Artisanal cuisine
Ask someone where “Little Tokyo” is in Seoul and chances are you will be given directions to Dongbuichon-dong, a small neighborhood in Yongsan-gu. Populated by Japanese expatriates - the Ichon Global Village Center estimates there are more than 2,000 there - the neighborhood has received a great deal of press for its authentic sushi bars, udon shop and izakayas.
“Dongbuichon-dong is called ‘Little Tokyo’ because 90 percent of Japanese residents with families live here,” said local MITURY Housing Agency Certified Realtor Kim Jong-hark.
While there is a wealth of Japanese restaurants in the area, they, in truth, form a fraction of the diverse set of eateries that cater to the locals of this multi-faceted neighborhood; a neighborhood with a rich history that goes beyond the moniker: “Little Tokyo.”
“Dongbuichon-dong was home to the affluent for a long time,” Kim elaborated. “Those with old money lived here, and that still holds true today.”
According to Kim, a few U.S. military personnel also reside in the area.
“It is close to Hannam-dong. It is a quiet neighborhood, so foreigners come to live here,” explained a representative of another real estate agency in the area.
According to the real estate agency representative, Dongbuichon-dong also houses quite a few celebrities and artists and has an estimated total of around 10,000 households.
“Residents know each other,” said the representative. “They take pride in their neighborhood.”
On a weekday afternoon, the streets are relatively quiet. Trees, flowers and weathered shopping arcades flank the main road. A blend of hiragana, katakana and kanji decorates hair salons, shops and real estate agencies here and there.
Inside coffee shops, mothers chat and sip coffee while their children lie down in chairs or peer into the displays longingly. Time slips away. Birds warble. The warm sun streams through windows of shops, cafes and bakeries.
“The great thing about Ichon-dong is that the locals are very easygoing and laid-back,” said local dessert cafe owner chef Im Sung-gyun. “They are easygoing and they are all neighbors. If one customer is here and then another customer walks in, the other guy goes, ‘Hey, how have you been!’”
“It really is a ‘chon’ (village in Korean), Ichon, a neighborhood,” added Im, who set up shop in February.
One of several to bring more innovative culinary offerings to the neighborhood, Im converted an old piano school on the second floor of a shopping arcade into an “on-the-spot” dessert place.
Before signing the contract to the place, Im went to a donut shop across the street, smoked a cigarette and mulled over it for a few hours.
“Since there are a lot of wealthy households here, I thought it would remain unaffected by the recession, so that’s why I opened here,” he joked.
Tucked in between a book rental store and a dry cleaner’s, Im’s dessert cafe, which he christened “just a moment,” overlooks a row of gingko biloba trees. Apple mint, rosemary and purple bellflowers grow in huge coffee cans by the floor-length windows. A sign with a black silhouette of a woman walking a dog hangs over the door. The dog is modeled after Im’s own pet pooch, Louis.
Wayfarers can join locals at the bar or at one of the few low tables in the spot for one of Im and friend Kim Dae-chun’s artisanal desserts.
Artfully plated and wildly creative, just a moment’s sweets are so complicated that customers need to check out the photos and descriptions provided in the handwritten menus to get an idea of what they will be digging into.
Nothing, however, can prepare one for the actual experience of tasting one of their confections.
The dessert, “Dear Pierre,” inspired by renowned French chef Pierre Gagnaire, surpasses expectations. Two skewered slices of pineapple and tiny hills of passion fruit foam flecked with edible petals are served with a glass full of “essence,” floating cubes of coconut mousse and more passion fruit foam.
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One bite into the pineapple reveals the heady scent of Campari and orange. The passion fruit foam is tart and fragrant. And the “essence” - a concoction of seven ingredients, including star anise, cinnamon, lemon and orange peel - is a delicate medley of spiced sweetness tinged by mouth puckering citrus accents. Mix the passion fruit foam with the essence and a spoonful of the jellied coconut mousse for yet another combination of flavors.
