Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Pierre Gagnaire à Séoul @ Lotte Hotel

7th August 2012:

It's the day I turned 22! After a surprise celebration at 12 midnight and afternoon dessert at Peony, X took me out for dinner. He kept telling me that we were going to a food fair and as much as I did not believe him at first, I eventually was convinced haha. Even when we walked into Lotte Hotel, I was still thinking that we were going to the food fair since he said it's at Lotte Mart or something. Haha

So here we were! Going to Pierre Gagnaire! A restaurant by a Three-Michelin starred chef! [:
Pierre Gagnaire A Seoul is one of the World's Best 50 restaurants!!! 
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On the highest level, 35th storey

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Window seat [:

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35th storey is considered pretty high in Seoul! Our seats overlooked many buildings and even mountains

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Degustation menu

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They were really appetizing and whetted our appetites

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Cute butter

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Assortment of bread which were fragrant and delicious!

Before the meal started, the waiter asked if I had any preference for my food so because I don't take vegetables and berries, they made adjustments to the menu and tried their best to substitute the veggies and berries away

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Tomato/watermelon granite, provencale ratatouille
I skipped this haha. Watermelon is number one on my hate list haha

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Cod petals, avruga, leek vinaigrette
The cod was fresh, and soft and definitely a delight!

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Red pepper veloute, sweetcorn icecream
This was so unique and as weird as it sounds, or might look, it's actually really awesome!

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Prawn paste with cracker in substitution of Mortadelle ham, crunchy vegetables with dijon mustard
This was pretty average

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Mortadelle ham, crunchy vegetables with dijon mustard

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Pan-fried frog legs coated in a fine polenta with chives
SO DAMN GOOD. The frog legs were tender and they were extremely tasty and delectable! Wish I could have this again!

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As night falls.
The right piece of glass is a mirror

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Pan-fried foie gras with turnips, gingerbread powder
LIFE-CHANGING. A Little crisp on the outside and delicately soft on the inside. X and I were both beaming with delight upon the first taste of it. The taste of the foie gras lingers on and on. This was so so good. I'd kill to have this again!

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Cherries jelly with Pondicherry Red pepper, pink duck filet
I didn't really like it because of the strong cherry taste

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Foie gras terrine, redcurrant and red beet syrup
I love foie gras terrine! Pretty good too but can't be compared to the pan-fried foie gras

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Rilettes, raw foie gras and salt flower
This was not too bad! Kinda liked the rawness


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Champagne mousse
Not a fan of champagne so I gave this to X haha

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Almond cream tartlet, nougatine
Light hint of nuttiness

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Vanilla souffle, summer fruits marmalade

Wasn't very impressed by their desserts


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Yay birthday cake!
The little TT sign on the plate is actually a table!


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Earl grey with orange jelly cake
Love the earl grey parts! And the orange jelly was SUPER SOUR. But it really spiced up the otherwise mellow, aromatic and sweet earl grey!

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Coffee 

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Rum praline
The waiter came to us with a huge wooden box and offered us pieces of their pralines! Yummers

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Petits Fours
Definitely one of the best petits fours ever! Also, the small glass of drink is a special concoction with mint to cleanse your palate. It's very refreshing!

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The entire 35th level belongs to Pierre Gagnaire!

The dishes at Pierre Gagnaire are nothing but unconventional and revolutionary. They are a fusion of contrasting flavours and are combinations that you would probably never expect. These twists are definitely intriguing and although they may not suit the tastebuds of everyone, they're definitely worth a try!

My birthday was complete.
A dinner at a restauant owned by a Three-Michelin starred chef. What more could I ask for? [:

The meal cost more than $400 SGD and I'm really really thankful for this birthday gift [:
Thanks X!

Lotte Hotel
1 Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
 


Love, K

Peony @ Hongdae (Seoul)

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Peony is a famous cake shop located in Hongdae. It's about ten minutes walk away from our apartment. We headed there on my birthday, in the afternoon, after X got back from class.

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Array of cakes

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Pretty crowded for a weekday

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Strawberry shortcake
X ordered this and he really liked it!

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Chocolate cheesecake
This was rich, soft and melts in your mouth!

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Iced chocolate 
Sadly, this tasted more like chocolate milk


The staff were friendly and helpful and the cakes were good! This will definitely be one of my favourite haunts if I stay in Hongdae!

We spent only about 30 minutes here as X was kinda rushing to get home to change because he was taking me out for my dinner celebration. Coming up in the next post! [:

408-8 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Daily : 1230pm - 1030pm


Love, K

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Menya Sandaime/ Shan Ding Mu/ Kiraku Izakaya @ Hongdae (Seoul)

We ate Japanese cuisine a couple of times while we were in Korea. These are three of the Japanese restaurants in Hongdae that we really liked!


1) Menya Sandaime
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One of the most interesting menus I've seen

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Black Ramen - 8000 won
The boss told us that the black ramen is only slightly spicy. But when I tasted it, I thought it was super spicy! But the spiciness fades as quickly as it hits you, but leaves a lingering sting in your throat. It was quite an experience I must say. The more you dig into this bowl of noodles, the more you'll love it

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Ramen -7000 won
My ramen was sumptuous and the noodles were springy and nicely cooked.

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Gyoza - 3000 won
The gyoza were blow-torched and they were absolutely yummy! Really loved the crispiness!

24, Hongik-Ro 5an-Gil, Mapo-Gu, Seoul 04039, South Korea
Map:
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2) Shan Ding Mu
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Ramen - 7000 won
X ordered this and it was so good! The soup carried the sweetness of corn. The sweetness did not overwhelm and it complemented the savory side of the soup really well!

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Beef Rice Bowl -7000 won
I ordered this and spent most of the time moping about not ordering the ramen instead hahaha. Even though X offered to swop with me many times but NO, I am very noble to let him have the tasty soup. Haha the beef bowl was not too bad. The beef was tender and the sauce was pretty good

Map:
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3) Kiraku Izakaya
It was almost midnight when X and I went food hunting. We walked for what seemed like a really long time before we chanced upon this


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 We decided to give it a shot since everything else that was open didn't really appeal to us.

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I don't know what these were exactly but they were DELICIOUS. We had them refilled like 5 times hahaha too good.

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We had trouble conversing with the waitress and we tried to order "soup" and "rice" so this is what we got. At first, when the pot first arrived, I was like.... Err doesn't look very nice

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But don't judge a book by its cover! The soup was a little on the sticky side but it was yummy. The rice blocks had a sort of burnt taste that added more flavour to the soup. Also, the portion of seafood was very generous!

This was surprisingly good and X really enjoyed it haha

Map:

iza_zpsb8f69f7e2

Love, K