Jungsik

Our final dinner on our South Korea trip was the one I had looked forward to the most. Last time I was in NYC I had hoped to dine at the Jungsik location there, but could not secure a table. As excited as I was, I also headed to dinner with a bit of trepidation. My previous two Michelin rated experiences were a good, but a bit lackluster and not quite up to the level I would have expected. Would Jungsik, the third 2-star Michelin restaurant on our trip, leave me with the same impression?

Here are the photos from dinner at Jungsik on October 18, 2019:

Snacks - Hanwoo beef, scallop, uni in Korean seaweed, truffle egg

Uni - Sea urchin served with a variety of toppings including black salt, green onions, ponzu jelly, wasabi, mountain yam, salmon roe, and pico

All of the uni elements piled on a seaweed cracker

“Caviar” - Tuna, perilla oil, puffed millet

“Abalone” - Grilled, beurre blanc, chive oil, kimchi

“Octopus” - Cooked in vegetable broth then fried in olive oil

“Gimbap” - Rice and Hanwoo beef

“Black Cod” - Silky seaweed, matsutake broth

“Galbi” - Hanwoo beef, rice, shiso, chili

“Sujeonggwa” - Pear sorbet, ginger panna cotta, cinnamon

“Banana”

From the very first course of snacks it was clear that Jungsik was different. The flavors contained in those snacks were some of the best we had had the entire trip. Every plate was, to me, on the level of execution that I would expect from a two Michelin star restaurant. The grilled abalone was some of the best I’ve had, with a perfect texture and beautiful flavors. My favorite plate of the night (and our entire South Korea trip) was the black cod with silky seaweed and matsutake broth. That matsutake broth was just perfect. The only minor nitpick of the meal was that it didn’t have as many obviously Korean elements as I would have liked. But, it was still a delicious menu and one I’d be happy to have again.

 

Jungsik
11 Seolleung-ro 158-gil, Cheongdam-dong
Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
+82 2-517-4654
www.jungsik.kr