7.081

26 (Sat) March 2016

Kale in Oyster Sauce

3.25

at Yum Thai

-Sinsa, Seoul-

with the family, folks

Holy Week Holiday, Day 3 (see previously 7.080 Abalone & Garlic).

In Seoul.  Spending the long weekend, including Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, at home.  Flying back tomorrow.

Whereas two minutes of googling suggest that “Chinese kale” is synonymous with “Chinese broccoli” or “kai-lan” (see generally 2.221 Gailan in Oyster Sauce), two direct experiences suggest that it’s similar in essence but more intense (see for example 7.073 Chilled Mango Pudding).

Here, in various stir-fry dishes, I detected slivers of what tasted like bitter kailan, which the manager confirmed to be kale.  I requested that the kitchen make a dish of just the kale, in the same manner of preparation as the morning glory.  It worked.  Definitely more bitter, more firm/fibrous — likely why the stalks were sliced into slivers — but good.  Exciting to find a restaurant in Seoul with this vegetable, even if it’s not on the menu.

Curious that the restaurant would use such a rare vegetable, which is not typically cultivated in Korea, as an aromatic, not as a featured item.

Three and half years since our previous visit (see most recently 3.276 Poonim Phat Phong Kari) — god, how time flies.

Good to see that the restaurant is still going strong, better than ever with new items — new to us, at least — on the menu.