3.089

3 (Tue) April 2012

Braised Lobster with Chili Sauce

2.5

at Yeun Kyung

-Cheingdam, Gangnam, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with W and DJ, Mom + Dad, maternal-side relatives

Yeun Kyung (연경) is a Korean-Chinese restaurant.  The fare is standard Korean-style Chinese, high-end.  While individual dishes are offered à la carte, a room reservation requires order from the course menu, which costs 50,000 won to 200,000 won per person. A popular spot for hosting special events. Located in its own building, the 2nd to 5th floors are entirely dedicated to private rooms of various sizes, with a reception area on the 1st floor and an open dining hall in the basement for the occasional walk-in guests.

When W and I were engaged, Yeun Kyung is where we hosted the sanggyeonrye (상견례) – the first meeting between the families.  My father was in a great mood and kept pouring drinks for W’s father, who couldn’t refuse but couldn’t keep up and soon became staggeringly drunk.

The gathering this evening was combination of my Aunt T’s 60th birthday party, my Aunt H’s going away party plus her show of gratitude for the family’s support at B’s wedding (see 3.085 Smoked Duck with Mixed Greens), and my late grandmother’s jesa (제사). A birthday, a wedding, and a funeral, all in one.

As always, the food was predictably safe.  This lobster dish, featuring chunks of lobster tail, breaded and deep-fried (not “braised,” as the menu would have it) and tossed in sweet chili sauce – a style of preparation referred to as “ganso” (간소) in local parlance – was the best of a competent-but-not-very-exciting bunch.  65,000 won plus 10% per person.  A ripoff, of course, but that’s Chinese banquet dining in Korea.

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