Restaurant: Seong Buk Dong
Location: 3303 W 6th St, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 738-8977
Date: May 7, 2015
Cuisine: Korean
Rating: Super flavors
My friend Liz Lee of Sage Society wanted to take a bunch of us out to her favorite homestyle Korean restaurant, but they don’t allow alcohol, so we decided to do a “double dinner” with a part 1 at Republique (including wine) and a part 2 at Seong Buk Dong.
We sat near the Republique bar, early in the evening.
I just had to show off their Normandy butter.
Tonight’s menu.
Liz, being Liz, whipped out a bottle of P2! (Dom Perignon’s high end cuvee). Check out the fancy box.
1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon P2. VM 95. Pale gold. Intense, mineral-tinged citrus and orchard fruit aromas, with a suave jasmine nuance adding complexity. Smoky and penetrating on the palate, offering vibrant orange, anise and toasted brioche flavors and a touch of poached pear. Shows outstanding clarity and power on the mineral-driven finish, which clings with remarkable tenacity and resonating florality. This late-release bottling was formerly called Oenotheque; P2 stands for Plenitude Two.
agavin: Fresh, bright, and delicious. Got better and better in the glass.
Oysters, 3 types.
Bread and normandy butter.
2000 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 97. Very pale color. Extraordinary nose reminded me of a great riesling from schist soil: pineapple, wet stone, iodine, spring flowers, even a hint of petrol. Compellingly rich and ripe but extremely dry, with great breadth and depth of flavor. Coats the palate with liquid stone. Builds slowly and goes on and on; all minerals and white flowers today, not yet fruity at all. A wine of great precision and suavity, but with its richness and sweetness it comes across as less sharp than the Forest. I couldn’t get this wine out of my head on my drive to Paris the next day and on the flight home: is that long, or what?
agavin: fine, but not as good as the 2002
Tempura. Green beans, zucchini flowers, sweet onions, fresno chilies, basil aioli. Some great tempura, amplified by the pesto-like aioli. The zucchini and chilies were particularly good.
2002 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis Grand Cru Les Preuses. VM 96+. Very ripe but unforthcoming aromas of wet stone, honey and oatmeal. Extremely primary on the palate, with bracing grapefruit and mineral flavors and superb vibrancy. This offers great sweetness and breadth without any impression of weight. Finishes with explosive citrus and mineral flavors and great finesse. Wonderfully refreshing wine that’s the perfect antidote to dry mouth. Like the young 2003, the finish of this wine seems to come in waves.
agavin: awesome depth and complexity.
Crispy Soft Shell Crab. Just pure fried crab — awesome!
From my cellar: 1995 Pierre Morey Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 92 points agavin. Fresh, young, still some reduction. Meursault richness, very nice.
Charcoal grilled Atlantic Calamari and razor clams. Very fresh.
Chips and Dip. Crispy pork rinds…
Ora king salmon crudo, cucumber, yogurt. Really good stuff. I particularly liked the dill.
1991 Domaine Groffier Bonnes Mares. agavin 90. No nose, but a nice palette.
Grass-fed beef tartare. tarragon aioli, pickled red onion, potato chips.
1996 Domaine Leroy Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Boudots. VM 92-94. Excellent deep ruby-red color. Subdued but vibrant aromas of cassis, blackberry and violet. Superb sweetness and flavor intensity; penetrating flavor of spicy blackberry. Lovely acidity gives the wine juiciness and great cut. Very persistent and fine on the finish. Has fruit of steel. Great Nuits-Saint-Georges premier cru.
agavin: Really nice with a sexy nose and that classic Leroy style. Lots of depth.
Charcuterie. All sorts of amazing pates. Pickled vegetables. Spiced persimmons which were to die for, cured duck, and salami.
Duck Liver mousse — amazing and some other kind of potted meat.
Duck filled agnolotti in brown butter sauce. Amazing pasta. Rich too, no surprise.
The wine lineup.
We ubered over to K-Town to visit this slice of Korea.
Looks the part inside.
The menu.
Barley tea.
Banchan.
Delicious Kimchi.
Pickled spiced green.
Pickled spiced green.
Egg custard with greens.
Chewy sweet beans.
Marinated bean sprouts.
Seaweed.
White rice, necessary to sop up the spicy sauce.
Godeungeo Jorim. Braised Mackerel in a spicy soy sauce mixture with white radish and kimchi. Amazing sauce and very tender fish. I particularly loved the daikon radish.
Galbi Jjim. Braised Beef Short Ribs. trimmed of (some) fat, seasoned in a sweet soy sauce & braised until tender. So tender, this was some of the best “beef stew” I’ve ever had.
Jaeyuk Bokum / Kimchi Bokum. A stir fry of sour kimchi, fatty pork, & green onion. Amazing dish. The pork was full of flavor and the kimchi sauce was awesome and balanced. This is actually relatively similar to the twice cooked pork we had the previous night at Lucky Noodle King, but about 10x better.
Samgyre Tang. Ginseng Chicken Soup. Tender whole young chicken stuffed w/ ginseng, jujubes, sweet rice and whole garlic cloves & simmered until tender. Homestyle Korean chicken soup, which is much like any chicken soup. A bit mild for my taste, but certainly very tender.
Jogi Gui. Grilled yellow croaker. Classic grilled fish.
Haemul Pajeon. Seafood and green onion pancake. Tender young green onion steams folded into a flour batter with squid, clam meat, and oysters. Pan fried.
The all important pancake sauce.
