Lunch at Galvin at WINDOWS, Hilton Park Lane

Scallops with cucumber and light soy sauce

kimchi resotto

Steak tar tare

Table setting at Gavin at WINDOWS

After I saw Chef. Won's risotto during the interview, I could  not resist to taste his kimchi risotto because I have been making this for years like to taste risotto made by proper Korean chef even I do make this as any other risotto.

It is first time I am at Galvin at WINDOWS, nice view of Hyde park. really very impressive room with well trained attentive staff, all had a good impression to me.
I have decided have just 2 course light lunch set menu for £28.

Starter was steak tar tare,  meat was neatly in the middle with thin toast on the top. but not the raw egg yoke was in the middle of tar tare but all pretty condiments were edge of plate.
Egg was cooked in water bath (60 degree) for 2 hours and yoke was deliciously soft and more like moose texture. it was first time I had tar tare served with cooked egg . I rather prefer this than raw, meat was tender and slightly tangy and season were just right. I think I had one of best tar tare .

The waiter brought me scallop dish which I did not order, the chef, Won's another complimentary dish for me (how nice of him) I already  his complimentary a glass of champagne.

Scallops was like Korean style ceviche, but seasoned with Korean seasoned soy sauce, dill oil and pickled cucumber  with caviar. it was light and delicious and pretty as a picture.

Finally my main. kimchi risotto, poached egg on the top . it was perfectly made , runny sauce with a little bite to it as risotto should be. poached egg makes creamy sauce which I would use in mine as well. I loved it, surprisingly quite a bit of crunch cabbage kimchi and  Parmesan cheese goes so well. I admit it is not a typical risotto but rather a good fusion dish.
I always make  with a good bacon, air dried streaky bacon ( cut 1cm) fried with onion and  in the end of cooking, I put crispy half bacon on the top with plenty of parmesan cheese.
Bacon and kimchi are good together because both can hold their own flavour.


Finally I had to have strong coffee to get rid of champagne in my head, chef Won appeared and we chat a bit about food again!!
It is £28 set menu but extra cost of water, coffee, service charge 12,5 %  on the top, in the end I paid £45.
Had a wonderful lunch but I won't be able to come often with this price but I would love to do again with family as a treat.

 

Interview | Joo Won, head chef at Galvin at WINDOWS, Hilton Park Lane, London

Salad of clam & quinoa

Braised short rib ( Galbi JJIm)

Fig and blue cheese ice cream & ginseng honey

Iberico pork ssam ( Bossam)

Chef Won and manager

Kitchen team

I was informed that Joo Won, the South Korean head chef of Galvin at WINDOWS, had developed a special Korean fine-dining six-course tasting menu for August.

This immediately caught my interest. I wanted to find out more about how a French influenced restaurant with one Michelin star would carry this off and present a taste of Korea. Upon looking at the website, the tasting menu looked excellent but at £110 per head, it was clearly an expensive experience.

Head Chef, Joo Won, was born in the city of Busan, which is near my home town, Masan. This means we are same the Kyungsando people, known as friendly bunch and with great seafood.

I emailed the restaurant speculatively to chance my arm at interviewing the head chef and to discover the reason behind the new menu. As a food blogger, and without the name or weight of a major media outlet, I was not particularly optimistic about securing an interview. But, to my pleasant surprise, they replied very promptly and gave me a few dates to choose from.

We settled for lunchtime on 27 August and the restaurant kindly allowed me to meet his team in the kitchen and take some photos. Ahead of the interview, I prepared 12 questions that I wanted to ask Chef Won and read up on his background from the website.

Mr Won was born in Busan -- Korea's second biggest city after Seoul -- and studied industrial engineering at college. Despite his course, he soon realised that his heart belonged to the world of cooking. He gave up college and studied Korean Cuisine to follow his dream before going on to study hospitality management at Schiller International University in London and Switzerland.

Chef Won studied Le Cordon Bleu in Marylebone, London and worked at the Orrery restaurant in London, which gave him his first experience of working in a Michelin star kitchen. In 2006 he joined Gavin at WINDOWS as a founding team and became the Head Chef  in 2013. I thought this was a highly impressive CV and rise into the highest echelons of cooking in the capital.

