As part of a half-hearted joke with my team's intern, we promised to take him to a restaraunt of his choosing if he completed this project and presentation on time. In true Twitch fashion, the restaraunt would have to be memeable so we decided to go to Benu with Ben Yu.
Dishes
皮蛋: Quail Egg, potage of cabbage, cream & bacon, ginger - The Benu Classic. The egg itself wasn't very alkaline. The potage was amazingly flavourfulMussel stuffed with vegetables and glass noodlesPig ear with jellyfish, radishes and chives"Lawn Roll" - Mackerel, kelp, and vegetables. Very suprising dish with many different textures and flavours happening all at once. One of my favouritesKing Prawn wrapped in Jellyfish and topped with angelica tree leaves - 2nd favourite dish of the night. The batter was very airy and the prawn was fried to perfectionTofu flower, chili oil and chicken consommé - a very light and flavourful palette cleanser. Chili oil had some kick and the tofu was super soft and slippery
Taco tribute to acorns - Iberico Ham, Truffle & Acorn - One of Corey's favourite flavor combos. The whole dish was a massive umami bomb. The stone was also warmed which was a nice touch. My favourite dish of the night!Oat bread with honey, butter, ginseng小籠包 with homemade soy sauce and vinegar: Another Benu Classic. The skin was paper thin and the lobster consomme and butter and explodes in your mouth with flavour
Jasmine Rice cooked in a gamasot with blood sausage and aged kimchi - Low key might be the best fried rice I've ever eatenWhole abalone roasted in butterWater chesnut cake with dried rockfish, chinese mustard greens and three mustard sauceRoast turbot glazed in spicy fermented pepper sauce, braised chysanthemum and radish, fried garlic flowers - The turbot was preppared such that you can experience both the belly, cheek and filletmulhwe with iced water kimchi broth, cured sea bream, sea urchin, oysters, radish, sesame leaf and seaweedCharcoal-grilled beef rib braised with pear and chili, baby anchovies, chilled lettuce and scallion sauce
Pork Two Ways: 1) steamed pork belly thinly sliced and served chilled with hot mustard dipping sauce and korean melon dongchimi 2) charcoal grilled pork cheek with tomato meju, preserved ramps and lettuce wrapsOmija and Olive Oil - experience five different flavours at once - sweet, salty, savoury, bitterness and spiceMilk Pudding with salt, smoke and peatIced Barley TeaMint Curls
This was truly a life-changing meal. The dishes were very playful while still respecting the asian cultural heritage from which they were inspired. My favourite dishes would have to be:
1) Acorn, Iberico Ham and truffle taco
2) King Prawn wrapped in Jellyfish
3) Mackrel, kelp and vegetables roll
4) 小籠包
5) Kimchi Fried Jasmine Rice cooked in a gamasot
Stay tuned as I try to replicate these dishes in my new blog series: Ben Yu copies Benu!
