and instead, spend time exploring a few of the more low-key restaurants that have been making headway of late.

Y’east was the first place I booked on this trip; it had already been on my radar last year. Owner-chef Young-dong Cho (Jay Cho) cut his teeth in a number of notable international kitchens, including Momofuku Seiobo in Australia and Restaurant 108 in Denmark. His cuisine is often described as contemporary Pan-East Asian fusion, praised for the way it seamlessly folds Korean ingredients and traditions into a broader Asian spectrum.

I always enjoy a counter-table concept that lets guests interact more closely with the kitchen staff. For me, watching the chefs work behind the scenes is part of the pleasure.

The tasting menu opened with a few small nibbles to whet the appetite. First came a crispy tart filled with green asparagus from Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, and topped with thin slices of pickled herring that had been aged for three days before being cured and lightly smoked. An interesting play of flavor and texture.

Next, snow crab arrived hidden beneath a layer of shaved, smoked mullet roe from Taiwan, finished with diced root vegetables and black sesame for some lovely crunch.

The final nibble was the chef’s signature “Galbi stone” — twelve-hour slow-cooked short ribs simmered in a rich galbi sauce, stuffed with blue cheese, and encased in doughnut dough.

The sauce was noticeably sweet with plentiful of honey, I suspect. I’ve always enjoyed a hot steamed bun filled with pork, and this was a playful, savory-sweet riff on that idea.

Muchim (Sweet shrimp, danggwi, caviar) — After the amuse-bouche came the first starter: a chawanmushi-style dish with a greenish purée of danggwi (Korean angelica, 當歸). The earthy, herbal notes of the angelica paired well with the sweet shrimp tartare and caviar. It also got my blood pressure up a bit. 😁 

Tofu (Chestnut, tomato, wasabi, gotgam) — The second starter was a homemade chestnut tofu stuffed with tomato and what I thought was persimmon (gotgam), finished off beautifully with a nice pour of a housemade ponzu. The silky tofu took on bright citrus and deep umami from the sauce, while a clean hit of fresh wasabi on top supplied the necessary nasal heat.

Koshihikari (White fish, champagne, uni) — The rice dish soon followed. 

The Koshihikari rice was a premium short-grain rice cultivated in Gimpo. Underneath the top layer of onion foam was the materfully cooked Koshihikari rice mixed well with different ingredients including shima aji, job’s tears, hen's egg, rice crispies and sea urchin. There was also a hint of wasabi to tie everything together. 

Kou Shui ji (Chicken, chili, coriander, chicken Oolong tea) — The chef's interpretation of Kou Shui Ji (口水雞), a classic cold dish from Sichuan.

This was one of the many beautifully plated dishes in front of us this afternoon. The chicken thigh stuffed with spinach purée was steamed, then finished with pickled cucumber atop. The meat was silky and wonderfully tender; a Sichuan-style chili oil infused with eight spices delivered both heat and the signature numbing sensation.

A small cup of chicken tea made with chicken stock, ginger and oolong tea was served on the side. This was really really intense.

Fish (Tilefish, Jinhua ham, mussel) — Steamed tilefish was matched with a light Jinhua ham (金華火腿) foam, mussels, and a Korean anchovy Grenobloise.

The sauce struck a delicate balance of umami, acidity and richness. But personally, I would have preferred the fish pan-fried or grilled for a golden crust to stand up even better to the sauce.

Hanwoo (1++ sirloin, Shaoxing wine, dongchimi) — The charcoal-grilled Hanwoo 1++ sirloin arrived with pear and yuzu-infused dongchimi (variations of Korean kimchi). The meat was tasty but a little bouncy in the centre. 

The kitchen had obviously gone to considerable lengths to amplify the beef flavor, including a “beef powder” made from the leftover charred trimmings, which was sprinkled on top as a condiment.

Egg Noodle — I knew this signature dish cost extra but there was no chance I was going to skip it.

The egg noodles freshly made with Korean buckwheat flour, was topped nicely with a sabayon made with zhima jiang (芝麻醬), a Chinese sesame and peanut paste. 

My server finished the bowl with a pour of black-trumpet-mushroom tea that also contained cured pork fat and Sichuan pepper. I was told the mushroom tea is considered particularly nourishing.

Sorbet (Raspberry, white chocolate, Bang-A) — Finally, I'm down to the last dish of the tasting menu.

The final course was a raspberry sorbet crowned with a cloud of feather-light white-chocolate foam and a raspberry-powder tuile, finished with a bang-a sauce (a type of Korean mint). Raspberry and mint together delivered exactly the bright, refreshing note I wanted to close out the meal.

A couple of mignardises and a cup of warm tea brought the journey to an end.

There were plenty of elements drawn from across East and Southeast Asia — Korean, Chinese and even Singaporean flavors in the dishes this afternoon and I was deeply impressed by how Chef Cho and his team re-interpreted them in a playful, modern way while showcasing some of Korea’s finest ingredients. The Instagram-ready plating, led by the kou shui ji dish, was the cherry on top.

