Location: 3905 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 291-0888
Date: October 19, 2023
Cuisine: Korean Fusion
Rating: Really tasty & a great deal
After Erick and I had such a great “Round 1” of our double dinner at Kinn and then a “real” Foodie Club dinner (seen here), we decided to come back for a third epic meal — sadly, it closed very soon after this particular feast which is a real shame as it was fabulous and innovative.
Not so crowded this time around :-(.
Kimbap. Cured and seared escalar, Bugak shell, Shari, Myoga, Wasabi, Scallion paste, Perilla leaf. Delicious. The soft meaty fish played off the interesting flavors in the base.
Oyster. Marinated Santa spot prawn, Uni, Oyster, Smoked trout roe, Hanaho, Lime zest. Excellent jazzed up oyster.
Abalone. Steamed abalone, Squid ink, Potato sauce, Chive sauce. The Kinn classic.
Tomato Salad. Perilla sorbet, Tomato, Burrata, Basil oil. I was hoping this would return — it’s not exactly the same — but for the second time the Perilla sorbet was incredible!
Crispy Octopus. Octopus, Potato, Gochujang SC, Parsley, Chervil, Tarragon, Compressed Radish. A new format was perhaps even better. So crispy and so tender.
Dry Aged Beef, Flannery beef, Market vegetables, Dashi, Dipping sauce. Tasted like shabu shabu. I drank the whole broth.
Soup of Delicacies. Chicken soup with xiao xing, Dried sea cucumber, Matsutake & Lion’s mane mushroom, Egg custard with salted shrimp, Deer tendon. Basically a fancy Korean ingredient Chawanmushi — delicious.
Caviar Noodle. Handmade noodles, Oyster cream, Lime zest, Flower, Astrea Caviar. This was good, but a bit blander than most of the dishes (it is a carb).
N’duja mandoo, N’duja filling, Scallop, Brown butter. Bunch of intense dumpling flavor — awesome.
Carabinero & Tilefish. Crispy tilefish, Charcoal grilled shrimp, Spinach puree, Brandy Sauce. Lovely.
Stuffed quail. Mushroom cream sauce. Incredible dish. The quail was super crispy, yet juicy, and the creamy sauce was incredible.
Mussel rice. Rice cooked in mussel stock, Saffron, Tomato, Pickled onion. Very much like a great paella-risotto hybrid. It wasn’t crispy, but it had awesome flavor.
Perfect iced grapes.
Corn. Shaved corn ice, Cheese foam, Green Tea powder. A very soft and subtle dessert.
Bonus of foie gras terrine.
Caviar.
And, as we sat for 2 hours chatting with the chef, a Flannery steak!
Really incredible meal.
The chef.
Kinn was awesome. Not only was it intimate and the chef extremely friendly and interesting, but these were big bold flavors and quite novel. The cooking techniques are heavily “modern French” or “modern European” (some dishes like the Octopus are pretty Spanish) but a lot of Korean ingredients and flavors have been melded in. It’s simultaneously comforting and novel.
This larger dinner was more “filling” and we certainly didn’t need second dinner. Great stuff and great wines.