Korean Tasting Menu:

1. Salad of clams, quinoa, pear, cucumber & sesame
2. Marinated Iberico pork Ssam pickled mooli & soy bean (Bossam)
3. Pan-fried fillet of turbot, squid, baby shrimp & sweet chilli
4. Braised short rib of beef, Galbi, white kimchi, stuffed courgette. potato & crispy anchovies (Galbi jjim)
5. English figs, blue cheese ice cream & black rice ice cream & ginseng honey
6. Herbaceous sponge, sweet red bean cream, blueberries & black ice cream

The menu seemed well balanced for a fine dining Korean menu with a modern touch. Bossam (slow cooked pork wrapped in lettuce) used Spanish Iberico pork. Galbi Jjim featured crispy anchovy and was effectively a kind of surf & turf. Dessert featured black rice and green tea with Korean field sage sponge cake.

I arrived at the Hilton a little early and sat at the bar. Chef Won soon came in and said hello with a big friendly smile; we clicked almost as soon as we started talking. He answered all my questions with ease and a humble and honest manner.

1. You were trained in Korean cuisine and then came to London to study French cuisine at Le Cordon Bleu in London. I think you are the right person to introduce Korean fine dining here,  because you know both culture of cuisine. Do you agree?

Won: Thank you. We have been introducing Korean food into our regular menu such as kimchi risotto and had a good response. As a Korea-born chef, I always thought about extending this and alongside the manger and team had a research tip in Korea for a week. We were so impressed with the food culture there and loved the food. That trip was our inspiration to create something new.
The Korean Tourism Office helped us in this trip as well.

2. How would you say Korean cuisine is different than other Asian cuisine such as Chinese, Japanese and Thai?

Won: The deep taste of our sauces -- namely, soy sauce, soy bean paste and chilli paste. Our cuisine is based in this and our sauces are much deeper than other Asian countries.

3. What was the feedback like when you introduced kimchi and kimchi risotto into your regular menu?

Won: It was very positive and became popular. Korean food seasoning is different than western cuisine, and we season the food with light soy rather than salt to give the umami taste.

4. Why did you and your team go to Korea for research?

Won: Our restaurant, WINDOWS is keen do something different, and as I am a Korean-born, Korean cuisine seemed the right and natural choice. All the team had a tight and busy schedule but learnt a lot; the buzzing market scene was an unforgettable memory for the team. Visiting a soy paste making place was also very educational.

5. How did you choose the menu?

Won: The main ingredients are all from here in the UK but the sauces are all Korean.  This was my main aim -- the best ingredients coupled together with Korean techniques to made the tastiest food possible. This included the likes of Bossam cooked with Spanish Iberico pork and quality fish from here mixed with Korean chilli paste sauce and coriander oil.

7. Are you going to do it again?

Won: Yes, but not this year as we already have other plans in place. Next year though.

8.  As far as I know, WINDOWS has made history in introducing Korean fine dinning at a western (French) restaurant in London, you must be very proud of this?

Won: I am so pleased to have done this. It was hard work to get it right but I'm so proud and relieved by the good feedback from our customers.

9. Why do you think your tasting menu was a success?

Won: Mixing the best ingredients from here in the UK with Korean recipes and Korean sauce. That has been the key.

10.  London have many Korean restaurants but not many high end restaurants. There's the likes of Nobu for Japanese and Alan Yau's many for Chinese. Do you think Korean cuisine needs one now?

Won: Well, it would be nice to have fine dining restaurants for Korean cuisine but whoever has plan to do this might find it difficult to find good Korean chefs here in London. We need more chefs trained in Korean cuisine. This means training classic Korean cuisine to the young British-Koreans who live here, as well as developing a Korean cookery school (a proper one).

11. Do you think Korean food's popularity will stand the test of time like Japanese and Chinese?

Won: I am optimistic on this, Korea is no longer a small country. Travelling to Korea will help a lot as will the rise of Korean culture in things like art and film.

