Beyond barbecue: from fine dining to market stalls, Seoul has all flavours covered
Whether doenjang-cured foie gras, beef ribs broth with abalone, marinated raw crabs or braised skin-on pork hocks, the South Korean capital offers diners impressive choices
What comes to mind when you contemplate Korean food? Barbecued meats? Kimchi? Fiery hot, strongly flavoured, garlicky dishes?
Korean cuisine is that, but it’s also so much more, as a weekend in Seoul proved. There’s high-end dining – we tried three places that are on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2016 list – but we also visited small shops that have been around for decades. And all that without a single dish of Korean barbecue. With the first Michelin guide to dining in the South Korean capital being launched on November 7, now is a good time for a visit.
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La Yeon
If you want one place that will completely change your perception of Korean cuisine, it’s La Yeon at The Shilla hotel. It comes in at No 50 on the best 50 list, and the traditional haute cuisine dishes by chef Kim Sung Il are delicate, refined and subtle – adjectives not frequently used with Korean food. If you’re wondering about the lack of chilli in the dishes, remember that historians believe the spice was only introduced to the country by the Portuguese in the 16th century.
Dinner here might include an appetising “platter of nine delicacies” – very finely sliced beef and seven Korean vegetables (the selection of which changes seasonally) that you wrap in thin, light crepes; and a wobbly poached “blue shell egg” in dried pollock broth, topped with gochugaru (chilli flakes) and dried fish. Royal hotpot is subtle and complex, including beef, mushroom, egg, root vegetables, ginkgo, meatballs, red dates and abalone.