Balwoo Gongyang — Restaurant in Seoul

Having seen some of the negative reviews, I was hesistant. However this resto was on my buckets list for 5 years, popped up in a recent article and I decided I must try it. I wanted to know what Buddhist food tasted like. (The resto is on the top floor of a building dedicated to buddhist causes.) Without a reservation, I walked in and they seated me in a room by myself. I choose the middle of the 3 lunches at the price of 45,000. The first dishes that came out were ok. The smallest like an amuse bouche size was interesting. Pat juk is never my favourite and yes is a bit bland. But I still appreciated it’s traditional and pure taste. Next 3 dishes stepped it up. I was surprised I enjoyed their version of chapchae noodles. The spicy mushroom dish was tasty and while I usually refrain from fried foods, I devoured the pan fried wrap of veggies. Next highlights for me was trying their natural version of sweetened radish danmooji, and the pan fried korean cabbage leaf. Utterly delicious! I loved the homemade mushroom mandoo dumpling and the chewy fried mushrooms! How could they come up with a mushroom that was fun to eat! The texture was lovely to chew. I was not a fan of their bibimnaengmyun spicy noodle. It was too sweet for me. Last dishes came out and I was shocked. They made a vegan version of meeyuk seaweed soup that had umami and tasted delicious. I couldn’t stop eating. I loved their grain rice as well. I admit, I am not a fan of vegan kimchi and while this is probably the best vegan kimchi I have tasted, it still didn’t make the mark for me. I need that salted shrimp and garlic boost from regular kimchi. The meal finished with a small dessert and tea. I was happily satiated. I would definitely come here again. But to others, I would give a caution. This is Buddhist temple food, and they do not use many ingredients like garlic, meat, fish, etc. So come here to explore this unique and delicate taste and keep this in mind as you review it. It’s a lot of food and I packed whatever I could not finish in my stainless steel takeaway box and ended up eating it for dinner. Also make reservations - I just happened...

5 to 10 min walk from Anguk Subway Station Exit 6 / entrance of Insadong Shopping Street, opposite Jogyesa Temple. The first temple food restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star! Reservations are required. You are given a private room with closed doors. However there isn't a bell to call the staff, so there is quite a lot of guess-timation involved between you and the staff about when the previous item should be cleared and the next item should be served. To be honest, I didn't find most of the dishes particularly outstanding compared to the other Korean temple food I have eaten so far. Also found the encounter witht he staff somewhat unpleasant and rude... However it was an interesting experience, and perhaps it depends on whether you are in the right calm and meditative state of mind. The Joy of Meditation Seon 6 Course lunch set is the most affordable (Allium-free. 30,000 won); there are other sets with more courses and higher prices. The autumn menu I had featured the following:

Suljuksim (Lip-Moisturizer) Gaeul-gwa-il & gwa-il cheong (Seasonal fruits with fruit extract)

Juksang (Porridge) Hyeonmi-danhobakjuk & Deodeok mul-kimchi (Sweet pumpkin and brown rice porridge & root vegetable watery kimchi)

Sangmi (Entree One) Doenjang sauce-ma-gui (Pan-fried Korean yam with fermented bean paste sauce) Muchae-dubu-jjim (Steamed tofu topped with julienne raddish) Yeon-geun-beoseot-hokeum (Stir-fried lotus root and mushrooms)

Dammi (Entree Two) Modeum-beoseot-gangjeong (Deep-fried assorted mushrooms coated with chilli pepper paste)

Youmi (Medicinal Meal) Goguma-hab (Sweet potato rice) Gae-feol-kuk (Soybean paste soup with seasonal ingredients) Namul (Two kinds of vegetable side dishes) Sachal-kimchi (Two kinds of temple-style kimchi) Sachal-jangajji (Temple-style pickled vegetable)

Ibgasim (Dessert) Yeonip-cha (Lotus leaf tea) Dasik (Traditional Korean...

We had high expectation of the place but we’re a little disappointed with the service. The service timing was too rush to fully enjoy the flavours of the food. Halfway through our meal, we were told that they close at 2.50pm and we have 20mins left for our entree 2 and desserts, so they will be served together. When the last two courses were served, we were told that they close in 10mins, hinting that we got to finish everything in 10mins. While they did explain to us during the booking, the time allocated for each serving is way too rush for people to enjoy the food. It doesn’t feel like fine dining towards the end, but military style dining were you just chuck food down your throats. That was rather disappointing. A couple commented that the time was too rushed and the staff explained that they did explain and share about the time during the booking process. However, we felt that it is not about the timing. We paid KRW70,000 to enjoy food, not to swallow food. This time may be more suitable for the cheaper menus with less dishes.

We expected this place to be much better since it once had...