12.  Finally, if you could only choose two Korean ingredients (except kimchi) to take with you on a desert island, what would  they be?

Won (after a long pause): Ghochujang (chilli paste) and sesame oil. *I totally agree, that would be mine too!

After the interview, Joo kindly let me taste some of the courses on the menu.

First, I had grilled sea bass with pork bulgogi bedding. The chilli sauce was not too hot and also included coriander oil. It had so much flavour but was also delicate. I loved it.

Next up was Iberico Pork Ssam. Wow, I have never had such tasty and tender pork in my life. It was wonderful and cooked medium pink (he informed me only Iberico pork can be eaten as medium). The dish was unbelievably tender and contained chilli ssamjang with wild water mint and lettuce. Korean shiso leaves are not easy to get, so he used pickled wild water mint, whose taste was much like shiso -- even in texture. I did not know you can get Iberico pork, I love acorn fed Iberico ham with a good red wine

Dessert was a fig and blue cheese ice cream & ginseng honey. Very English yet very Korean.
He even made Korean style fermented sauce with fruit. This is an ancient recipe made contemporary
cuisine. In fact, everything in the menu is classically Korean but made with a contemporary twist. I thought this would be the perfect meal for high ranking foreign dignitaries who visit Korea but who might not be used to the spiciness of Korean food.

Talking to the team in the kitchen, they all seemed happy and eager to show me their creations, and asked me to try things out. It was a relaxed environment which means he must lead a happy team.

I feel very confident that Korean cuisine will be safe in Joo Won's hand for the next generation in London. It was also extremely comforting to know that Chef Won will do his best for his mission to introduce fine dinning Korean cuisine into London.



Won's kimchi resotto

Won's happy team member

Won's happy team

Chef Won and me at his busy kitchen

After finishing the interview he insisted taking me to the lift -- exactly as any polite young man would do to elders in Korea! How nice it was that he has not lost his Korean manners. He even said that his mum's cooking was far better than his own. How modest and decent!

Korean Spicy noodle ( Bibim Guksu)

Spicy sauce ( choganjang)

Korean noodle and spicy sauce ingredients

Toppings

Noodle in the mixing bowl with toppings

Spicy noodle

I love this Korean spicy cold noodle when the weather is hot, and lost appetite , it is very easy to make and very addictive.
It is perfect for the light lunch.
Using Korean thin noodle is the best to make smooth and light

Ingredient :

Korean thin noodle (1 pack).

Sauce :  1 tbs Korean chilli paste ( gochujang).  1tbs dark soy sauce.  1 tbs rice vinegar . 3ts sugar.
2ts sesame oil, 2ts Korean chilli flake ( gochugaru) 1 tbs toasted sesame. 1/2ts crushed garlic.

Toppings;

Lettuce (1), half of cucumber. spring onion ( 3). strong garlic sausage ( 5 slices, optional).  2tbs thinly chopped cabbage kimchi( optional), 


Method:

1. Put noodle into the boiling water and quick oil for 2 minutes and add a cup of cold water and boil another a minute. drain and rinse with cold water few times until excess flour has washed off and live in the colander.
2, Making sauce :  Put all the sauce ingredients and mix well, taste should be spicy, salty, sweet and sour , but you can make as your taste like less spicy or less sweet.
3. Cut all vegetables like 5 cm long like thin strip .
4. Put noodle in  a big bowl all toppings  and pour half of spicy sauce and mix well  and taste, add more sauce as you wish, serve in a deep bowl.

Tip:

 It is a good idea to serve sauce separately in a small bowl and help themselves as their taste.

Spicy Chicken Wing

Wings marinated in Buttermilk



Quick fried  Wings



Wings with Spicy Sauce

What can be nicer than sitting in the garden on Summer late afternoon drinking Gin & Tonic or cold beer and ice minty tea with spicy Korean style fried chicken wing.
We all love this kind of casual snack in the garden at week-end enjoying warm Summer evening.

I think Food is the greatest conversation maker , much more than drinks, it leads all sort of thinks not only food also memory of holiday and culture so on.

