This is the season when a hot oden bath reminds me of warm sake. It's also the season when the sun shines all summer and the seafood you've been worried about is in season. For this reason, I often go to izakayas as a popular meeting place during the fall season, and when I search for izakayas, I can find many “kappo dishes†that Japanese food enthusiasts enjoy. Gappo cuisine is so popular that it was mentioned at a popular gourmet party not long ago! It is said that kappo cuisine is casual rather than kaiseki and more luxurious than izakaya, where chefs who handle knives and fire make dishes that customers want with fresh ingredients. It's also a dish that has the advantage of being made a little more according to the individual tastes and tastes of the guests!
Curious about proper kappo cuisine, the Shikigin Contents team went to “Gappo Healing,†a gappo cuisine restaurant newly opened in Apgujeong a while ago! If you walk between Queen Mama Market and The Kitchen Salvatore Alley, you'll see “Gappo Healing†located on the 2nd floor. Finally, it was a rainy day that heralded autumn, and it was a place where the slightly dim weather and the clean, modern interior went well together. The interior has a bar-shaped table where you can eat while watching the cooking, a table for 4 people with memory, and a private room on one side of the store, making it perfect for gatherings.
I am full of trust in the clean and tidy appearance of the chef, who cares about hygiene! Expectations were getting higher and higher. I ordered mainly the dishes recommended by the chef to properly show me the kappo cuisine, but since they cook using fresh seasonal ingredients, the menu may change little by little from season to season.
It is said that the main chef of Kappo Chiyu is familiar with Japanese cuisine, who started by washing pots at Susa's house when he was 17, and opened Gappo Chiyu through Ramada Hotel's Japanese restaurant, Gappo Aki, and Gapporei. In addition, he is a versatile person who has learned jazz and contemporary dance and has refined and sensuous design talents, and strives to create unique food by expanding as a mind map without limits when it comes to creating new dishes. Furthermore, they always research from an objective point of view and strive to develop better menus by reflecting the opinions of customers.
1) PERFECT salmon salad The
first dish that appeared was “PERFECT salmon salad,†which attracted me from the very name. Seeing the shiny salmon flowing from side to side, I stabbed it with chopsticks without even thinking about taking a picture. Salmon cooked at 45 degrees for an hour using the sous vide method was topped with sauce mixed with shiso pesto and lemon oil, figs marinated in red wine, cream cheese, ice plant, red yeast, red sorrel, etc., and it was like a work of art. Thinking about how to eat it, I put in a bite of salmon first, and the firm yet soft texture melted in my mouth. The fatty, savory flavor unique to salmon blends well with the salty pesto, and the different ingredients in the surrounding area helped to further enhance the salmon's flavor with their own unique flavors.
2) Taco eel salad “Taco eel salad†contains plenty of
fresh, well-prepared ingredients. A light appetizer with poached octopus, coriander, black tomatoes, wine figs, seawater sea urchin, and pink pepper. Homemade chili oil is the key point of the dressing sauce! It was a dish I was happy to see because it contains coriander, which I personally like, but it was also a dish that was favored and disliked slightly among the people who worked with it. However, they all admired the crunchy texture of the well-cooked octopus and the different flavor of the chili oil used as a dressing. The overall combination of ingredients was amazing, and it was an appealing enough dish to whet the taste buds as an appetizer.
3) Yaki, onigiri, ochatsuke, and
a nice dish came out. An attractive ochatsuke with a warm soup and salty mentaiko! The rice topped with plenty of mentaiko was soaked in the soup, and for some reason it had a luxurious feel. It was because of the broth made by adding expensive bonito flakes and simmering it at a low temperature for 3 hours. Not only that, the lightly cooked rice that didn't fall apart made me feel chewy, and the salmon and flying fish roe popped, and the flavor was in harmony with the salty mentaiko. Above all, unlike other places, it was characterized by using the highest quality katsuobushi in the country. I was able to feel the difference in choosing all the ingredients used in each food and making all the sauces used in the store myself. This kind of detail is what makes customers even more moved, right?
4) Kushikatsu,
deep-fried Japanese fries made by deep-frying salmon, shrimp, camembert cheese, low-salt mentaiko, and homemade mochi! This is Kushikatsu. I was surprised that the crispness remained even when I came across the other dishes a little while later, but the point was that they served each tempura separately with sauces that go with them. I was able to enjoy it even more by making all the sauces myself, including tartar, figs stewed in wine, shiso pesto, and blueberry jam.
5) Sukiyaki Sukiyaki is eaten by lightly cooking vegetables and beef in a
soy sauce-based broth. The beef that melts in your mouth was truly exquisite. It is said that beef is brought and used from the famous butcher shop “Bone & Bread†in Majang-dong. It's a place that uses Bone & Bread, so it's reliable even if you just hear the name. Sukiyaki takes care of every ingredient, from tofu to eggs. If you soak the beef and vegetables slightly in the boiling broth, you can feel the complete flavor of the delicious flavor
6) Sous Vide Onsen Tamago (Japanese hot spring egg) It's a sous vide onsen tamago that was filled with smoke and smell as soon as the lid of the
pumpkin-like bowl was opened. The bowl itself is designed to allow smoking, and it is said to trap smoke. Eggs, sea urchin roe, junsai, salmon roe, hemp, yuzu, foaming mozuku, and sous vide onsen tamago, which contains a base of bonito broth, can be enjoyed not just one flavor, but a complex flavor. It was a dish that satisfied all five senses: soft yet crunchy, sweet and salty, smoky yet cold, soft and bursting. It was a food that was difficult to describe in a nutshell, where the visuals aroused curiosity made me take a bite, then my eyes fluttered and I tasted it again.
As the name suggests, “Gappo Healing†is a place filled with the chef's desire to be a place where “healing†can be done, and our Shikigami coverage team was also a healing moment where they were comforted every moment they enjoyed cooking. When you visit, even if you walk in with a tired body and mind, you can fully enjoy the space and go out laughing. Why don't you visit on a day when you need some warm comfort?
General review: Thanks to the unique ingredients and the chef who works hard to develop the menu every time, I was amazed at the variety of foods! A fun meal in a stylish and clean interior and comfortable lighting! However, you may be averse to the strangeness of the unique ingredients, so be sure to listen to the instructions and order in advance!
[Store Information]
Address: 34-2, Eonju-ro 164-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Menu: Sous Vide Onsen Tamago 12,000 won, Detox salad 18,000 won, Perpect salmon salad 22,000 won, Karasumi Maguro Yamagake 25,000 won, assorted sashimi (2 people) 58,000 won
Opening hours: Weekdays 18:00 to 24:00 /Friday, Saturday 18:00 to 01:00