Wine is always the first alcohol beverage that my wife Jun and I gravitate to, and for good reasons. We became close friends sharing a glass of wine after work or on the weekends before being together, and we even got married in Napa Valley! While we are in Korea this time, though, I wanted to check out at least once restaurant in Seoul that showcases traditional Korean beverages. After doing some research, I booked Mr. Ahn’s Craft Makgeolli to visit with Jun and her sister. Offering a traditional Korean drinking (banju) culture with modern sensibilities, the restaurant was a hit to all of us and we greatly enjoyed inventive Korean dishes along with beverages.
Let’s first get to the food at Mr. Ahn’s. Jun and I have been to plenty of modern Korean restaurants re-interpreting familiar dishes, and based on our prior experience we both felt the kitchen’s execution was generally strong, starting with the delightful bites like a wrap (ssam) of mushroom, kale and smoked pine leaves or a crepe-style pancake (jeonbyeong) with spicy pulled pork, kimchi and corn that you could eat like a mini-taco. We shared three different large plates followed by a hot stone pot rice (sotbab). Of the three dishes, it’s safe to say everyone’s consensus favorite was the hanchi sundae. I didn’t love sundae (a Korean version of blood sausage) growing up, but the way the pork and mushroom stuffing and black rice worked with the squid covering it was astoundingly delicious, especially with butter powder that gave an extra dimension to the flavor. It was one of the best dishes I have eaten during our time in Seoul and I won’t hesitate to order this again on our return trip in the future.
Okdom (a semi-fried tilefish) was also quite delicious, with a texture of the fish that was on point and the braised radish purée and roasted buckwheat giving a rustic touch. The only dish that Jun didn’t love was the hwe muchim; the addition of gochujang and yuja sauce was interesting, but I agreed with her the raw tuna belly wasn’t as fresh as Jun would usually be comfortable with. The sotbab with mackerel concluded the savory part of the dinner on a high note, and the desserts were also fun and well-executed. The rice cake (tteok) on a skewer you can dip on a salted caramel dip offered a nice alternative to s’mores, and the tart with marinated Korean melon (chamoe) and charcoal flavored ice cream and yogurt was also delightful without being too sweet.
Getting a reservation at Mr. Ahn’s is not overly challenging so long as you plan a couple of weeks in advance. I liked an upscale yet intimate dining space that dark lighting that sent the right message that this is a Korean bar (hanguk suljib) after all. On to the beverages, the restaurant did have a very strong selection across three different categories of Korean beverages: soju (distilled spirit), chungju (also called yakju, referring to clear rice wine made from the top layer of fermented nuruk) and makgeolli (also called takju, referring to unfiltered rice wine made from the bottom layer). I really liked the charts where the restaurant mapped different bottles across these categories based on their overall character. You could order individual glasses, bottles or even a customized pairing option based on your preference (like I did with a focus on soju drinks while the ladies asked primarily for chungju and makgeolli options). While we probably will not encounter these drinks very often, I was nevertheless very impressed with many of the drinks and thought they could even replace the more popular Western beverages as more than adequate substitutes (like soju for whiskey or chungju for wine). Mr. Ahn’s is the kind of place that shows how far Korea’s culinary innovation has come along, and I can’t wait to explore more of these types of places over time, whether in Seoul for our next trip or hopefully in the U.S.
KenScale: 8.25/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)
Address: 3 Hoenamu-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, Korea
Website: https://www.ahnmak.com/
Reservation via CatchTable (Korea’s online reservation app)
