Cycle 12 – Cycle 305

6 (Sat) November 2021

Fried Mushrooms

2.0

at 1842

-Hannam, Yongsan, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with MtG

I’ve been looking forward to checking out both the record store and the restaurant, not sure which one more.

1842 is a Czech restaurant.  Menu offers a limited range of meat dishes and pastas, presumably Czech in style.  The name of the place is in reference to the year in which the Pilsner Urquell brewery released a style of light lager beer that would eventually become the global standard, i.e., what we now call “lager” or “pilsner.”  Currently ranked 888 of 26,581 restaurants in Seoul on TripAdvisor.

A few months back, Pilsner Urquell won the prestigious GMTD World Series of Pilsner (see World Series of Pilsner).

According to the Pilsner Urquell website, as reflected on the restaurant’s menu, the draft beer can be served in 3 ways:

1. 1. Hladinka: The standard Pilsner Urquell pour, with three fingers of foam on top of the golden lager.  That thick head of dense, wet foam gives the beer a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness while sealing in freshness and flavour.  Crisp, refreshing and delicately bitter, the Hladinka pairs perfectly with rich foods like duck.
   2. Šnyt: Two parts beer, three parts foam and one part empty space at the top of the glass.  It’s not as filling as a large beer, but more refreshing than a small beer.  If you’re eating hearty food like goulash or a burger, order a Šnyt. 
   3. Mlíko: A glass full of wet foam with just a bit of beer at the bottom, brings out the rich aromas of the Saaz hops and the sweetness of our malt.  The Mlíko tastes best with dessert.

Bullshit.  Especially the Mlíko – who the fuck is going to pay for a glass of beer foam?!  Paired with dessert?!  I’m wondering though if that’s actually a thing in Czech.

The food was okay.  The fried mushrooms comprised button mushrooms, dipped in Kozel beer batter, deep-fried, served with a tartar-like sauce – kinda greasy.  The pork babyback ribs were cooked sous vide for 13 hours, glazed in a Pilsner Urequll-based glaze (tasted like mild American-style BBQ sauce) – tender, but otherwise kinda predictable.  Decent accompaniments for the beer, which was the whole point of being there.

Afterwards, MTG and I roamed the alleys of Itaewon in search of more drinks.  Felt like old times.  We looked into but walked out of a couple places that were too crowded.  Eventually, we found a Vietnamese joint with few customers; the food was crappy, but we appreciated the quiet.

(See also BOOZE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See also RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)