1 month ago
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Join me for a fabulous lunch at 7th Door Restaurant in Seoul! This incredible restaurant serves Korean fusion dishes that use various fermented Korean sauces as their way to the 7th door to the heavenly world of new flavors.
I got to visit this Michelin Star restaurant in March 2024, right before the announcement of Asia’s Top 50 Best restaurant and this one made the list at No 18! I feel so lucky I was able to visit right before.
Why is it named 7th Door?
Well, instead of me trying to explain it, here it is straight from their website –
“7th Door represents the crowning stage of Chef Kim Dae-chun in his 20-year quest for gastronomic heaven. The cornerstone in this new dining experience is how he bases his vast repertoire of different culinary practices on the Korean art of fermentation and aging. At 7th Door, it is not only to discover new tastes, but also to rediscover old tastes.
The name 7th Door signifies an invitation to that exciting exploration by Chef Kim, the first five doors being the five fundamental tastes and the sixth being that of fermentation and aging.“
The ambiance and service
The restaurant only has 14 seats, around a 3 sided bar table, with an open kitchen on the other side where you can see chefs plating your next courses as you dine. The service was perfect (Koreans know how to really serve you), the plating was meticulous, and the overall dining experience was very pleasant.
Personally, I really enjoyed seeing the chefs work because I just love the whole process of cooking and plating. And the great thing about sitting at a bar table dining is that overall, you feel pretty casual, relaxed and feel very much part of the experience.
But the downside is that you may feel that it doesn’t have the really luxurious, ultra-relaxing feeling that some Michelin star restaurants will have. But what’s most important, of course, is the food so let’s get to it shall we?
TABLE SETTING and MENU
I didn’t get to take pics of the interior but this is what was waiting for us at the table on a plate that had a ‘cosmic’ feel and the two chefs that were just a table across from us plating our amuse bouche platter. ❤️
7th Door Lunch Menu
Well, here we go! The servers first gave us an introduction and inspiration behind the menu along with a tray of various fermented syrups and fish sauces that’s made in-house. They use ingredients that have been aged and fermented for at least 3 months to 3 years.
The tray had everything from various ‘cheong’ or ‘syrup’ made with pear, yuzu, peach.. and then of course, the soy sauces and fish sauces. The one that caught my eye is the fish sauce made by fermenting Hairtail or Silverbelt Fish (Galchi 갈치).
Right pic – a very cute bowl of 새우죽 shrimp porridge seasoned perfectly with the fermented fish sauce was presented before the meal.
Welcoming Fermentation and Ripening Small Bites (발효와 숙성의 아뮤즈 부쉬)
Here’s what this fantastically elegant tray was composed of – from 12 o’clock, 3, 7 o’clock and then center.
- Hobak mousse inside an egg cup – a bit too sweet for me but still a delicious blend of pumpkin seasoned just right fermented maesil cheong (green plum syrup).
- Octpus and Korean Angelica Tree sprout (두릅) served on Gim Bugak (crunchy deep fried Gim) – this was a lovely pairing of the crunchy and umami filled Gim Bugak and chewy octopus with the fragrant angelica tree sprout.
- Pearl pasta and fromage filled crunchy roll with Myeongyi Namul
- Top center : Gim Taco filled with pasta salad then topped with pork terrine.
- Bottom center : crab meat in mayonnaise seasoned with soy sauce fermented with king crab on squid ink cracker (topped with nasturtium leaf) was an amazing blend of the creamy mayonnaise and ocean flavored soy sauce finished with the continued flavors of the sea – shell fish and squid.
Overall, I was very pleased with the delicately presented and my palate was amused by amuse bouche.😝 They were all very delicious (just the mousse seemed a bit too sweet to be served here). The prettiest was probably this one –
Bread made from 5-year-aged rice nuruk (starter) with a sauce made from perilla oil, sesame oil + maesil syrup + sea salt.
OMG – this was so sooo good!! The bread was incredibly moist, soft and also perfectly chewy. I don’t think I have ever had any bread that was this soft yet chewy at the same time. You know me, I make my own milk bread, sourdough bread so I’ve had some great ones at home but this.. is another level up. And the dipping sauce was so curiously yummy – nutty, salty and just a hint of sweetness and herbaceousness from the perilla.
Today’s Raw Fish (오늘의 생선)
Koreans love Saengseon Hoe 회 (raw fish), served very sophisticated. 능성어 or Sea Bass fillets were served on garlic stem (not scapes) jangahjji and sauce, topped with watermelon radish and minari. The sour, sweet and garlicky flavors of the pickle juice made the fish taste almost like it was cured, reminding me of a ceviche.
Roasted Lobster and Citrus Cheong Sauce (숯에 천천히 구운 랍스터구이와 시트러스청 소스)
Lobster that has been slowly roasted on charcoal and then served with fermented citrus syrup and cherry sauce. A great serving of lobster with sauces that have just the right contrast of cream and tangy. Eating the lobster with 2 different sauces was fun. I sometimes get bored eating the same combination. The 2 sauces complimented each other nicely too.
MAIN DISH CHOICES – BEEF or FISH
For the main dish, you get a choice between a beef steak vs fish and of course, my sister and I chose each so we could taste both and compare.
