Seoul Eats
There is a reason why her food has been labeled "dining art." At first glance, the food at Ahn Jeong-hyun`s Wooriga looks too beautiful to eat.
This haute cuisine restaurant overlooks Doosan Park in Sinsa-dong. The restaurant space is elegant and simple with white walls decorated with abstract, minimalist paintings and white tablecloth covered tables. The place is quaint and quiet and it sets the perfect stage for her elegant cuisine.
Ahn breaks all the normal conventions of Korean cuisine. The entrees are served course by course, so the table isn`t littered all at once with a plethora of different side dishes. It enables the guest to enjoy the artistry put into each dish. The first course had jellyfish noodles served with slices of cold pressed beef and topped with deveined and split shrimp. It was served on top a green leaf and stone plate.
The soft pink of the shrimp atop clear, gold noodles and next to savory brown meat was an amazing seasonal contrast. The theme of the meal was clearly the end of summer and the beginning of fall.
language="JavaScript"src="/khjs/banner/article_340.js">
This dish was followed by a grilled vegetable dish formed into a shape of a large rectangle and topped with a red sauce and sesame seeds. Under this dish were two long flower stems and a small flower to the side.
Then came autumn abalone with ginko nuts. The shells of the abalone were set against a tree branch, so it looked as if a tree had sprouted shellfish. The deep warm taste of the abalone and the creamy pop of the gingko nut distracted my sense of sight, so focused was I on my sense of taste and touch.
More dishes were to follow, but first let me tell you a little about the chef.
First and foremost, Ahn is an artist. She was formally trained in applied fine arts and then went to Japan to get a degree in flower arrangement. After she returned, she studied candle art and then from 1980-1985 she studied Korean traditional cuisine. She then used her skills to make sumptuous wedding feasts. She is currently the president of Somi and Jeongseong, a wedding food and food gifts company and the chef of Wooriga.
After the abalone came autumn galbi jjim: soy sauce braised beef topped with jujube and roasted chestnut. Believe it or not, all of these courses were leading to the main course (in Korea, noodles or rice are considered the main course). An arrangement of six vegetable side dishes was brought out with a bowl of subtle yellow soup. To the soup, for it looked too plain, thin pink or white noodles were added and then topped with a chiffonade of assorted vegetables.
The dessert was beans and berries with persimmon sorbet. Orange, persimmon sorbet was topped with sweetened red beans, and fresh omija berries. Omija, which means "five flavored" berry, has all five tastes. It starts out sour, then with a hint of salt, a bit of spice, then a bitter note and finishes sweet. It`s a mind-warping flavor. I was so amused with the flavor that the server brought out a glass of omija punch, which was made from this five-flavored berry.
I had a chance to meet with Ahn. She was very gracious and humble about her food. I asked her what was her motto was. "Food should please all five senses and be composed of ingredients that reflect the seasons."
Ahn`s dishes are truly a reflection of the freshest available seasonal ingredients. Her plating arrangements appeal to the visual senses by using elements from nature such as flowers, leaves, and branches. The taste of the food is inspiring. Also, the quiet and warm feel of the restaurant made me feel as if I was in a better world.
She advises guests to make reservations. The lunch course is 40,000 fixed, while the dinner course is 100,000 fixed.

Wooriga

Phone: (02) 3442-2288
Address: Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong, 631-33 Hyoyoung building, 2nd Floor. Across from Doosan Park


Daniel Gray works for O`ngo Food Communications. You can follow his food adventures at www.seouleats.com - Ed.

By Daniel Gray