“The key element to ‘on-the-spot’ desserts is that sense of freshness,” said friend-and-baking mentor Kim Dae-chun. “We prep a bit in advance, but when we serve our desserts to customers, it has that fresh touch.”
Local pizza place president Kim Ki-hun is also a firm believer in serving up his fare fresh. Thin pizzas emerge, piping hot from the oven, and are placed on a pre-heated pizza stone over a candle.
Customers can watch Kim and his staff at Namu:wa toss pizza dough in the open kitchen, sprinkle it with cheese and toppings before popping it into their Italian pizza oven. Namu:wa’s most popular pizza, the Gorgonzola cheese, is phenomenal. A thin layer of cream, mozzarella cheese and bits of Gorgonzola cheese and garlic top a crisp crust. Dip it in acacia honey for a blend of sweetness with nutty molten cheesiness.
Kim and his crew also whip up a fabulous homemade cream cheese served with oven-roasted potatoes and salad.
“We tried roasting the potatoes in the pizza oven and elsewhere, and they tasted completely different,” said Kim. “They tasted best when roasted in the pizza oven.”
“We make the cream cheese here,” he continued. “We ferment it in a cheesecloth for four to five hours and then put it in the refrigerator and ferment it for about a day. … We put fresh lemon, pulp and all, and white wine in our cream cheese.”
Artisanal cuisine in Dongbuichon-dong is not restricted to Western fare. Two dumpling masters - who worked at a restaurant famed for its dumplings in Shenyang, China - produce visually stunning binghwa pan-fried dumplings at Chinese restaurant FA CAI.
In the kitchen at FA CAI, a dumpling master rolls out dainty dumpling skins deftly, two at a time, fills them and then pan fries them. They emerge, small little plump ovals, crusted over by a lacy circle of strands that resemble a snowflake.
The juicy binghwa pan-fried dumplings are served with eight different sauces that you can custom blend, and come with a variety of fillings. The most popular are “samseon” (filled with pork, shrimp, sea cucumber and leeks) and zucchini (filled with zucchini and shrimp).
For those who dream of a picture perfect strawberry shortcake or a rich and soft chocolate cake, stop by C4 Cake Factory. The elegant shop, decorated with black and white prints, offers an array of beautiful and delicious tarts and cakes.
Their banana tart, a layering of custard cream, caramel cream, a thin sheet of chocolate cake and sweet sliced bananas cupped in a bitter chocolate tart shell, goes great with their creamy Americanos.
Details
just a moment
Opening hours are from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Closed on Mondays. Desserts cost 3,500-14,000 won. To get there go to Ichon Subway Station Line 4, Exit 4, walk two blocks, turn left. Walk one block. It is located on the second floor. For more information call (02) 793-0915.
Namu:wa
Opening hours are from 11 a.m. to midnight. Salads cost 12,000-15,000 won, pizzas 13,000-19,000 won. To get there go to Ichon Subway Station Line 4, Exit 4, walk two blocks, turn left. Walk one block, turn left. Walk another two blocks. The restaurant is on the right on the second floor. For more information call (02) 749-1177.
FA CAI
Opening hours are from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., daily. Lunch special costs 18,000 won. Rice and noodle dishes cost 5,500-35,000 won. Binghwa pan-fried dumplings (10 pieces) cost 7,000-7,500 won. To get there go to Ichon Subway Station Line 4, Exit 4, walk two blocks. Cross the street, turn left. Walk six blocks, turn right. Walk one block and turn right. For more information call (02) 792-0872.
C4 Cake Factory
Opening hours are from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Chou and slices of cake cost 3,000-6,000 won. To get there go to Ichon Subway Station Line 4, Exit 4, walk two blocks, cross the street, turn left and walk seven blocks. For more information call (02) 794-9721.
Ichon Global Village Center
The center offers daily living support services, educational and cultural opportunities and an information center for foreigners. For more information call (02) 796-2018, 9.
By Jean Oh
(oh_jean@heraldm.com)
2009.05.02