Grilled Korean Striploin and Leek puree (1++ 한우 채끝덧살과 대파퓨레, 장아찌)
The steak was absolutely melt in your mouth tender (I think it was probably cooked sous vide style) and it was fun that the chef decided to marinate the steak in a light bulgogi sauce making it nicely Korean flavored. It was then topped with chopped chives and sesame seed powder and served with a side salad of cham namul 참나물, raw onions and daepa (leek) puree.
The slightly tangy salad was a perfect combination to the steak and reminded me of the quintessential Korean BBQ flavor pairings.
BTW, if you are wondering what 1++ means in Korean beef rating system, it’s the highest rating which is based on the amount of marbling and color of the meat. Anyway, the steak was so good, I soo desperately wanted a glass of wine but it was lunch time so I refrain myself. 🙂
Grilled Tile Fish with Soy Bean Paste Beurre Blanc (옥돔구이)
Tile Fish (Okdom 옥돔) is a special fish caught near Jeju Island and it’s one of my favorite Korean fish. This dish was a total surprise to me because the way this fish was cooked was just pure genius. They cooked the flesh first then fried just the scales in hot oil then salted so that it was crunchy, light and fabulous!!
And of course, the little servings of garlic stem pickles, and beet sauce were a pure delight that gave an accent to the mild flavors of the fish.
Back TO MENU
Daechun Kim – with rice, white danmuji and mount Jiri caviar – 7th Door signature dish
I only realized the significance of this dish as I was going over the menu again for this post. Basically this is a play on the Chef’s name ‘Daechun Kim’ because Daechun Gim 대천김 also refers to the famous Korean roasted seaweed that comes from the region of Daechun! In Korean, they have the exact same spelling. In English, the roasted seaweed snack can either go by Gim or Kim. I love it!!
In my opinion, one of the simplest yet most delicious Korean food of all Korean foods is Rice wrapped in Roasted Gim which is the most primitive form of Kimbap! Of course, there’s a whole spectrum of roasted gims that you can buy at Korean groceries, at Trader Joe’s, Costco, ..
To me of course, the best one is the one that’s roasted at home with a high quality fresh gim but next to that, in the US, Gim that I buy from my local market in San Jose is really the best. Besides that, Costco one is OK.
Some roasted gims are too dry, not enough oil. Some are not salty enough and I do not like the ones where they use salt + msg. I think that takes away from the delicate flavor of the gim and salt. So, be sure to try different brands – they are surprisingly all different and some are just way better tasting than the others.
Noodle Soup with Dallae Jang Sauce (달래 국수)
Of course, no Korean meal (fusion or not) is complete without some broth and rice or noodles. And 7th door didn’t disappoint. The very simple and clean noodles in vegetable broth was so soothing, clearing and comforting. I lost all sense of where I was and I was slurping down the whole bowl as if I was eating a bowl of guksu that my mom would cook for me as a kid.
The little dollop of Dallae (달래 wild chive) sauce was absolutely exquisite – full of fermented funk flavor that totally transforms the flavor of the broth.
Fraisier with Lemon Ginger Ice Cream
When I first read the menu item and also saw the dessert, I thought – Ok, just a strawberry cake dessert… But no.. my oh my – I LOVED this so much..😍😍 I will remember this dessert for a very long time…
Fraisier is a French Strawberry Cake so that’s nothing extraordinary but there was a transparent band of sugar candy around the cake to give it a special crunch which was just a dream!!! AND THEN!! The Lemon Ginger Ice cream on top – WOW that was the most refreshing, light, clearing flavored ice cream I have ever had!! The ginger really comes through! My respects to the pastry chef!!
In Closing..
Overall a phenomenal lunch that was a perfect combination of old Korean fermented flavors and new modern western cuisine. I sometimes disappointed by fusion restaurants because it feels it’s neither one or the other and the combined flavors somewhat feels forced – the dishes are lost somewhere in between. But when it’s done well like the 7th Door, it IS really like discovering a new cuisine or a new world!
Chef Kim does a great job of highlighting Korean ingredients and old fermented flavors in a way that feels very natural and in harmony with modern tastes. The aged and fermented syrups and sauces definitely added incredible complex and deep flavors that no other ingredients can bring into cooking so he really did a tremendous job of showing the world the unique strength of Korean food. Thank you Chef Kim!!
Extras
One thing that I failed to mention before is that the 10 people that were seated for lunch was truly an international group – I think my sister and I were the only Koreans there. The rest were Japanese, Chinese, French.. the Korean servers spoke English but they also had to speak Japanese a bit. I was quite impressed!
Thank you to all the chefs and servers for an amazing dining experience!!
Also, here’s a fun picture of the Christofle silverware server with my sister and my reflection on it.. LOL. We were offered to choose our silverware for the main course from this funny looking thing. The top lifts up and reveals the silverware! Not sure why that was needed but anyway.. it was kinda entertaining! HA
Hope you get to visit next time you visit Seoul!
Website – https://www.7thdoor.kr/
tel. 02-542-3010
e-mail. 7thdoor@dccreative.kr
online. https://app.catchtable.co.kr/ct/shop/7th_door
address. Gangnam-gu, Hakdong-ro 97-gil, 41 4th floor
English (US) · 