Surprisingly both my meals in New York were Korean. When I saw Jua, I knew I had to try this. With experiences from Jungsik (which I had a good experience in Korea), Chef Hoyoung Kim brings with him European influences into his Korean ingredients. And also thankfully, the location of the restaurant was less daunting than the previous place I had visited. I was actually pretty early so I loitered around the area. But by the time I reached the restaurant, there were already 2 groups seated and they weren’t even officially opened for meal service. Lol

The menu was quite straightforward. Priced at USD135, you only need to decide if you want to opt for the add-on and/or go with the wine pairing. Else they also have an interesting cocktail menu which I saw Singapore Sling on the menu. I was amused. I went with the wine pairing eventually

Phillipe Tessier Phil’en Bulle VdF 2020

Caviar Kim

Beef Tartare, Avocado, Truffle Purée, Rice

Known as their signature, they mentioned to have this in 2 bites. But I suggest if your mouth can swallow it in 1 bite, please go for it else it’s too messy. I couldn’t, cos this snack was a pretty big portion. That being said, the rice and seaweed was so delicious. And you could taste the creaminess from the beef finishing it off with a slightly salty caviar. It was like an explosion of fireworks in the mouth

Uni Kim +USD28

Seaweed Purée Rice, Kimchi

Similar to Caviar Kim in terms of presentation, they recommended me to try this in one bite. I did and failed. Lol. Sorry the mouth is too small to swallow the entire thing. So it was a little messy for me. That being said, it was good. The quality of the uni was definitely better here as well

Yangchon Chungju KR

I spied something familiar

Striped Jack w Red Onions, Shaved Pear 

This was so good. It was literally gone in 30 seconds. You could taste the slight smokiness of the fish with each bite. But the sauce stole the show. The combination of orange and ginger sauce was refreshing and together with the fresh ginger slices, it brought the whole dish together

La Croix de Carbonnieux Blanc Graves FR 2018

Jook

I love porridge. Anyone who knows me know I really like porridge. It’s just like comfort food to me. So I was really excited about this dish. When they placed the bowl down, you could really smell the aroma of it. The chicken broth was creamy and flavourful with a little bit of peppery aftertaste. And the wine went really with it. I could have another bowl of this anytime

Stolpman Vineyards ‘GGT’ Ballard Canyon CA 2021

A very light red to bring out the flavour of the fish. Who knew that red wine could go with white fish?

Smoked Mackerel

Salted Mungbean, Sprouts, Chives, Korean White Kimchi

Such wonderful execution. The skin of the mackeral was very thin but yet you could taste the crispness of it. And the fish itself was juicy and nicely done. For someone who don’t like bean sprouts, I really liked the mungbean sprouts here. Lol. And the wine pairing was once again a winner. This dish with the wine was stellar

Muxagat Tinto Douro PT 2016

First thought – The wine smells like Ribena. Lol. Originated from Portugal, I would say this was an interesting wine. It’s heavy but it’s light at the same time

Galbi & Chan

Ban Chan

Starting from 6 o’clock anti-clockwise: Chimichuri sauce, Apple Kimchi, Zucchini, Beer Battered Deep Fried Lotus Root, Pickled Black Fungus, Charred Sesame Cucumber, White Cabbage Kimchi, Perilla Leaf with Soybean

The beef was cooked very well. It was sweet, juicy and a little fatty at the same time. I remembered her asking me which was my favourite banchan pairing and I said everything was good. Lol. Like true to the heart, all of it went well with the beef

Ch. Doisy Daene Barsac FR 2015

The dessert wine was very good

Sujeonggwa

Cinnamon punch, Pear Sorbet, Cinnamon Twirl

Palate cleanser, it was sweet and refreshing

Gojuma Juak 

Sweet Potato Donut Glazed with Rice Syrup, Brown Butter Icecream w Apple Crumble

This was so delicious. The donut was more mochi-like so it had a chewy texture on the outside and mochi chewy on the inside. You could taste the fragrance of the dough together with the sweetness of the glaze. And no matter how full you were, you would have finished it

And of course, there’s always space for icecream as well. The donut worked well on its own, but together with the icecream, it had a different flavour to it as well, which was a good pairing together

The food, in my opinion was spectacular. Like it’s rare when you go to a restaurant and it’s consistently delivering with each dish. The downside however, I felt like service was not as great. Some staffs were friendly, some staffs were robotic like they were delivering lines like yet another day. I felt like they could be more interpersonal and the food service was a little slow in general. Perhaps they cook everyone’s together and you know it’s full house. But then again, which popular and good restaurants ain’t full house? I believed they could improve on those areas there

But go for the food with wine pairing. You won’t regret it

Jua

36 E 22nd St,

New York, NY 10010

United States