New Yangjaecheon restaurant puts French bistro fare in spotlight

Seasoned chef’s hotspot attracting crowds with good food in picturesque setting


It is hard for a restaurant to get everything perfect.

In an ideal world, decor, food (from savory to sweet), service, pricing and surroundings would all blend seamlessly together to create the ultimate dining experience. Alas, in reality, that is no easy feat.

Newly minted hotspot Cuisson82, however, comes pretty close to it.

Given its idyllic location near Yangjae Stream, its rustic French fare and well-mannered staff, it should come as no surprise that diners have been flocking to this latest addition with a frequency that prompts chef de cuisine Kim Young-won to recommend making reservations at least a week in advance.

Kim’s “soft” approach to French food ― a move away from anything resembling the pomp and circumstance of a formal, multi-course state dinner, towards the casual bonhomie of a bistro ― seems to resonate with what today’s diners are looking for.

The effect is that of a deceptive effortlessness, heightened by the use of skillets and stone plates over fancy porcelain, of roughly cut wooden tables and brown papered menus attached to heavy metal clipboards, that disguises the carefully thought out and excellently executed food and decor. 

Take the complementary bread served at the beginning of the meal. The bread is made in-house from baguette dough and the duck rillettes (a pate-like spread) that is served with it is also made on the premises.

Even the vinaigrette topping the seasonal salad is made with great care from sherry vinegar, parsley, dill and chives. A hint of cream adds a rounded edge to the tart dressing. A solitary poached egg, still warm, serves as a well-balanced accent to an otherwise cold dish.

Drawing from his training at Le Cordon Bleu-Sookmyung and from numerous stints at much-talked-about French restaurants throughout the city, Kim is not afraid to step outside the box while retaining a classic French backbone. 

Kim incorporates the more recently popularized sous-vide method (where vacuum-packed meat is cooked at relatively low temperatures for a long time to achieve maximum tender juiciness) and doenjang (fermented soybean paste) to create Cuisson82’s Krispy Miss Pork.

Pork belly, striped liberally with fat, is marinated in doenjang before getting cooked sous vide for half a day.

Kim said he opted for that technique over braising because he wanted to preserve the flavors and aromas of the doenjang. The belly is then cooked one more time so that diners are presented with a crisp crust that acts as the perfect foil to the succulent center.

Kim is even willing to step outside his French repertoire. For instance, he does full justice to the classic Spanish combination of potatoes, eggs and pork.

“On our honeymoon, we ate this dish at La Boqueria Market on La Rambla,” said Kim, 30, recollecting his trip to Barcelona. “I wanted to recreate that.”

Near translucent shards of jamon iberico cover crisp, thick-cut fries, sunny-side-up eggs and seasoned greens. Diners can dip fries in the yolk or jumble it all together, which Kim recommends, and dig in.

Given Kim’s Proustian approach to cuisine, it is most apt that Cuisson82’s madeleines are a pure perfection. Pillowy, infused with orange zest, and crisp around the edges, Kim serves them piping hot, straight out of the pan around a quenelle (oval) of housemade vanilla ice cream.

“We always serve it tableside,” said Kim.

Details

Cuisson82; 453-16 Dogok 2-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul; (02) 529-3582; open from noon to 3:30 p.m. (last order at 2:30 p.m.), from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. (last order at 9:30 p.m.) and closed Mondays; reservations recommended at least a week in advance

Lunch entrees cost 10,000 won to 26,000 won, main dishes cost 21,000 won to 66,000 won and come with coffee or tea. Dinner entrees cost 11,000 won to 50,000 won and main dishes cost 23,000 won to 70,000 won. Dessert costs 10,000 won to 11,000 won.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)