Yangjae Korean fine dining dinner, anchovy fish sauce capellini: MUSEO

The most intense dining experience I've had all year

MUSEO is a Korean fine dining restaurant near Yangjae Station, and this time I had the dinner Chef's Signature Course. Honestly, I went in without big expectations, but it was the best dining experience of my year. I strongly recommend you go. The food is as creative and close to art as my all-time favorite, Munjeong's Mungatpo, and the taste is outstanding too.

MUSEO seating: bar table, private rooms and corkage-free June

If 2–3 people visit MUSEO, you sit at the big bar table, and rooms are available from 7 people. There's a separate room charge, but I heard it's waived if you spend ₩1,000,000 or more. I sat side by side with my friend at the bar table.

Sadly, on the day I visited, office workers from the Gangnam, Seocho and Yangjae area were having a company dinner in the rooms, so I couldn't take a look. Because of the corkage-free event, there were lots of couples celebrating anniversaries, and lots of office workers too.

MUSEO dinner menu: Chef's Tasting Course vs Chef's Signature Course

The MUSEO dinner has two courses, the Chef's Tasting Course and the Chef's Signature Course, and I ordered the Signature Course. The menu had the reservation holder's name printed on it ^^ It was crisp, white and clean, which put me in a great mood.

You can add a pairing to the course. Five drinks that go well with the food are served alongside. I'm not good with alcohol but like a light drink, so I ordered two glasses of Inedit Damm beer. Note that dinner requires one alcoholic drink per person.

Appetizer: minced anchovy barley doenjang with vegetables

The first plate of the MUSEO signature course is fresh vegetables with barley doenjang (fermented soybean paste). You put a little barley doenjang on bell pepper, napa cabbage heart and vitamin greens. I love starting a meal with vegetables, but at first I thought, huh, kind of ordinary??

But with minced anchovy in it, you get the umami of anchovy, the nuttiness of sesame oil, the saltiness of doenjang and a hint of sweetness. One bite and I clapped like a seal... What is this place...? The minced anchovy is a stroke of genius!!!

The beer came out too, so I had a cold, refreshing sip. I get drunk after a single sip, so my chopsticks quickly started missing their target ㅠㅠ

Steamed egg with seomcho spinach and anchovy

MUSEO's steamed egg with seomcho (island spring greens) and anchovy is delicious, with the egg itself wonderfully silky. The limp seomcho is what it is, but the texture of the tender egg with the crispy fried anchovy is fantastic. It isn't salty, yet whatever the broth was made from, the umami is incredible.

Sweet shrimp and sea cucumber mulhoe (cold raw seafood soup)

The sweet shrimp and sea cucumber mulhoe (chilled raw seafood soup) sits on dill, my favorite summer herb, plus crown daisy, cucumber and cool radish. The crunchy sweet shrimp and chewy sea cucumber work so well together. It looks pretty, and the taste is amazing.

MUSEO's open kitchen: watching the chefs from the bar table

MUSEO has an open kitchen, so you can watch the cooking from the bar table, which is so much fun. I'm usually very into cooking, so every move of the chefs' hands was fascinating. It felt like watching Culinary Class Wars live haha

Actually, when I first walked in, everyone was in sportswear... I was a bit baffled ㅠㅠ I'd come for fine dining, so what is this? Turns out it was a soccer match day, and there had been a company group who rented the place that morning to cheer on the game haha

Springy ox-foot pyeonyuk with gochujang yuzu salad and lentil doenjang

The ox-foot pyeonyuk (pressed sliced boiled meat) made in-house at MUSEO is springy, so this is what it tastes like?!!! A delicious lump of collagen! It's so good... I wish they'd given me one more slice... haha

They told us to eat the last bite with the lentil doenjang, and the umami doubles. Lentil doenjang, what a creative idea. The gochujang yuzu salad is tangy and spicy and so tasty, and it cut the richness nicely.

Overall, it felt like a very carefully engineered dish. Whoever designed it must be incredibly smart... I marveled at every dish that came out...!

Anchovy fish sauce capellini with tomato and almond

MUSEO's capellini isn't dressed in an ordinary sauce but seasoned with tomato, almond and anchovy fish sauce. What would it taste like? It's milder than I expected, yet deep. I don't like salty food, so I was very happy. It would be perfect to bring older relatives...

First, I love the ceramic bowl. It's elegant, refined and full of Korean beauty. The plating is gorgeous too: green crown daisy, red tomato and black herring roe caviar.

Banga (Korean mint) leaf palate cleanser

The banga leaf (Korean mint) cleanser before the main has an amazing aroma from the dried leaves. I didn't know Korea had an herb like this~ It wiped my palate clean, and then it was time to welcome the main.

MUSEO main course: we ordered both the chicken leg and the striploin

For the main of the MUSEO signature course, you can choose between chicken leg and striploin. I was so curious about this place's cooking that my friend and I ordered one each.

Tender chicken leg with mung bean porridge and pickled chives

I was so drunk that I dug in with my knife before even taking a photo... The chicken drumstick, which they said was cooked for a long time, is so tender that the meat falls off at a touch of the knife.

The mung bean porridge was so good, with the beans you can chew. Maybe a tiny bit of cream in it? It's super nutty without any greasiness at all, really like mung bean porridge. It's perfect for me, someone with an old-granny palate. The chicken, porridge and pickled spring onion all come out after a fire show? flame-work? so the smoky flavor was outstanding.

1++ (marbling score 9) Korean beef striploin

My friend was totally drunk too haha, and started eating before taking any photos. The striploin slices away at a touch of the knife. Sous vide maybe? It's very tender. It would be perfect for grandparents with weak gums and teeth.

The broccolini underneath was cooked with lemon, and it was super fresh and reset my mouth every now and then. Eaten with tohajeot (freshwater shrimp jeotgal, salted seafood), it's salty and so delicious.

By this point I was really, really full, but I finished everything. A very satisfying meal. It's been a long time since a meal satisfied me this much, since Munjeong's Mungatpo!

Dessert: soy-glazed nuts, crisp chamoe (Korean melon) and vanilla ice cream

Dessert in the MUSEO signature course is crunchy nuts lightly simmered in soy sauce, crisp chamoe (Korean melon), red raspberry and vanilla ice cream. Even the final dessert was wonderful... I was so full, but it was so delicious that I couldn't put it down till the end. Chefs, thank you so much for the delicious meal~~~

What's on MUSEO's lunch menu?

By now I was curious about MUSEO's lunch menu too, so I asked for the menu. Lunch has a baekban (Korean set meal) table and course dishes, so keep that in mind.

The morning after: paying for the feast

After overeating, you always have to run the next day haha The air is so fresh and lovely at dawn and in the evening these days.