When I got my reservation for Eatanic garden, I couldn’t believe it. Time-forwarded, I found myself walking through the long hallway of the restaurant, being led to my seat and that began a 3-hour long lunch. There were plenty of service staffs, and chefs working quietly at the open kitchen. I thought The Chef wasn’t in that day as I didn’t catch the sight of him, but when he came out 10 minutes later, I immediately texted the friend – Omo! He’s here today! lol

Anyway I digress, let’s come back to the meal

It wasn’t very packed but I guess they give enough space and time for people to enjoy their meal here

We started with a welcome drink – a light yet refreshing beverage. I would think this would be the kind of summer drink you would want to have, just cos it’s so light with a slight sweetness to it. But since they were still in Spring, I guess the setting does call the mood for it

White Asparagus, Porridge, Caviar, White water kimchi

To be honest, I wasn’t very impressed by this dish. Like it was okay but not wow you know. lol. The highlight was the white asparagus but I was trying very hard to find its highlight. The caviar I have to say, goes quite nicely with the asparagus and kimchi. You can taste the freshness of the white kimchi – I like that it wasn’t sour. Still, there were different layers in flavour, from the mild saltiness of the caviar to the crunch of the asparagus. Overall, a rather balanced dish

Truth to be told, I got worried for the rest of the meal..

Hangwa

Korean Perilla Leaf with Shrimps –

Wow, this was very good. I was most impressed by the execution of the fried leaf for you can taste just how thin it was and the crispness without being oily, and it went really well with the sweet and sticky shrimp

With that, my hopes for the meal went up a little

Korean Rice Puff with Seabream –

This was also very good. The execution of the rice puff was done very well, like it’s crisp on the outside, airy inside yet with a soft chewiness. I enjoyed the overall texture of this one-bite and I thought the flavours worked well together

Potato with Beef Tartare –

Beef tartare was a little flat. I thought they could enhance the tartare a little more but the potato layer was excellent. I was most impressed by how thin it was yet they could deliver the fragility of it. It felt like eating potato crisp but in a flat form

Aralia Shoots

One of their signature dish with the combination of seasonable vegetables and apples. Though a little different every season so diners don’t get bored of it. You will find within prawns and baby octopus with a nutty pine nut sauce poured over for this dish. I think I liked this dish better without the sauce. You get the sweetness and crunch from the vegetables and apples, combined with the savoury umami with a slight sweetness from the seafood, which was honestly good enough

Deep Fried Version

I thought the cold dish was good, but the hot dish even better. I think the flavours get amplified with the heat so you really get an explosive texture and combination on your palate

Hamyang Onion

This was actually an add-on item, served during dinner menu. They asked if I wanted it but I was worried there was too much food so I told them I didn’t need this. BUT… they give it to me on the house, accompanied by a free pour. Wow, such service

The fragrance of the onions really came through. Like all you can taste was just the sweetness of the spring onion without the overbearing onion taste

They came by to serve me another different form of caviar, a more premium kind so I could enjoy the difference

I have to say, it really made a lot of difference. This caviar was so creamy it really complemented the well-cooked onions. And I thought the addition of egg white slices were really smart. You get texture, without overpowering the highlight of the onions yet the subtle sweetness complemented each other, finishing off with a slight savoury squid ink at the bottom

Now I get why this is one of their signature dish

Bamboo Shoots

Served with Snow Crab, Prawns

Inspired from Mandu, I thought the dumplings itself lacked a little. I can’t tell if it was the skin, the fillings or the overall texture. Yet, it wasn’t exactly memorable. I thought the cabbage and bamboo shoots stole the show. They soaked up the crab broth so you can enjoy the flavours in one. And the broth itself was rich, intense yet clean. The Sikhye that was paired with this dish was really good too. It has the balance of acidity that was really addictive and complemented the dish quite nicely

Jeju Organic Lemon

What you have here was Tilefish cooked with Lemon, Pepper, Kale and also side of Asparagus with lemon

The fish was ooh, really good but the asparagus on the other hand paled a little. I could taste the bitterness of the asparagus itself so when you combined it with the lemon, flavours seemed a little forced. I’m not sure if they had meant to present the dish this way, for you can taste the sweetness of the fish, bitterness of the vegetables, acidity of the lemon and enjoy all the flavours in one dish

Minari

Samgyetang – Fried Chicken Skin, Glutinous rice, Fried Kimchi topped with White Kimchi, Parsley, Tomato, Paprika

Their version of Samgyetang, which was honestly my favourite dish of the course. The chicken was done really well. It was tender on the inside, crisp on the outside, with a bouncy-like texture. The glutinous rice was done well too. And I was most impressed with how tiny they had the vegetable on top. Like to give you the crunch from the vegetables yet without taking away the spotlight of the chicken

And cos they said the most important part of this dish is the broth, hence they served it on the side meant to drink as tea. The broth was reduced down so you get a rich yet hearty and comforting flavour which was so, so good

Wild Spring Greens, Bulgogi

At this point, SJW finally came to my table to pour the sauce and do the explanation. I thought he was never coming. lol

I have to say the bulgogi was cooked very well but I thought it could have a little more flavour to it. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t leave an enough impression on me

Though I have to commend for how well-cooked and thin it was

Finally moving on to desserts..

Mugwort

They have the best mugwort desserts. I really liked both variations – the warm mugwort cake and the cold mugwort icecream. You see the contrast in both, yet the execution and contrast in flavours weren’t compromised so you get the best of both worlds. I would gladly have a second portion of the steamed mugwort cake

Coffee, just cos it’s the end of the meal and I was so full by then

Mother of Pearl Box – Petite 4, or more like Petite 8

I got a shock when they served me double of everything, like they really think I can finish all. lol

First level: Korean Herbal Tonic

Second level: Traditional Korean Cake, Dried Radish with Honey dusted with Bean Powder

Third level: Rice cake with Sweet Pumpkin dusted with Almond Powder, Yakgwa, Chocolate with Lime Garnish

I liked the herbal tonic the most. The rest, unfortunately, I cannot really appreciate. Like I don’t think they were bad, but I’m just not used to those flavours. So I find it abit sorry that I wasted most of it

The friend told them it was my birthday (lol). So I got a choco-pie inspired ice-cream cake!

I honestly liked this choco-pie alot, more than the petite 8

Each guest receives a beautifully illustrated card per course showcasing the key ingredient used in each dish and I like that they did not show the obvious. I felt there was much thoughts and effort in creating a memorable experience for every guest that dined there, from the presentation, the dish itself to the service which in my opinion was one that I had experienced best so far. So I really enjoyed my time at Eatanic Garden. Even though there were hits and misses in the food, but I felt the experience was enough to make me go back again, if I could get a reservation that is

Eatanic Garden

Josun Palace

조선 팰리스(센터필드 웨스트 타워 231, Teheran-ro, Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea