Finally, I have bought myself some time in Myeongdong this afternoon, my last chance to do so before heading to the airport early next morning.
Apart from being a prominent shopping district, Myeongdong also has something else to offer - affordable and mouthwatering street food.
The easiest way to find some of the tastiest street snacks in Myeongdong is simply follow the crowd and look for the long lineups!
Strawberry Mochi Isigoya is famous for its strawberry "mochi", a cute-looking Japanese-style glutinous rice cake filled with fresh strawberry and red bean paste. While stands selling their popular mochi can be found everywhere on the streets of Myeongdong, there's only one place where you can find the freshly made ones.
That would be their boutique hidden in an alley behind those cosmetic stores.
But don't mistake Strawberry Mochi Isigoya as a one-trick pony. They offer their mochi in all these different flavors including kiwi, tangerine, banana and more.
But their company logo already tells you which flavor was their most authentic or original one out of the bunch.
To get the freshest batch of strawberry mochi from Isigoya, it takes some seriously good time management and of course, some patience (it takes around 15-20 minutes waiting in the queue).
Well, I've done my time while Jelloman was doing her shopping. These were the strawberry mochi fresh out of the kitchen. Thanks ladies!
Strawberry Red Bean Mochi (2,000 won) - It's amazing how inflation is hitting all the Asian cities. I remembered these babies used to cost around 1,500 won not too long ago but the price has since skyrocketed.
But I'm not going to complain about it. Instead, just enjoy the ride~
Each of these mochi has a fresh strawberry in the middle wrapped with mashed red bean and red bean paste.
The paper-thin glutinous rice wrapper was really nice. A sweet and chewy dessert before dinner!
Food Rating: 5/10
Price: ₩₩₩
Address: 34-1 Myeongdong 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Myeongdong
It has truly been an up-and-down couple of years for the French masterchef's Seoul outpost. The restaurant was shut down due to unknown reasons a few years ago and when it finally re-opened in September 2018, they didn't have to wait long for their two Michelin stars to arrive. What an interesting turn of events!
From what I've read and seen so far, Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul 2.0 looks more or less the same as its older version. They welcome back chef de cuisine Frédéric Eyrier, who's been with the restaurant since 2012 with open arms. Similar food menu. The quirky décor didn't change a bit and so was the incredible view from 35th floor overlooking Namsan.
I can't believe it's already been 10 years since I was last here. Jelloman and I both agreed that the dining room could probably use a facelift. Perhaps I need one too, while I was in Seoul.
The best thing about Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul comparing to other fine dining restaurants in Seoul is the fact that, it opens seven days a week for lunch and dinner. At lunch service, the restaurant offers three different set menu including Menu Allegro (75,000 won), Déjeuner Pierre Gagnaire (3-course at 90,000 won and 4-course at 120,000 won) and "Le 6 Balzac", their degustation menu. The 3-course Déjeuner Pierre Gagnaire was the one we picked on the day of our visit.
I have to admit, I wasn't all that happy with the service coming in. While we were still trying to figure out the clothes to be checked in, our server was already troubling us with our selection of sparking or distilled water. I haven't even sat down! That's not what I call attentive service.
But things slowly got better as our afternoon went on. First, we were offered some canapés to start off the meal. The wheat cracker topped with radish, pickled spinach and lime juice was decent but uninspiring. Same goes for the ginger and almond cookie with a hint of sea salt. The mini choux pastry with truffle cream was the only one with a passing score (just barely). Those didn't look like they came out of a Michelin starred kitchen.
After that, some country bread while we waited for our starters.
Langoustine - My starter was butter poached langoustine served on a bed of mixed vegetable salad. I remembered having a similar dish at S.T.A.Y. by Yannick Alléno, not in terms of presentation but more about the ingredients. It's a salad consisting of diced vegetables and fruit that tasted very much like a Russian salad (with fruit). I was a little surprised it was served at a French fine-dining restaurant.
Abalone - More encouraging was the other starter, abalone served with petite pâte and spinach. A nice Korean twist with all the local ingredients, capped off by an interesting jujube (Korean dates) sauce. This wasn't bad and I have said it a zillion times, I love the use of local ingredients prepared with French cooking techniques.
Swordfish - This was surprisingly tasty. The grilled swordfish fillets caught me by surprise with their fatty texture.