Making Korean spicy chicken wings and drinking cold ice tea or cold beer at the week end evening is one of my pleasure without much effort or expense.
Make sure buying a good meaty free range wings is very important.

1. 500g chicken wing
2. Butter milk
3. Oil for frying ( vegetable or rape seed oil)
4. Rice flour for dusting

Sauce :
1. Gochujang ( Korean chilli paste) 2 tbsp.
2. Rice vinegar 1tbsp
3. Crushed garlic 1 tsp
4. Honey 1tbsp
5. Dark soy 1tbsp, 1tsp sesame seed oil.


1. Cut chicken wings in half at the joint and add butter milk mix well and leave it the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours.
2. Take out from the fridge and wash , sprinkle sea salt with grated ginger( 1 tbsp.) and leave for 1 hour, mean time make sauce, all the sauce ingredients in the pan and cook on the medium heat until
sauce is sticky and a little runny consistence.
If you like more spicy add chilli powder. or honey , depending how spicy or sweet you like to be.
I advice  not to make  too sweet , should be spicy ,tangy and a bit sweet.
3. Put wings in the steam rack and cook until cooked, lightly dust with fine rice flour and fry and dry on the kitchen tissue.
4. Put fried wings in the serving dish and pour half of the sauce , sprinkle sesame seed  and serve with rest of sauce , of course plenty of paper napkin as well.

Spicy wings with fried Italian black cabbage

I made the other day this dish again but I have developed this dish to be better and different by adding fried Italian black cabbage leaves as a topping  which gives another texture .

Dishes from left over



Roast lamb with potato hash

Avocado, tomato salsa

Radish and mint salt

Grilled asparagus and roast chicken , potato hash

 

 

As a home cook I have to be creative making food for family because it can be repetitive to make usual dish all the time , not only for family but most importantly for my sake. Who likes same old recipes all the time with left over anyway?

 

 For Monday dinner , I have to wear a my creative hat, because I am using left lover from Sunday roast meat or any meat left over from Sunday . this week as my family visited us for10 days, I had lots of left over meats, roast leg of lam, roast chicken.
Curry made from cooked meats are never our favourite , for lamb, made lamb and potato hash with spicy avocado, tomato, red onion, salsa.
Needs nice not thin plat bread makes different. We all love this kind of  middle eastern style food,  big plates of food in the middle of table , sharing with all family , all very similar with Korean actually.

For chicken I made hash but add nice grilled thick English asparagus and baby red radish with mint salt as a starter with wine.
They look so pretty on the table as yet so simple, as we all know, the simple recipes are the best if the ingredients are good.
I love to using seasonal vegetables when they are in the shop, specially English asparagus , so flavoursome and fresh, you can not beat this.

Made chicken bone stock with mooli, onion, carrot, celery chilli, pepper and dried kelp and shitake mushroom, boil first and simmer for 40 minutes.
Stored in the freezer for later use like making barley risotto or any soup, I made kimchi udong for my lunch using chicken stock, I will try marinade soft egg next time for the kimchi udong it would make more authentic udong.
One whole chicken made us 3 meals, how economic is that!! and so satisfying!

Readers may wonder why I did not make stock with Lamb's bone, actually I find lamb stock is too strong to use soup or risotto, but I do use to make rich gravy  and freeze.




 



Kimchi udong

Barley risotto

Udong with soy marinated egg

8 course tasting menu dinner at Gidleigh Park.

Gidleigh Park Hotel




Duck with orange, red wine, star anise sauce

Mini starters

I always like to have a meal at Gidleigh Park Hotel in Devon , created and cooked by head chef, Michael Cains who got only one hand due to traffic accident while he was working as a chef.
As a chef it must have been a heart breaking moment, but all credit to him he made one of best restaurant in England (with single hand!)
a few years back.
It is too far just go for a meal from our house, it has to be a long weekend trip.


It was a such  pleasant surprise to receive the gift coupon at Gidleigh park restaurant 8 course tasting menu dinner as a 2014 Christmas present  from my children, John and Catherine.
I bet it must had cost  them a bomb, As we are a foodie  family it is the most delicious gift for us!!
How lucky we are !

