Capital Cravings (Korea Special) | Prestige Hong Kong (Sept 17)

With the exception of the first meal at the Shilla, my belly had the great fortune of sampling all three very excellent, very delicious, very special eateries. My fascination with Michelin starred traditional Korean meals began with two Michelin starred Kwonsooksoo after a particularly raucous night with one of my best girlfriends from school where our initial careful formality in the face of strange foods and complex presentation gave way to laughs and repeated attempts to pronounce the names of our dishes somewhere between the third glass of dandelion wine and the rather full glass of Chablis.

To be quite honest, I've always been wary of Michelin meals, which often seems to be a bit of a tedious arm wrestle for which restaurant can produce foie gras, wagyu beef and caviar in the most seemingly original way possible. So I was quite sceptical of how Asian meals would be judge given that these dishes contain flavours, presentations, and ingredients that lie firmly out of the aegis of a traditional Michelin star meal. Anyway, I was quite surprised and very happy with my discoveries.

On my second trip back, I tried Balwoo Gongyang, an elevated take on simple monastery meals and Poom Seoul, a divinely appointed space with the sole vision of globalising the Korean meal for all. Both have one Michelin stars, and, if you read the pieces, you'll know that I am now a total convert to Asian Michelin starred establishments. 

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