Food Rating: 7.3/10

Price: ₩₩₩₩

Address: 644-11 Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Closest Metro Station: Apgujeong Rodeo

Tel: +82 070-8855-0470

Website: http://yeastseoul.co.kr/

Opening Hours: 12:30pm - 3:00pm (Fri, Sat), 6:45pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Sat)

Au Crocodile (Strasbourg, FRANCE) ★★★★☆

When we first arrived at the stunning Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg, it was starting to pour heavily from the sky. So, we decided to rush through our tour at Place de la Cathédrale and then head straight to our dinner venue. And with my little umbrella that wasn’t quite doing its job, I ended up soaky wet and dripping with water by the time we arrived at Au Crocodile.

Au Crocodile is our first serious dining adventure on this trip.

To say that Au Crocodile is a storied culinary institution is not an overstatement. Founded in 1840 around a legendary stuffed crocodile brought back from Napoleon’s Egypt campaign, Au Crocodile grew from a historic Strasbourg tavern into a global pillar of French gastronomy. The restaurant reached its absolute culinary peak under the helm of Chef Émile Jung, holding three Michelin stars from 1989 to 2002.

Today, its historic legacy as a premier dining destination continues under Chef Romain Brillat after a complete modern revitalization. The restaurant also regained its Michelin star in 2021.

The ground-floor main dining room features an intimate, romantic atmosphere of light and shadow. The stunning centerpiece of the space is a massive, meticulously restored 1874 oil painting, adding a grand sense of Alsatian history to the spacious room. However, what caught our immediate attention was the breathtaking framed crocodile specimen at the entrance of the dining room.

Unfortunately, with little nugget with us, that was all the time we could spend in the main dining room. We were quickly escorted to an elevator near the front desk and taken to the second-floor dining room — a smaller, but equally elegant space (all while water continued to drip from my clothes!).

Today’s amuse-bouche was salmon tartlet with salmon roe and capers, some sort of chicken rillette (or liver pâté), and lastly a celery horseradish “dumpling” with an extra kick.

Our small nibbles were accompanied by buttery mini brioche served with homemade butter.

A further amuse-bouche arrived just before our first starter, and was introduced as smoked tomato gazpacho with shaved Parmesan. Interestingly, a few of us thought it tasted more like plums or more specifically, mirabelle plums, which are in season in Alsace right now.

Our first starter was beautifully cooked turbot, nicely paired with crunchy vegetables like broad beans and zucchini, and competently finished with an intense sauce made from the turbot bones. The sauce was the star here, tying everything together perfectly.

Next up was duck foie gras terrine. There were a few thin slices, placed over some warm duck meat. The dish was finished with small cubes of vinegar jelly, among other condiments.

Homemade brioche was served on the side, presumably to enjoy with the foie gras as a “spread”.

Next up was superbly cooked abalone from Brittany, matched with a hazelnut ragout and chewy fresh seaweed. The flavors were fascinating, highlighted by that distinct “sea water” note from the seaweed, which complemented the abalone brilliantly.

Some homemade bread was served while they get the next dish ready.

Brittany blue lobster tail, cooked tableside. Everyone loves tableside cooking in fine dining.

Our server carefully transferred the lobster tail into a container filled with rich lobster broth. Within a matter of seconds, the lobster tail was removed and placed on top of a buckwheat risotto, along with an open raviolo. A nice pour of the subtle lobster sauce soon followed.

The lobster was really delicious, with excellent, bouncy texture.

A glass of lobster broth was served on the side to be sipped after enjoying the lobster tail. Unlike the sauce served with the lobster tail, this broth was stronger and far more intense, with a hint of cognac.

Our first meat dish was a lean cut of beef from Belle Robles farm. 

It was served with mashed potatoes and a slightly earthy sauce made from melanosporum truffle.

Our last savory dish was roasted pigeon, matched with variations of artichoke and pigeon jus. The pigeon breast itself was nicely cooked, but I thought the jus did very little to elevate the flavors of the pigeon.

Our pre-dessert was a refreshing one — fresh strawberries and raspberries, nicely paired with a herby rocket pesto.

The sweet ending came courtesy of an iced and creamy vanilla dessert trapped inside a sugar ball. 

There was a small core of caramel in the middle to complement the vanilla, while extra virgin olive oil added more savory-sweet flavors.

Our mignardises tonight were white chocolate with frozen lemongrass (and what my son thought was pear), a tartlet topped with jasmine-infused mousse and what I thought was a mini mirabelle plum pie.

By the time we walked past Place Kléber, Strasbourg’s main square, on the way back to our apartment hotel, it was already 11pm, a familiar scene from 2012 that kept coming back to us from time to time.

Looking back at our dinner tonight, I thought the service was excellent throughout. The restaurant manager and her crew of outstanding servers thoroughly entertained us all night long. There was one dish I particularly liked (the sugar ball with vanilla) and a few others that were pretty darn good. But there were also a couple that were less satisfying.

Surprisingly, even with such a long parade of dishes, I wasn’t totally stuffed like I thought I would. I guess that’s a very good sign, considering we still have three or four big meals coming up in the next few days.

Food Rating: 7.4/10

Price: €€€

Address: 10 Rue de l'Outre, 67000 Strasbourg, France

Tel: +33 (0)3 8832-1302

Website: https://www.au-crocodile.com/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 1:00pm (Thu - Sat), 7:00pm - 9:00pm (Tue - Sat)