Pierre Gagnaire: pricey but well worth it

The opening of Pierre Gagnaire`s restaurant at the top of the Lotte Hotel caused something of a stir in the English press here in Korea. The promise of 3 Michelin star quality food in Seoul was unsurprisingly garnering some excitement, not least from myself.

Then there was silence.

No reviews, no sign of menus, just the knowledge that the restaurant was there and promising so much pleasure for so much money. As I have previously stated, I believe the best way to cope with the growing economic crisis is to indulge in luxury and so I took it upon myself to be the first to offer an English language review and so, as a one off, will only deal scantly with wine today.

Luxury is all about the details. With anything on which you are spending a large proportion of your hard earned cash, you expect certain levels of service and satisfaction that generally come down to the details. Stepping out of the express elevator at the 35th floor of Lotte Hotel, we were greeted by name into the reception. This was a very good start.

First impressions are also very important and, unfortunately, with regards to decor, these were not great. Led through a dimly lit corridor with rooms hidden off to the side, the main dining area was gaudy, gold-clad and felt dated in its opulence. However, our table right by the window, looking over the city and mountains quickly dispelled any worries about the interior. Eyes were on the food and the view only.

Immediately on being seated, a champagne cart was wheeled to the table with flutes hanging like mini-chandeliers. Having been stung by champagne prices at the start of a meal in the past and spying Dom Perignon as one of the options, I should have politely declined. Instead I asked for the house (read "cheapest") champagne and got a crisp refreshing Don Ruinart Blanc de Blanc. Very pleasant, but then it had better be for 55,000 won.

The two menus offered were not for the faint of heart either. The a la carte menu was terrifying in its pricing, with starters starting at a startling 100,000 won. You can peruse the menu at pierregagnaire.co.kr. There was however the far more reasonable set lunch offering at 120,000 won. Admittedly, not a cheap lunch, but if you are the sort of person who puts a lot of importance on pleasures of the senses, then not a disgrace. You are not just paying for a lunch to fill the belly, you are paying for an experience.

Was the experience up to scratch? Very much so. There is no room to detail everything presented, so we will just deal with the highlights. First up were a selection of finger bites, small mouthfuls such as parmesan and chocolate composition and goat`s cheese in a crisp sweet shell. They were all very good and interesting. Then came the amuse bouche - mouth amusement. I am accustomed to this being a single, small bite that is usually packed with flavor. Here we were presented with five fairly large dishes such as a palate cleansing, yuzu citrus celeriac with a soju foam, a fantastic chicken mousse with crispy chicken skin and something described as mang gae with cumin butter and hot fennel jelly which was strange and amazing. Despite the size and number these were all done with a lightness of touch that left you excited for the rest of the meal.

The only low point for me was the starter proper - cod and squid with a pumpkin veloute. It was perfectly executed, but the addition of cinnamon ruined it for me as I only really like it in the company of other spices in a curry.

The main course came in two choices - sea bass with iberique bacon and a veal salad, which was pronounced a great success by my companion, and my choice of duck leg with date, ginger, coco and quince, accompanied by a French "kimchi" and crispy smoked duck. It was a fantastic dish with savory and sweet, fat and acid all balancing perfectly with the quince being a real surprise in its delicate sweetness.

This is top class cooking.

Dessert comprised three dishes, the stand out being a pineapple, green pepper and ginger ice cream dish with a smear of coriander pesto that worked incredibly and is as good a dessert as I have had. Really inventive, slightly experimental but judged perfectly.

The last sentence could be used to judge the whole experience; it was a beautifully executed meal that managed to balance experimentation with classicism and was a perfectly weighted lunch.

The Marssannay recommended by the sommelier was reasonably priced and matched most of the dishes well, in itself a great challenge. The wine list, to my surprise included affordable options and despite its favor of French wines, offered some real interesting treats.

This was not a cheap lunch, but it was a lunch that I consider to be great value. Cooking of this quality is rare in all but the world`s top cities and having a destination restaurant like this is a real bonus for Seoul.

While $100 starters can still survive the economic downturn, then there is a gem at the top of Lotte Hotel.





Dan`s wine blog can be found at www.wine-in-korea.blogspot.com - Ed.







By Dan Ellis Wine columnist