16.175 Ramyeon, Really?

Cycle 16 – Item 175

Post 5,654

28 (Sun) June 2024

Ramyeon, Really?

2.5

at Jenny’s Apron

-Samseong, Gangnam, Seoul, Republic of Korea-

with the Family, In-Laws

Following DJ’s graduation last month, the celebratory dinner had only involved the 4 of us plus my parents (see generally 16.138 Dim Sum Special Course (Dinner)).

To celebrate with W’s parents, as well as her brother’s family, we had lunch today.

During the meal, we debated whether “둘가룸” was (a) some kind of dialect for 들기름 (perilla oil) or (b) a typo or (c) something else altogether; turned out to be (b) – Chef Jenny explained that she hadn’t been wearing her reading glasses while typing out the menu and only noticed the typo during the service.

No hesitation on the venue.  Since hosting 80th birthday parties last year for both my father (see generally 15.196 Shrimp & Fluke Ceviche in Mustard Oil) and W’s father (see generally 15.212 Capellini with Abalone), respectively, we’ve been waiting for an opportunity to eat again at Jenny’s Apron.

The difficulty in coming back regularly, at least for us, is both the cost (150,000/pax) and minimum party size (8 pax).  At this stage of our lives, we don’t know 7 people, other than family, for whom we’d be willing to shell out 1,200,000, plus the cost of booze, on a single meal.

Duckhorn Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauivignon (2019) + Freixenet Cordon Negro Cava

Alas, I was disappointed by the spread this time.

Some dishes felt incomplete, like the plain yukhoe, compared to before, when it had been topped with mango and arugula, or the simple sliced bread, compared to before, when various types of bread and crackers had been served with potato salad.

Red Shrimp Ceviche (3.5):

In many cases, the ingredients seemed cheaper, like the use of frozen red shrimp in both the ceviche and the grilled shrimp, or the substitution of pickled squid in lieu of fresh abalone in the pasta; in fact, other than shrimp and pickled squid, no other seafood was served, such as scallops or (fresh) squid or fish/sashimi, as before.

Portions for some dishes were overkill, like 4 whole asparagus spears (2 would’ve been enough) and 5 potato quarters (2 would’ve been enough).

Grilled Shrimp with Andouille Sauce (2.5): even the plating was quite amateur.

5 of the dishes were rehashed from before, including yukhoe, ceviche, yukjeon, capellini, and steak.

Towards the end, the dishes took on a distinct Korean vibe: starting with the pickled squid topped pasta, then straight-up gochujang as steak sauce, and finishing with rice and ramyeon, and of course kimchi.  Nothing wrong with Korean, but I would expect an elevated Korean at these prices.  The ramyeon, for example, was standard Sin Ramyeon with the addition of scallion oil.
Tenderloin Steak (2.5): definitely need something other than steak to finish out the meal next time.

Don’t get it – as if we were a last minute booking, and Jenny didn’t have time to go shopping for ingredients or develop new dishes, and just decided to make “signature” items with stuff from the pantry.  “I got all this asparagus that’s getting kinda old.”

Not sure whether we’ll be back, but if so I’d make sure to discuss the menu with Jenny in advance, not only to ensure that we get our money’s worth but also to get a good experience.

(See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See HANSIK)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See BOOZE)

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