Driving early Friday to the West Country was quite an uneventful journey ( not much traffic but nice warm sunny say) , Driving through winding narrow road with pretty  grey stoned cottages , it was beautiful  and relaxing .
As Gidleigh hotel is so expensive to stay, my son  booked nice B&B for us near by village.

Taxi took us Gidleigh, a long road , Tudor style hotel has an old charm. Like old big country manor house, vast hall and wine cellar was impressive.

I can not help thinking who do come this expensive and remote hotel?
But unlike us, so many rich people are visiting for their well earned rest , I was told.

I liked there were a few dinning rooms joined by tasteful wall and imposing door but not completely closed, we could see a part of next dinning room , not too big, 6 tables in ours.

 This kind of cosy room makes dinners can have some atmosphere, hate quiet and empty big restaurant. ( we once dined at 3 Michelin star Restaurant with 4 rich Japanese with a lots of empty tables, it was truly awful, even the foods were so good)
 Dark furniture huge window looking at garden, more like feel sitting in the library or lounge of the manor house than restaurant.

Scallops were excellent, perfectly browned outside and soft in the middle.
Slow cooked salted cod was like a feather, more like scallops then fish.
Our high light was Duck dish.
Crispy skin, pink in the middle, sauce was die for. a kind of French, Asian taste ( red wine, orange, star-aniseed , fennel )  best sauce I've tasted, so far. it was, a bit sour, sweet with Asian flavour in the back ground, very good indeed.
As a keen cook, this kind of sauce is very difficult to master, tried a few times but not quite made like this yet.

The head waiter tried selling us their 2ways beef dish, slow cooked, ox cheek in red wine and low temperature , slow cooked ( in water bath) fillet of beef steak with nice root vegetable. they were perfect in every culinary sense , tender ox cheek in rich, velvety sauce, medium rare pink fillet , but somehow, they did not have wow factor like duck dish for us.
Perhaps, I thought this is the kind of dish, I can make at home (?).

2 green apple dessert was refreshing, but final dessert was pretty to look, orange shaped chocolate moose and other chocolate dish , this one is Chef's signature and the most famous dish, we were told.
But for us too sweet to finish, even I did not eat quarter of it. Looks like an art but not for us.
Being a bitter chocolate lover, they were a wrong dessert for me.
All dinners seemed just love this, all kind of complements to the chef, I can hear. Waiters so disappointed we did not even finish this.
Finally cheese, loved local blue cheese.

Had coffee at  official  library, dark book case with big chairs and tables every corner.
It was some dining experience !
We won't be able to pop in next week for lunch or dinner but  I really enjoyed  this rare dinning opportunity, thanks to our children.

Robinson College ( Cambridge university) Korean Food Event, 22. 4. 2015

River Cam



Robinson College

Roasted pork shoulder for Bossam

Spicy grilled butternut squash( vegetarian dish) 

Chef, Stuart, Sam and me

Marinated short rib on the grill

Gutjuri ( new kimchi)

chef , Stuart making seafood pancake



Guest at the table



I was so surprised by the email from Dr Shin regarding the Korean food Event 2015 . I thought, the Korean Ambassador had offered help from the Embassy to organize this year's Korean food event of  Robinson College at Cambridge University.
 But I was delighted by this request. I love working with Dr Shin and College head chef, Gary.
I quickly agreed to do it, it is my 3rd Event with Dr shin.

We chose the menu,

Starter; Pajeon (seafood pancake) ( Spring onion with shitake mushroom for vegetarians))
Main;  Galbi gui ( grilled short rib of beef),  slow roasted pork for bossam  ( grilled spicy squash and double cooked tofu with spices ; for vegetarians)
            Kimchi ( slightly fermented and new kimchi ( gutjuri), rice
            Mooli, red cabbage and green apple salad. lettuce and ssamjang ( sauce) for Bossam.
Dessert: Lemon tart and fruits salad

I had a problem with short rib, the most popular Korean BBQ dish, because catering team has no slot to discuss prior of the event. 
I had to sent photos how to butcher traditional galbi ( short rib). 
Choose middle and meaty short rib part and cut through bone and open up like a book without detaching with bone , make long strip of beef with bone in the end.
I could not show to the butcher I sent photos and hope for the best.
Luckily head chef send me a photo that butcher made Galbi cut in Korean style, I was surprised they look good, needed only they should be a little thinner but we can manage  .

