Amid smoke and fire, Mignon delivers
It is not every day that you set a restaurant on fire.An even less frequent event is when, after such a calamity, the staff remains polite, friendly and efficient. Yet this very combination of highly unusual circumstances occurred on Sunday night in Itaewon’s Franco-Belgian restaurant “Mignon” (“Cute”).
There I am, absently perusing the menu, when the wife lets out a splutter, the daughter a shriek. I glance up ― crivens! My menu is afire! The corner has caught the flame of the table-top candle. The missus puffs away; the blaze is extinguished. Temporarily! It flares up again. Quick as lightning, I grab a glass of water and dash it over the carte. The menu is a bit the worse for wear ― burnt and soggy ― but still legible.
The serving staff, who have been hovering uneasily as the disaster unfolds, smile reassuringly and take our order.
(Suggestion to restaurateurs with paper menus: Ensure table-top candles are behind glass or otherwise shielded. Question for restaurant critics: Are you sure your real vocation was not a firefighter?)
But I am getting ahead of myself. “Mignon” opened late last year, with Chef Romain Foughard, 34, at the helm. Romain is an interesting chap: A native Korean, he was adopted, at a tender age, into a Belgian family. There, he grew up around kitchens. His father ran the Michelin-starred La Commanderie near Liege.
He returned late last year with several Korean partners to open up “Mignon” in the narrow alley behind the Hamilton Hotel.
It is a modest place. There are lime-green wooden walls, a well-stocked orange-painted bar, and a couple of framed works by Belgian artist Herge, of famed Belgian comic book character Tintin. It would look like any cosy little family-run restaurant on the Continent, were it not for the black tables and white-upholstered chairs, which impart a coffee shop ambience.
There is also a terrace overlooking a small garden, which should prove a hit, come spring.
The menu offers various Belgian/French/European favorites. For brunch there are omelets and waffles; for lunch, various mussel dishes with fries. (I should add that “French fries” originate in Belgium. U.S. troops in World War I, stationed in Belgium, believed they were in France, and so spread the incorrect moniker upon their return home. Or so the story goes.) But we are eating dinner, so begin with soup of the day (6,000 won), smoked salmon (12,000 won) and croquette (6,000 won).
The soup is a thick, hearty onion and endive soup, well loaded with croutons and melted cheese: very thick, very hearty. The croquette is a bread-crumbed slab of piping hot poultry and mushroom mulch, served with a tomato compote for color. Again, a simple, hearty and tasty dish. The smoked salmon is a large platter of salmon shavings, drizzled in lemon and served with capers and slices of baguette. Conventional but enjoyable.
For mains, it is endives with white sauce, ham and cheese (16,000 won), steak tartare (26,000 won) and filet mignon (28,000 won).
The endives (bitter tasting leaves, rather like fennel) are rolled with the ham and served under gratineed white cheese. This is yet another warming and tasty winter dish. The steak tartar is a rare ― well, raw ― visitor to Seoul tables. Here it is served in a mound, chopped rather than minced, mixed with onion and caper, and with a side salad and fries. Superb. Oddly, considering the name of the restaurant, the only mis-step was the filet mignon itself. While its Bearnaise sauce was excellent, the steak was dry and the sauteed spuds overdone.
Fortunately, the chef comes back in style with desserts. Chocolate mousse (6,000 won) is rich and dark, while the profiteroles (i.e. balls of pastry coated with melted chocolate and stuffed with cream; 9,000 won) prove surprising: They are filled with cafe mocha cream. The best, though, is the Norman Crepe (11,000 won), a thin apple pancake, caramelized on top, drizzled in calvados and served with a splodge of vanilla ice cream. Recommended.
There are a range of cocktails and wines, but when in Belgium, do as the Belgians do: Drink Duvel ( 9000 won per bottle). This golden ale lives up to its name (“a devil of a beer”). Light bodied like a lager, it pours with a frothy head and offers a flowery flavor that is more complex than many wines. If you have never sampled this nectar, Mignon is the place.
Our waitress was an ample lass with a voice deeper than my own, but with a delightful disposition. In the evenings, the restaurant partners arrive to help at the bar. All are Koreans who studied in Europe, so they know a thing or two about service.
Verdict: Along with Chef Meili’s deli and the nearby St Ex, Mignon is an excellent addition to Itaewon’s European dining scene. Be it for a full sit-down dinner, a brunch or a mussel lunch, Mignon deserves your patronage. Just be careful with the menu.
Mignon
English: spoken
Tel: (02) 793-3070
Address: 116-4, Itaewon dong, Yongsan district. In the alley behind the Hamilton Hotel, across/up the hill from St Ex.
Subway: Itaewon
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
No parking
Dress: Smart casual
By Andrew Salmon Contributing Writer [andrewcsalmon@yahoo.co.uk]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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