Min’s Club in Insadong

Salmon Gravlax at Min’s Club

Min’s Club is a historical house that used to be the home of nobles. Built in the 1930 it has a Korean traditional exterior but with a modern interior. The space has higher ceilings and larger rooms than most regular Korean houses so it is a comfortable place to have a meal. The rooms are cosy. The wood framing is easily seen from the inside. The place is well lit as well with numerous windows around each room. The must have been a bit drafty because the windows are covered with unobtrusive clear plastic.

As traditional as this place looks, they serve contemporary European food with Korean flair. Here you can get Salmon gravlax with a bit of dill cream or a bed of acorn and mung bean jellies with seasoned beef and salad, they have neobiani (a marinated Korean beef) as well; but here it is on a single plate accompanied by a dollop of mashed potatoes and a ray of deodeok (bellflower roots). The main dish comes with a side of rice and white pickled cabbage (for Koreans believe that rice is the main part of the meal and if you have rice, you must have kimchi).

The food is prepared conservatively well. Each dish is flavorful and showcases the ingredients and the skill of the chef. The chef doesn’t go out of the way to make his meal gaudy or loud. Here the meal is secondary to the architecture and the conversations that people have.

I had the duck confit which was deboned from the leg. The skin was wrapped carefully around the savory meat. Interesting concept, but I think I would have liked to meat on the bone (but I understand he might have done this for his usual Korean clients). The rice pilaf was nice and buttery and the spinach was delicately blanched. The bean jelly dish was delicious with the silky starch jellies under savory nibs of beef and topped with a greens. For dessert I had the raspberry cheesecake. This, although beautiful to look at was too frozen to eat initially. After giving it several minutes rest it was quite good. The chef is respectful of the history of the house. After dining, the chef greeted us with a half of a soft persimmon. The fruit was ripe and subtle in flavor and texture. The chef told  It was a wonderful finish for the meal.

Overall, my meal had more hits than misses and the environment is beautiful for hosting guests, having meetings, and for dates.

Min’s Club
Jongno-gu Gyeongun-dong 66-7
02-733-2966
www.minsclub.co.kr

Mung Bean and Acorn Jelly topped with beef and greens

Neobiani

Duck Confit

Raspberry Cheesecake

Persimmon

The Chef

Lunch Menu

Lunch Menu