 This is an unusual cut for western butcher, regard as a cheap and chewy meat , but as a Korean dish this is the most popular and very clever way to use short rib in my opnion.
Generally we, love texture in any dishes specially meat dishes.

Short rib of beef needs slow, long cooking to be tender like stew  but Korean grilled rib needs special marinating sauce  and keep marinade  for at least 6 hours, then grill. meat will be tender and sweet and moist, and biting texture with good flavour with sweetness in the back. I think this is most clever way to cook.  We all love grilled on the charcoal fire, which gives smoky flavour.

When I arrived at Robinson college around 11 am on 21st April. as soon as I entered familiar Robinson's kitchen, I can see 2 chefs waving hands, they both work with me in the past, so glad they are both work with me for this event.

I had to start work strait away , looking at short ribs ( 100 of them) they are much thicker and not very neat I expected. I have decided marinate first thing in the morning and cook like rib steak, possibly medium to medium rare.
Made marinating galbi sauce, needs a lots of everything,
Soy sauce, conference pear, garlic, ginger, toasted sesame oil, grated black pepper, sugar and chopped
spring onion, mirin.

Made sauce and ready for use tomorrow morning , as for trial, I put 1 rib in the marinating sauce with vegetarian , grilled butternut squash as well. 6 pm I grilled with another chef, medium, pink inside , it was tasty as it should be, just need more soy sauce and pear for making meat tender and juicy.

All preparation has to be done today, for seafood pancake, I do not know how many box of spring onion has to thinly cut by Stuart along with baby squids, prawns, and mussels.

For bossam, ( wrapped pork in lettuce with spicy sauce)  2 big shoulder pork ( 8 kg each) ready to roast , made ssamjang. ( spicy sauce for bossam)
I love this way of Bossam rather than Korean classic way ( boiled with spices and press) because roast pork ( low temp. 120c for 8 hours) is tender , moist, easy to pull, most of all pork cracking goes so well with Bossam, give another texture to the dish.
English meets Korea kind of a dish,

Cooking for near 100 invited guests needs a good planning and good helpers who do work hard .
I had excellent chefs, Sam & Stuart who love Asian food and very keen, most of all they respect me.
They are so helpful, in every stage of cooking they always ask me  which is very important,
 after all it is my recipe !!

Next day I had to arrive at the kitchen 7:15 am , and prepare for the beef rib. Never cooked this huge quantity but it will be Ok , add more mirin and dark Korean soy, it has to be ok for mine and Dr Shin's sake.
Marinade beef at 7:30 am and put pork in the oven around 9 :00 am,
I was standing all day , very tiring, being a chef was not an easy job, let me tell you!

Finally made new Kimchi  , ready for Mooli salad for dressing for last minutes.
Had 30 minutes power nap in my room and ready for face the music.

We all ready by 6:00 pm, 8 hours roast pork and crackling was excellent, all kitchen chefs tasted and loved it , so tender and crackling was light and crunch, so tasty , like eating thin crisps.
It was historic! late Michael Winner ( food critic) would have said.

Grilled rib as medium , was so tender and flavoursome, I was more than satisfied.

Served at 7;00 Pajeon , follow my main.

I made 3 minutes speech of food. I am so glad to be finished and relived .

I had been standing at the kitchen all day but feeling elated by students and lecturer, professor's verdict.  had a chat with students, they all seemed enjoying the foods. Vegetarians were impressed my twice cooked tofu and grilled spicy butternut squash.

 9 pm I had much deserved a glass of white wine at Red brick bar with Dr Shin.
Perhaps I might do it again next year! If I will be invited by Dr Shin again!

ready for cook ( short rib)

Opening rib of beef

Chef , Sam

River Cam