I decided to make a reservation after reading a Chinese review on this place. Making the reservation was very easy, but finding how to make the reservation was hard. At least, I never expected a 3-star Michelin restaurant not have a website of its own. Side note, La Yeon is also awarded as Asia’s 50 best restaurants of 2017.
After navigating around the Shilla Hotels site, I finally found an inquiry form. Roughly 9 hours after I submitted my request, I was contacted by Le Yeon via email. With few back & forth emails, I was able to make a dinner reservation for my only night at Seoul.
The hotel was conveniently located by the Dongguk University Subway Station. Yet I was lost at the parking lot, after climbed 4 stories of stairs. I was later directed by a parking patrol to cross the street & follow the path to the hilltop.
Personally I think the architecture design of the hotel was very unique & interesting. It started off with the traditional Korean buildings (where the Song-Song couple had their wedding), and immediately next to it was a tall hotel with contemporary chic decor.
I took the elevator to the highest floor. I was then greeted by couple waiters.
“I made a reservation at 7:30.” I told them.
“Which restaurant?” Asked one of them.
“La Yeon.” I said hesitantly, as I wasn’t sure about its pronunciation.
“Oh, the Korean restaurant?” The waiter asked after a short pause.
I nodded & was then guided to the right side of the hallway. Later I learnt that the French restaurant was also located on the same floor, in the opposite end.
I walked pass a long hallway with glass walls to my left, overlooking Seoul, and mirror walls to my right, reflecting the outdoor scenes.
The restaurant decor was very minimal & simple, 3 rows by 2 columns of white-clothed tables, separated by a pathway. I sat near the entrance, as indicated by my reservation. A menu, a bamboo holder with a damp tower, a silver chopstick, a silver spoon, a large white plate, and a white teacup were neatly placed on the table, along with a flower as the only decoration.
I really liked the first page of the menu, briefly explained the expectation of La Yeon. There are only 2 fixed menu sets, namely La Yeon & the Shilla. I picked the latter.
La Yeon had a really interesting wine collection, many of which were special collections of Korean wine. Although there were wine-pairing options available, I decided to try one of the unique Korean dessert wine made with Jeju honey. The waiter warned me that the wine would be very sweet, exactly what I wanted.
The first taste of the honey wine somewhat reminded me of the Canadian Ice Wine (in particular the sweetness part). The taste of honey became more and more distinct as I sipped more wine.
The buckwheat tea was served as the welcoming tea. The temperature was perfect, the flavor was dense but acceptable.
As an appetizer, I was served with a bowl of sweet potato chips and a bowl of shredded dried dates. The dried dates were crunchy, and the sweet potato chips were very thin & crispy. Both were very tasty and were extremely addicting.
First dish: the chestnut. It was ground chestnut milk topped with finely shredded chestnut. I was rather disappointed when I first saw this dish, thinking to myself “wtf…?” However, that changed completely after my first sip, the soup was very creamy & soft, I absolutely loved it! Everything about this dish was just perfect.
The second dish was a platter of 9 delicacies — a dish with typical Korean food ingredients: beef, mushroom, cucumber, sweet potatoes, radish, carrots. Plus few other vegetable ingredients that I do not remember. To eat, simply place the ingredients on the crepe, and roll it up, and dip in the sauce provided. The chef also pre-wrapped a roll as a demonstration.
The crepe was very soft, but very rugged sprinkled with some peanut-flavored powders. It also felt slightly thicker (but much softer) than the crepes used in Peking duck. The vegetables were not evenly cut, varying in length & size. The cucumber was also marinated with a sweet-sour taste. I really liked the sweet-taste carrots, and the beef was simply amazing.
Third dish was sea scallop salad. The Napa cabbage was extremely sweet & crispy, I absolutely adored it! The dish was also topped with some soy sauce jelly, with soft jello-like texture, also reminded me of the pork pudding (皮冻) I liked as a child. Unfortunately I wasn’t a fan of the scallop.
Fourth dish was another soup: crabmeat with pine nut. Honestly, after a sip of it, I started craving for the chestnut soup from earlier. This dish was good, but it was not as yummy & luscious. The pine nuts weren’t as finely grained either. The crabmeat was amazing though, very tender.
First of the main courses was the steamed sea cucumber stuffed with shrimp, squid, and crawfish. The sea cucumber was amazing, though I wasn’t able to taste the named seafood from the stuffing. The gingers were also finely cut, without much taste (personally hate ginger taste), which was a bonus.
Second main course was the royal hotpot. The waiter told me it was a dish designed for the King & the Queen, mostly because the required ingredients were too expensive. The hot pot required 10 different ingredients: beefs, abalones, pine nuts, pumpkins, radishes, omelettes, dates, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, and ginkgo fruits. Very similar ingredient lists to the platter of 9 delicacies.
The soup was very tasty and addicting. The ingredients didn’t taste as good in comparison. There were 2 types of omelettes in the hot pot — one with scallion mixings, and one without. Personally preferred the ones with scallions, as they were tastier. However, both types were slightly overcooked, one of the sides felt somewhat singed. The dates were really soft, and did not require much chewing. The sweet potatoes barely had much taste left in them. I definitely preferred the dried dates & sweet potatoes chips from the appetizers. I was most disappointed with the beef (overcooked) & the ginkgo fruits (bitter). Thankfully the abalones & pine nuts were amazing.
Second main course was Korean beef sirloin, topped with dates, with kimchi on the side (in the white bowl, top right). I didn’t like the mushy texture of the date, though it tasted amazing! A very sweet & strong date taste with a tad of beef flavor. The beef was exceptional, with different texture cross the meat: super tender skin and chewy inner core. Few of the remaining tendons melted instantly in mouth. There was also a hidden chestnut in the dish. I guess fall truly was the chestnut season, given its frequency in all the dishes.
Originally, for the third main course, I ordered the Hot Pot Rice with Vegetables and Abalone. However, half way through the first main course, I decided to change my mind, since I always craved (and loved) cold noodles, also the first course was hot pot with veggie & abalone. I asked the waiter with hesitation. To my surprise, the restaurant was OK with my changes, except I had to wait slightly longer for the cold noodle dish, since the chefs needed time to make it.
Korean styled cold noodles looked & tasted very different from the so-called “Korean cold noodle” that my hometown (Shenyang, China) offered. There were thin layer of semi-melted ice in the beef broth. The noodle was thin and al dente, though not very flavorful. I also didn’t like the shredded egg whites topping, though I really liked the sweet pear & pickled cucumber. Unfortunately, having used to the cold noodles from my hometown, I was fairly disappointed at this dish.
It was finally time for dessert. First off, I was served with the Omija tea, a Korean fruit tea with 5 different flavors: sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, & salty. It was a cold tea, smelt like Fengyoujing, the Chinese mosquito repellent. So I drank it with doubt. First sip started off very sweet, but few seconds later, it became bitter. Interestingly, it tasted different with each additional sip. Overall, I really enjoyed it.
To the right is the Korean rice cake with chestnut topping & pumpking & pine nut filling. Very delicious. The pumpkin taste was strong to start-off, but pine nut taste dominated in the end. I barely tasted the chestnut.
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience here. The service was exceptional. In my opinion, there were few dishes that worth to come back again. But from what I read online, the ingredient changes based on the season. I wonder what the menu would look like for the other seasons.