It meshed well with the fresh herb purée and toppings of green onion and cress.
Turkey - When they said poultry (from the menu), turkey was the last two-legged creature I could think of. They made these citrus flavored turkey blanquette out of it, paired with crispy bacon, baby cabbage and shallots. Jelloman didn't like it but I thought it was reasonably good. Just not as good as my grilled swordfish.
Chocolate tower - Not the most sophisticated dessert in the world but it was a great one to end the meal on a refreshingly sweet note. The chocolate cylinder which came with a hazelnut praline centre, was served with a vibrant mandarin sorbet and some mandarin compote. It was finished off with some extra heat and acidity from a chilled orange ginger sauce.
I love the smooth and creamy hazelnut praline providing a welcoming coolness and a pleasant level of sweetness which was matched well by the lovely acidity of the mandarin and orange.
A much better petite fours comparing to the amuse bouche. Whoever the pastry chef is, he or she is doing a fantastic job!
I decided to enjoy an iced cappuccino together with my petite fours.
With my relatively low expectation coming in, I have to be happy with the results from some of the dishes (abalone, swordfish and chocolate tower). But in my opinion like some of these Michelin starred restaurants in Asia, the cooking here just isn't consistent enough to be warranted a star (or in this case two stars).
Food Rating: 6.6/10
Price: ₩₩₩₩
Address: 35/F Lotte Hotel Seoul, 81 Namdaemun-ro, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Euljiro 1-ga
Tel: +82 02-317-7181
Website: www.pierregagnaire.com/restaurants/pierre_gagnaire_seoul
I was hoping to keep my one-barbecue-per-trip pace tonight. We had such a nice experience at Two Plus Gangnam three years ago, and have been itching to go back for more succulent Hanwoo beef. But I last heard that branch closed down a while ago so tonight's dinner would be at Two Plus's Sinsa outlet instead.
Located in the basement level of Gallery YEH, Two Plus Sinsa can found near the North end of Apgujeong-ro 12-gil in Garosu-gil ("tree-lined street").
I would love to sit at the bar tables but those seats were already filled out nicely before we arrived.
Tonight was a little loud here. A full house had something to do with it but for the most part, it's because there were a lot of Hongkongers around. Yeah, we do talk very loud in Hong Kong.
I have to admit, I had their food menu memorized already because it was such a short one. The only thing I didn't remember were the prices.
Turned out this branch was a bit more pricey than the now-defunct Gangnam branch. I wonder why (coz it's in a popular shopping district?).
I'm going to pretend I'm drunk tonight so hopefully, Jelloman would take the bait and settle the bill.
Before the Hanwoo beef arrives, here comes the banchan or bansang, a collection of side dishes served before a Korean meal. Unlike a typical Korean meal, we didn't get spinach, radish or kimchi.
Following the salad, there was a small bowl of braised octopus. That was very tasty.
And water kimchi? (or just cabbage? I didn't check this out personally.)...
It didn't take long for our Hanwoo beef to arrive.
The highlight of the night, Hanwoo 1++ aged tenderloin. In case you're wondering about the name Two Plus, it refers to the restaurant's specialty which would be the Korean Hanwoo 1++ beef. Often compared to the famed Kobe beef, Korean Hanwoo beef has 5 different grades (1++, 1+, 1, 2, 3) with 1++ being top of the class.
1++ Sliced Striploin (44,000 won) - First, the marinated striploin which has already been sliced. I'm going to have it with my salad.
These weren't bad. A little more chewy than I thought (did I overcook them a bit?) but I could eat them all day.
1++ Aged tenderloin (43,000 won) - Much better than the striploin in my opinion. The marbling had a lot to do with it and I guess the aging also helped with the additional flavors. I should've just gotten ourselves two orders of aged tenderloin to save me some trouble.
Beef brisket fried rice (20,000 won) - I remembered this to be a little less spicy but this was really hot thanks to the Korean chili sauce. Anyone that loves rice crispies would love this!
Well, one of the things I didn't like about this branch of Two Plus apart from the noise factor was the fact that we needed to grill our own meat. I didn't have a huge problem serving Jelloman on any given day but I prefer having the option of being served as well.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: ₩₩₩₩
Address: 18 Apgujeong-ro 12-gil, Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Closest Metro Station: Sinsa
Tel: +82 02-515-5712
Website: www.twoppul.com
