In Montpellier, we now know where to go for a taste of the classics from the Land of the Morning Calm: rue de l’Écusson, where chef Amélie Young Min – runner-up on Master Chef Korea in 2016 – is attempting to define umami, the fifth flavor. In the luminous and elegant room with celadon green walls, the night we went, we had: a sublime tuna tartare with a yuzu-ponzu sauce, ginger purée, avocado-wasabi cream and crispy fried nori with sticky rice; a platter combining miso soup with bok choy, three banchans (grated salsify, fingerling potatoes in soy, cream of sweet potato and peanut) and an explosively flavorful beef bibimbap served in a smoking hot marble bowl, paired with some incredible homemade kimchi; plus a sweet mascarpone dessert with yuzu, plum granita and meringue. Also available à la carte: shrimp chawamushi; an alluring sam, or slow-cooked sliced pork belly; hand-cut Aubrac steak tartare with nashi pear… But just beware, the umami blues are likely to strike after you take your final bite! FYI: Umami now boasts a takeaway shop at number 11 of the same street (from Tuesday to Saturday from 11am to 2:30p and 5:30pm to 8:30pm): expect delicate salads, chic chirashis, kawaii sushi and traditional street food specialties (bibimbap, japchae, exquisite fresh kimchi sold in recycled glass containers, divine kimbap with fermented vegetables, the famous chimaek – spellbinding, freshly fried chicken, and French-Korean desserts). // M.Ra.
FEELING THIRSTY? A careful selection of lovely wines: a Viré-Clessé from the Domaine de Gandines, Les Petits Pas, a Languedoc red from the Pas de l’Escalette (€5.50), Les Pieds Rôtis, a Chinon white from the Château de Coulaine, a Côte Chalonnaise red from the Domaine Gouffier (€33 a bottle)… Along with Korean Kloud malt beer (€5.50 for 330 ml), soju (€13.50 for 360 ml), Korean and Japanese whiskeys (€12-18 a glass).
PRICE: À la carte €40-50.
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