There's something universal about a good story -- not only are they engaging and provide an experience through the eyes of the protagonist, the best stories do something a little bit more, providing a set of context and history that would often be overlooked.
Atomix always excelled in the art of storytelling, and their collaboration with Central is where they are able to exhibit this talent to the full degree. The personal story telling of JP and Ellia in their experiences in Peru, and how it all comes together with the team at Central provided an incredible presentation of the elevations of the two countries.
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Display greeting you to the incredible diverse ingredients of Peru
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| You're greeted with these incredible maps of both countries as you enter -- an incredible surprise for me, as I thought the menu would be more Peru driven. |
We pre-selected our wine bottles before our meal -- with a help of the friend who helped obtain this reservation. The wine pairings ended up being spot on with the meal as a whole.
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2008 Domaine Huet and the 1997 Lafon gracing the meal as the Whites. The Chenin Blanc paired incredibly with all the courses from Peru, while the the Lafon showed itself with the seafood driven courses from Korea. The Le Mont grew a bit of acidity providing a nice structure over time, while the Lafon opened vibrantly, and slowly evolving into a fattier texture over time, showing effervescence by the end, accompanied with a slight sweetness and caramel accompanied by lasting minerality and subtle fruit.
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Sea Lettuce, Razor Clams, Espirulina. It's like a crispy pork skin, except not. The razor clams and the algae added some textures and colors to elevate.
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| Pen shell clam, Makgeolli, Hamcho. Korean Flounder, Calabash, Squid Ink. The Flounder with the squid ink was a flavor profile I didn't quite expect out of Atomix -- much bolder than my experience last fall. The texture that keeps on giving the more you chew. The clam was a bit more in line with expectations. |
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You would think these are shaved truffle tarts, but it's actually dehydrated beef heart. What!
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| Hallabong, Golden eye Snapper, Gamtae. Fish + Gamtae being a classic combination at this point, but still an incredible bite, especially a slight hint of citrus coming from the Hallabong. Too bad we weren't allowed to eat the plates. |
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| Cassava, Yuca, Jaimaica Scoby. Pretty incredible bite, like a fried potato but a lot more dense with a more "rough but in an amazing way" texture. |
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| Dallae (wild onion), Shrimp, Yuza. The Yuza kick providing a nice element to what could be considered the greatest dimsum shrimp dumpling of all time. The shrimp crackers really add to the view. |
The alternating experience between Peru and Korea provides an interesting back and forth -- the dishes from Central providing a texture driven through the complexity of the incredible diversity of grains, while Atomix providing textures and fat from the sea. Just having the courses of Central might have proved to be a more studious experience, and the courses from Atomix provides a counterbalance that helps you bounce back and forth, allowing you to experience each course's complexities like it was still the first course.
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| 2003 Michel Lafarge, Clos des Chenes. Took a bit to open up, showing great aged fruit, and a mix of tight violets with a bit of minerality. Showed incredibly in the later courses. |
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| Diversity of Corn, Elderberry, Kiwicha |
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Gawamegi, Miyeok, Buchu. Marked the beginning of where this meal dialed up to eleven, hitting home runs one after another. The Dashima ice cream providing multiple elements to the dish, first providing a counter texture, and then melting into the broth into something integrated. The whole restaurant started becoming louder from this point on, with a lot of "this is fucking good" being thrown around at the restaurant. What good is decency when our brains are fried from all the mindblowing going on anyway?
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| My favorite course from the Central team for the night -- Loche squash, River shrimp, Limo aji. Incredible pairing with the white Burgundy, really allowing it show the wine off. The shrimp innards(?) in the squash proving for a surprise as you dive deep into it. |
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| The first bite of Chungjookjang had a bit of funk that I didn't expect, but overall it was on the level at Momofuku Kawi a few years ago. The Adironak Potato on the Chunggukjang was a solid choice. The Gosari/Bamboo/Dubu Rice was rich while still showing off individual texture. Increidble showing with the Lafarge. |
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| Scallops, Sargassum, Yuyo. Comforting in the familiarity, but still provides a shocking amount of surprises in terms of how it all comes together. The layers of textures from each individual pieces add up to something greater than the parts. |
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| Wild Turbot, Chrysanthemum, Moo |
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| Pork Belly, Ollucos, Porcon Mushrooms. Pork Belly and the sauce is hidden on the layer underneath. The sauce accompanying the 14 hour braised pork belly was really something, I've never thought of sauce as something that can add a layered textural element on its own, since it physically probably does not. But it does that here. The dining room started hitting singularity at this point, with people calling that witchcraft is going on, and people loss for words just going "This is fucking good" more frequently than expected. I'm having trouble at this point describing the courses since I feel like I need to keep escalating. Words such as "amazing" or "incredible" seem to be losing their meanings and I start to regret using those words so loosely in the past since I'm running out of way to describe this meal. Welp. |
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| Hanwoo is hanwoo, but the Deodeok doing some work adding a nice textural element to a piece of beef that continually tries its best to melt in your mouth. |
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| Cactus, Cabuya, Chirimoya. This course can easily be someone's love language, especially when the sauce is served. Refreshing at first bite, but you're struct by the complexity of flavors and textures by the last bite. |
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| Korean pear, Omija tea, Sikhae. Best shaved ice I've had. The pecans that surprise you at the bottom of the bowl, kind of blows your mind. Then you're sad that you finished your bowl. Then you drink the Omija tea they serve with it, and then your happiness and faith in humanity is restored. |
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| "Sorcery is afoot", someone on the other side of the counter yelled. And they were right, cacao is magic. |
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| Angelica, Jujube, Potato |
I think I used the incredible a lot on this post, since I purposefully continually edited that word out whenever I wrote it. But I'm incredibly glad to have been part of this magical storytelling experience. Food like this can tell stories that words can't easily tell, possibly something a bit more primal, and that we're really bad at describing things, and the more we attempt to describe these things with words, the more they lose their meaning.
The culmination of storytelling when the seafood courses popping off really hit some singularity of sorts. It's been a while where I was able to experience a room full of people who were excited by the same dishes at the same time, almost as if we experienced one of the greatest peaks of our lives together.
