6.354 Christmas Special Dinner

6.354

25 (Fri) December 2015

Christmas Special Dinner

3.0

at Chef’s Note (Oakwood Premier)

-Samseong, Seoul-

with the family, the folks

The Prodigal Son Returns for Xmas, Day 10 (see previously 6.353 A Tale of Edacity…).

In Seoul.  After spending the first half of my winter holiday here, going back tomorrow morning with the family to Manila, where we’ll finish out the year.

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Fried Shrimp Ball (2.5) — “with beet, spiced grapefuits sauce”
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Today’s Soup (3.0) — on a day like this, with a special set menu, you’d think that they could be a bit more specific.
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Citrus Lentil Salad with Scallop (3.5) — “orange, crispy bacon, herb vinaigrette;” the lentils were awesome; no sign of bacon.
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Grilled Asparagus Risotto (2.5) — amateur, but okay.

Oddly, each dish of sea bass was plated with four clams, but no meat, shells only.  Same with all 5 of our portions.  I called the manager over, explained the situation, and asked whether the shells were merely garniture, perhaps symbolizing the clam-based sauce.  If not, then somebody else in this restaurant got an extra 20 morsels of clams.  Or someone in the kitchen is easting them.

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Oven-Baked Sea Bass (3.0) — each portion about the size of an anchovy.
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Still only 12 clams, 8 unaccounted for.

A few minutes later, he returned with a bowl of loose clams and apologized for the inconvenience.   While appreciative of the effort, I had to ask where they’d come from.  Were they our original clams, found at the bottom of the pan?  Were they meant for someone else’s dish, now part of a vicious cycle?  Were they freshly shelled, made for us as compensation?  When he hesitated to answer, I waved him off.  Whatever.  I wasn’t upset, just vaguely amused.

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1+ Korean Beef Sirloin with Seasonal Sauce (3.0) — same “seasonal” sauce as in July.
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Coffee (3.0) + Pomegranate Tiramisu (2.0)

At the last minute, Mom decided that she wanted something special for Xmas dinner, but reservations by now full at any place worthy of making a reservation, so she called on a favor from the owner to get us a special booking at Chef’s Note (see generally 6.194 Lobster Spaghetti with Rose Sauce).

The food was good, but the set fell way short of the à la carte spread on our initial visit.

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