Jungsik NYC, 3 stars

I am going to start my review of the place with something I have written on the review of Atomix last year. As a Korean guy who was born and raised in Seoul for my entire life, I have well defined standard and expectation that each dish or the one that inspired the served dish should meet and satisfy. What I loved about Atomix is that they have done beautiful job reimagining the Korean cuisine -for some of the dishes, I would have never guessed what has been served in front of me, if I have not heard the name of it- while maintaining the core essence of it that every Korean person automatically seeks when they hears the name of the dish, taste wise.
Long story short, I expected Jungsik would blow me away in the same way that Atomix did, but maybe doing even more or better. So, did they succeed it? Unfortunately not. Almost all the dishes served today has its Korean name, but quite lots of them felt like just turned into the ones from the culture other than Korean with similar ingredients and cooking style. They just lacked the essence part that I have mentioned in the first paragraph. One could argue that that is their own way of reimagining things. One could also argue that they went so creative that they jumped or ignored that notion completely. I can see that, but that is just not my thing and not what I hoped to get from the Korean fine dining establishment.
With that being said, in fact, everything served today was super tasty. There was no ‘top 3’, ‘top 5’ or ‘life changing’ dish among what I have had today, to be completely honest. But it felt like if I graded/scored all the dishes from the meals that I’ve ever had, today’s dinner should definitely be the strong contender for number 2 spot, if that makes sense. After all, I have enjoyed the foods there, immensely.
In case of the service, they offered professional and well trained service especially from -I assume- the sommelier. He knew everything regarding the beverage about to be poured and explained the thought process and design choices why this particular drink has been selected to pair the dish really well. The only thing I would nit-pick is while every other tables are being served from the left side of the table, since the farthest left one is attached to the wall with a sofa, it had to be served from the right side. Therefore, there have been several moments when the serving staff/somm serving the farthest left table and the ones doing the right next to it bumped to each other or had to wait the other table has been finished. I was sitting at the farthest left table, by the way.
The ambience was surprisingly casual. When I went to Jean Georges, it felt like everyone was whispering at each other’s ears. But here, people seemed to be casually having conversations and sometimes laughing. The one thing I noticed was they actually played the back ground music. The genre is the hip club-esque music with not very loud, subtle volume. It did not bother me, but I think some people might be against it.
I am going to finish the review with talking about the actual dishes served. (Not all of them) Some of the notable/worth mentioning dishes served todays are
picture number 7: 수정과 tart with Korean pear filling. This one felt like it belongs in the dessert portion, but surprisingly paired well with the rest of the amuse bouche. Initial kick from the Korean cinnamon 계피 followed by sweet and fruity sourness was really memorable.

Picture number 9: Octopus dish. The korean way of enjoying octopus is called 숙회, slight boiling of the ingredients. But, they actually fried the octopus after they made 숙회 out of it. The super crispy octopus skin and just right amount of chewy texture of the octopus an incredible combo. 고추장 마요 accompanied the dish was also great.

Picture number 12: 성게알 (sea urchin) 비빔밥. It contains the sweetest sea urchin I have never tasted. The beverage in the pairing has been selected to complement that strong sweet note too. Probably best Uni experience I’ve ever had.

Picture number 17 and 18. The famous dessert combo. The concept that everything in front of your eyes is edible was fun. Not a single piece in them seemed to thoughtlessly designed. I just wish they had more Korean feel to it.

edit: Reuploaded since I hit delete accidentally