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I knew that on this trip, Foursheets' first return to Seoul since 2017, I would have to take her to
Born and Bred. We were lucky enough to have been introduced to Sang on that trip when he was still personally cooking at the old private counter inside Majang-dong, and we've been fans ever since.
Shortly before the pandemic struck, Sang opened his
Kingsmen-inspired new multi-story building. I wasn't able to join a group trip in late 2019, but did get to come with The Man in White T-shirt last year. This was the first opportunity for Foursheets to come see it for herself, and I roped in Kutsuyama for our Sunday dinner.
Chef Min had moved to the original counter back inside the market, as the place has been rebranded
Born and Bred Original. The place is closed for a private event tonight, but he was very kind to spending some time here tonight to make us feel welcome. Sang had told me last night that the big building still serves up his menu, but the new menu at the "Original" is all Chef Min... and he admitted that Chef Min's menu
may be better than his own. I guess we'll need to come back to Seoul for that!
As we were the last people to be seated, we were at the far end of the semi-circular counter. The chef started by presenting the two best cuts of beef to us as he began to cook them over the charcoal grill.
Galbitang (갈비탕) - always start with a cup of warm soup, which makes a lot of sense as it warms up one's stomach and prepares this vital organ for the coming onslaught. The standard serving is about 550 grams of beef which, combined with a host of other stuff that comes with the meat, makes for a VERY big meal...
The ginseng flavor in the soup was stronger than I remembered. The morels, of course, came stuffed with goodies including beef.
Yukhoe (육회) - made with chuck tender, and one can see the beef mixed with
oi gochu (오이고추) peppers. The sesame oil flavors were more noticeable this time around.
We were shown the ingredients for the next dish...
Bresola with figs - and some finger lime pulp (I no longer care to use the word "caviar" for lime pulp). The Hanwoo
bresola was cured in red wine and salt for 2 weeks, along with vanilla seeds and fennel. Gotta say the vanilla flavors were really prominent this time.
Chateaubriand - the
chateaubriand here always looks really beautiful.
Served with a few slices of summer truffle. Sooooo tender. Wonderful beefy flavors, without being overwhelmed by the fat.
Striploin - another beautiful hunk of meat... more marbled than the
chateaubriand.
It was nice watching the beef getting cooked over the grill...
Served with pickled mustard seeds, as always.
Sea pineapple - my second time having
meongge (멍게) here...
Stuffed with different types of seaweed, onions, and cucumbers. The iodine is a taste I have yet to acquire, and the acidity from the lemon juice really helps in this respect.
Pickled napa cabbage - always nice to have, especially as a palate cleanser.
Skirt - beautifully marbled...
Served with pickled sunchoke (돼지감자). Always loved this cut as it's got more beefy flavors.
Tenderloin chain - initially spread around the edge of the grill so that it started to cook at a lower temperature.
Lots of sinews here to make this chewy, and that saucce made with apple and celery was very tasty.
Flat iron / oyster blade - marinated in Suwon (수원)-style marinade using pear and leeks.
This was alternately cooked on the grill and then cooled on shaved ice. This type of technique apparently originated in the Joseon era and serves to tenderize the meat.
The result was a piece of meat sooo tender it brought a smile to my face.
Jeju mango - sprinkled with some fresh and dried lime zest. So, soooo ripe and sweet. And the best part? I got to eat Foursheets' portion, too!
Neck chain - nice and thick cut.
Very nice charring here, and those sinews were nice and chewy.
Celtuce stem - this was rehydrated dried
gungchae (궁채).
Tri-tip - they had grilled this a high heat and sealed in the moisture, then cut thin slices to make sure this was still tender enough. Served up with truffle shavings along with a fruity and acidic sauce made with the zest, juice, and pulp of tangerines from Jeju Island (제주도).
Outside skirt -
This was very, very tender while the texture was also nice and springy. Packing lots of meaty flavors here while there was very little seasoning.
Next came a dish that was wrapped up in paper, where the paper was removed and the ingredient cooked with a torch.
Saseul jeok (사슬적) - this is half beef rib "finger meat" and half cod. Torched with a soybean paste on top, and this still reminds me a little of Japanese miso cod...
Jeolliptu (전립투) - a dish in two parts cooked with different parts of this helmet-shaped pot.
Plate - this was cooked on the rim.
Served up with some grated wasabi along with marinated wasabi leaves.
Ribeye - this came in very thin slices.
This was cooked in the broth together with the vegetables. Really nice and tender, and love the "hotpot".
Finally, we had the rice with
banchan (반찬).
Ribeye bulgogi (불고기) - cooked Seoul-style on a copper dome, with enoki mushrooms on top and broth poured on top.
Galbi (갈비) - served with wrapping leaves to be made into
ssam (쌈).
Bone broth - love how milky this was, with a slice of beef inside.
Dongchimi (동치미) - refreshing as always.
Gejang (게장)
Salted sea pineapple
Scallop - marinated in soy sauce.
Salted shrimp
Ssamjang (쌈장) - needed to make
ssam, of course...
Salted herring roe
At this point we were asked to leave our seats and join the diners at the opposite counter for a demonstration. A whole side of cow was rolled out for us to see, and one of the chefs (or should I say butcher?) proceeded to remove a chunk.
The chef demonstrated cutting off the excess fat and sinews so that we could get the final product...
Outside skirt, raw - I've had raw beef before, but I've never had a piece of raw beef that was cut straight from the carcass and served to me straight up.
Meat pie - made with minced beef, of course, plus mozzarella and mushrooms.
Phở bò - Foursheets and I still remember the giant ass bowl of phở that Sang served us on our first visit, at the end of a huge meal. We are ever so grateful that this has been downsized... by at least two-thirds. This was definitely enough, and certainly tasty and comforting. This was made with different cuts of beef from the belly, the rump, thigh, and leg...
Lychee bingsu - with honey, vanilla seeds, mint, and anise... plus a scoop of sorbet on top.
We needed some wine to go with our beef, so I picked out a (comparatively) reasonably priced bottle of Bordeaux:
2017 Brane-Cantenac - this was such a classic claret, with a nose that was smoky and a little earthy. Kinda OK on the palate now after a few years, but still a little young and I could taste the oak.
I was happy to have returned with Foursheets, and also happy to have had another good meal with Kutsuyama in Seoul. What's more, I was incredibly grateful to Chef Min for the hospitality he and the team showed us, and for the goodie bags we left the restaurant with. A generous gift for us to enjoy back in Hong Kong.
But our night wasn't over. We had shopping we needed to do, so we made our way to
Lotte Mart Zettaplex at Seoul Station, which felt like a Korean version of Thailand's
Big C. The goods here definitely felt like they were geared towards tourists, and somehow we still didn't manage to find what mom asked for...
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