Hints of heaven with lovely views
Alex Kim’s zabaglione.
View Vill is located on the street that runs down from the Norwegian embassy, opposite the Hyatt. It sits above its older cousin De Vill, a chic but low-key spot that has attracted well-heeled Seoulites for almost a year. De Vill serves brasserie-style food, but View Vill wants to be a serious restaurant.
It’s fortunate, given its aspirations, that View Vill reaches sublime heights by the final course because the road from appetizer to dessert was, on my visit, a rocky one. It is worth the journey, but one must be careful about one’s choice of travel companions. The veal tenderloin is a good fellow to have along for the trip. The spaghetti with eggplant puree is not.
We arrived at the restaurant on an unseasonably chilly night. That was a shame, as one of View Vill’s strengths is its terrace. The eight tables outside are set in an intimate garden with sweeping vistas of the Namsan observatory. In warm weather it will be hard to find a more charming or romantic spot.
Veal tenderloin on polenta.
View Vill styles itself as an Italian restaurant. The chef learned his craft in Turin, at the Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners. He went on to work at Casa Vicina, a famous Turin restaurant that has a Michelin star. Kim cares about Italian food and he wants to be an innovator. And, on occasion, he seems to succeed. When this happens, the dining deities sing, but when he misses the mark, he does so by a mile.
We began with a glass of Valpolicella for 8,000 won ($8.53). View Vill has eight house wines available by the glass, including an estimable Pia Cesare Chianti at 16,000 won.
Apertivi arrived in seconds. They were arranged on a charming white platter that was curved like a bridge in a Japanese garden. An agnolotti stuffed with veal was served along with escargot in a reduction made with sun-dried tomatoes. The latter was lovely, the former was not. The effect was like watching the sun rise through wispy clouds. One hopes for a sunny day, but one also knows it could turn nasty.
The appetizers germinated the seeds of doubt. First up was a Caesar salad (10,000 won). It’s very hard to make a Caeser that stands out from the crowd. Chef Kim was up to the challenge. His had crisp leaves from a young lettuce, picked in its prime. The accompanying slivers of Romano cheese were perfectly aged and their tangy taste was the ideal companion to the sweetness of the greenery.
The sun seemed to be winning over the clouds. Then the tuna appetizer arrived. The dish was listed as a seared marinated tuna with tuna sauce (11,000 won). Seared tuna is one of my favorite dishes. I seek it out. In this case Kim had marinated the tuna for several hours in teriyaki sauce. This is a reasonable approach, but, when I took a bite, I blanched. The seared fish had a good, strong flavor and exactly the right consistency. However, the tuna sauce tasted like it had been made with canned fish. I was even more surprised when the chef explained that he had done precisely that.
It occurred to me that he had been aiming for a tuna version of vitello tonnato, an estimable dish that matches thin slices of veal with a tuna sauce and capers. The good thing about vitello Tonnato is that the two flavors compliment each other. With the View Vill version, the effect was the reverse. To match fresh tuna with canned is like dressing a princess in rags. The princess will not thank you for it, and the rags are not made noble by their contact with royalty.
I took a few sips of the Valpolicella to steady my nerves. At least we had the view. Even from the inside, this restaurant offers special visuals. Once the big French windows that make up the exterior walls are thrown open, View Vill will be a wonderful space.
The main courses were veal tenderloin served on polenta with shitake and porcini mushrooms (28,000 won) and spaghetti with eggplant puree and buffalo mozzarella cheese (13,500 won).
The veal tenderloin was delicious. It had just the right complexity. Dense flavors flooded the mouth with each bite. The plate was artful, with four different sauces drizzled across a white surface in the manner of Jackson Pollock. The lines of basil pesto, veal demi-glaze, balsamic reduction and white truffle oil represented sinuous rivers of taste. The meat wore a parmesan crisp for a hat and this helped make the dish a delight.
The interior of View Vill. By Ko Juran
I wonder if the staff could sense that we were experiencing a mix of agony and ecstasy. Maybe they did, for the effort they put into the final course, those heavenly desserts, was astonishing. We watched Kim prepare them at the open kitchen counter.
Recently, there have been a number of movies about magic, including “The Illusionist” and “The Prestige.” They should make one called “The Dessert” and set it at View Vill, with Kim as its star. The results of his conjuring were two dishes ― a zabaglione cake with strawberry and vanilla ice cream (15,000 won) and a fluffy cocoa mascarpone cheese roll (16,000 won) ― that I shall remember for a long time. The zabaglione had all the right notes ― mascarpone, masala wine and lots of air ― making it a sublime treat. It was so light that I could have had 10 and not felt like I’d eaten anything more substantial than a drop of rain.
The roll consisted of homemade chocolate stuffed with fresh mascarpone. This was a dangerous dessert. One might eat it and think heaven is a confection made from cocoa beans.
We left happy, although we could have been happier. Life is all about choices. If we had not ordered the spaghetti and the seared tuna this would have been a rave review, but it is not.
Kim may recall from his time in Turin that Michelin awards stars for brilliance and consistency. From one’s seat at View Vill, at night, one can see the constellations. From time to time a star shines from the plate as well. That needs to happen more often.
View Vill
English: Spoken, on the menu
Tel: (02) 792-5594
Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 10 p.m daily
Location: Itaewon-dong
Dress code: Smart casual
Parking: Valet or on street
By Daniel Jeffreys Deputy Editor [danielj@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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