Most of my meals in Seoul in March were eaten at either Namdaemun Market (here and here) or Gwangjang Market (here), with only a few eaten at sit-down restaurants. Of these restaurant meals the one that was least like the others was my lunch at Balwoo Gongyang in Insadong. This both because it was a relatively expensive meal (though not more expensive than my dinner at Wonjo Agujjim) in a more formal restaurant, and because it was an entirely vegetarian meal, and one also sans onion and garlic. This because Balwoo Gongyang specializes in Korean Buddhist temple cuisine. The provision of this meal is not in a spartan temple setting, however. As noted, it’s a formal restaurant with high prices; it has also received recognition from Michelin; and the meal takes the form of your choice of tasting menus.

They flashed on my radar via a recommendation from Chef Rosenbrook of Minneapolis’ Restaurant Alma. When we were preparing for my pop-up dinner at Alma in the winter he mentioned that he’d eaten a remarkable meal at Balwoo Gongyang on a short trip to Seoul a few years ago. Later when I made my hotel booking I noticed that the restaurant was just about a 10 minute walk and resolved to eat there if I could. My schedule being in flux, it was not possible to make advance reservations—as is recommended—but I stopped in opportunistically right after they opened for lunch on my first full day to see if they could take me. They couldn’t right away but invited me to come back in an hour and a half. And I did.

The restaurant is on the fifth floor of the building it’s in. Most of the other concerns in the building seem also related to Buddhist temple activity You go in through a store at the bottom and make your way to the elevator. You emerge from the elevator and there it is. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I think I’d pictured a communal dining room of some kind. Instead, what they offer is enclosed private dining rooms of various sizes. I was in a small one by myself and did find the experience a little bit monastic. But I suspect I ate quite a bit more extravagantly than the average monk at a temple.

The menu offers a series of tasting experiences, which go up in size and cost, all the way to an experience at which the chef cooks in front of you and describes the ingredients and food and philosophy as the meal goes on. That option—Beop/Truth—is a complicated affair: bookings have to be made at least three days in advance and have to be made for between 4 and 8 people. Even if I had wanted to spend the money (KRW150,000/$118), I was only one. That left me the choice of four menus: Seon/Joy of Meditation; Won/Righteous Wish; Maeum/Awareness of Mind; and Hee/Bliss of Enlightenment. Being too jet-lagged for awareness of mind and it being too early in the day for the bliss of enlightenment, it was between the Seon and Won menus for me, and I picked the slightly larger Won at KRW45,000/$35.

The meal was a quick affair. The food was served in five courses, each course ranging from a few to several components, but it moved quite rapidly. I think I was out of there in 45 minutes. The server had pretty good English and did her best to explain things to me but for the most esoteric ingredients she only had the Korean names (and indeed had to go check with others for some of them). At the end of the meal another member of the staff helpfully wrote a few of the ingredient names down for me in Korean; I, less helpfully, then contrived to lose this sheet of paper before I got home. So it goes.

I can tell you that the meal was very good indeed; and that despite being a confirmed carnivore—as amply documented on these pages—I did not miss meat at all. Keep in mind that even the kimchi here is fermented without the usual shrimp/fish paste. As you’ll see in the slideshow below, the dishes are served very attractively. As to whether when dining in a group each person would receive individual platings of every dish or if there would be communal service, I don’t know and didn’t think to ask.

Details of what was included in the Won menu are in the slideshow—both in the picture of the menu and in the titles of the images in the slideshow. If you have questions about any of the dishes, feel free to ask but know that I cannot give you detail on everything—though I can tell you what each dish was like in terms of textures and flavours. In general, the flavours of the main components of each course were subtle, with acidic accents coming from pickled side dishes. The textures ranged all over the map, from chewy fermented beans and marinated stems and roots to crisp greens to stews to buckwheat noodles to sticky rice to thin and crisp water kimchi. The meal as a whole was very nourishing and also stimulating. It was not a massive amount of food, but it was not a small meal either, but I left not feeling overwhelmed—perhaps the only meal in my week in Seoul after which I didn’t feel the urge to lie down for five hours.

For a closer look at everything, click on an image below to launch a larger slideshow. Scroll down to see what’s coming next.

Only one more report to come from Seoul–that will cover my last two dinners at Gwangjang Market. I might try to get that done before heading out of the country this weekend. And then two New York reports and my reports from past travels should be in my rear view mirror. I do still have a couple of Twin Cities reports to come before all of that goes on hiatus as well for two months. Those will post on the remaining Tuesdays of the month.