Seven(!) things I ate
Reviewing all seven courses at Jua by memory, despite the fact that I took no notes and maybe three photos.
Hello and welcome back to Five Things I Ate! This week, we take a deep dive on just One Restaurant, because it’s not every day I enjoy fine dining 😎. Read past posts here, and please follow my Instagram, @fivethingsiate.
Caviar Kim at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
For the uninitiated, Jua is a Korean fine-dining restaurant with one Michelin star and a seven-course tasting menu. Now, I’m not going to say it’s the discount Atomix — that would be Atoboy, which has a $75 prix-fixe menu, and the same chef – but at $125 per person, it’s on the affordable end of tasting menus. That being said, you’re still going to start your meal off with caviar, just so you know you’re having a fancy time. I can’t really adequately describe all these dishes I ate – because, to be honest, I usually rely on the little descriptions on the menus to know what I’m eating. But I will say that the caviar kim, which was kind of like a surprisingly crispy (the seaweed wrapper is puffed or baked?) single bite of kimbap topped off with briny fish eggs – was one of my favorites. There was some kind of rice and some bits of kimchi and possibly even diced raw steak going on beneath the egg-studded cover, all of which is probably described in this review by Pete Wells, but I just got blocked by the paywall.
Tomato & Tuna at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
This is the part of the newsletter where I fully confess I forgot to take notes while I was eating and also I took like three photos total, so I don’t even have visual references to guide me. But, to be honest, isn’t that the sign of a really great meal spent with good company, which is perhaps the most favorable review of all? Sometimes it’s not about the food, but the memories we made along the way.✨So buckle up for some janky descriptions. All I remember about this dish was that it came topped with a large slice of thin raw tomato, which, as we recall from the time I slaughtered to Tomato King, I’m not a huge fan of UNLESS it’s in a BLT, a cheeseburger, or other sandwich. There was for sure diced raw tuna (a positive), but also… burrata?! Or some kind of dairy creamy cheese substance. I didn’t finish this dish, but not everyone at the table agreed with my take.
Jook at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
This dish was 100% a shout-out to the Asians, which there were many of at Jua, always a very good sign. (Pro-tip: If you go to an Asian food establishment and you do not see hordes of Asian diners you should not eat there.) But yeah. Personally I really, really enjoyed having a piping hot bowl of rice porridge in the middle of August, and judging by the Chinese family sitting next to us that asked for a cup of hot water for the mom, others agreed, but your mileage may vary (dining companion disagreed). It was also really spicy, with what I am almost positive was white pepper, as that’s how I season my own jook (aka congee). HOWEVER, I must warn you that the jook comes with an abalone add-on option, which is something outrageous, maybe at least $20 extra (possibly $30?!), and it is absolutely not worth it. I have never understood the obsession over abalone, it actually just tastes like boiled rubber bands to me.
Sam-chi at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Oh no. I didn’t like this dish. Sam-chi is a type of mackerel. I have nothing against mackerel, I really like it grilled and broiled, but it is a very fishy fish. The sam-chi dish here seemed to be prepared steamed, or poached in broth, perhaps charred on top. There’s a bit of liquid in the dish and a small pile of aromatics. Now, I love, love love Chinese steamed fish, but I think mackerel comes across a bit too strong with this preparation.
Galbi & Chan at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
This is supposed to be the climax of the tasting menu, a dish of galbi steak and “chan” aka banchan. My sister remarked to me when I sent her a picture that she admired how perfectly rectangular the steak slices were, which I do agree was very pleasing to the brain. However, this wasn’t the most impressive main dish. While the galbi steak was tasty, it was extremely salty and sweet, and not to be the most Asian to have Asian-ed but I really think it would be great with a bowl of hot fresh steamed white rice and a side of kimchi. But on its own, with an artistic little plate of various odds and ends, only one of which was a sauce and none of it was kimchi, it felt way too strongly flavored. I’m not sure what cut of beef this was but it was a bit chewy, and very oddly, the knife that was placed on the table was no sharper than a butter knife. Quite a mystery what it was for.
Strawberry at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Thankfully, the galbi & chan was followed by dessert – a delightfully light strawberry sorbet, topped with some kind of sugary halo that you shattered with a spoon. This was an immediate mood booster for me because I love strawberries and I love dessert, and the fact that this came second to last meant there were two desserts! There was a creamy bit of something at the bottom of the bowl, along with a drizzle of what most certainly has to be olive oil. Was this as delightful as getting sorbet from il laboratorio del gelato on a hot day? Maybe not. But it was very good.
Goguma Juak at Jua
36 E 22nd St, New York, NY 10010
Oh man. I am so glad this meal ended with a TINY DONUT and ICE CREAM. I can see why they saved this course for last, as it was totally delightful. A tiny, beautifully shellacked with glaze dense and chewy donut and a scoop of very rich (I Googled and realized it was brown butter flavor) ice cream. Goguma juak apparently are donuts made with sweet potato and rice flour which would explain why they were so bouncy, almost like mochi. The only downside was that I didn’t have quite enough stomach space to fully finish and enjoy my donuts and ice cream. Still, it ended the meal on a tasty and cheerful note – which was how I felt about the whole experience. It might sound like I complained a lot about Jua, but that’s because I expect a restaurant with a Michelin star to be impeccable. Jua wasn’t impeccable. But it was fun and interesting, which, honestly, matters a lot more to me in terms of what I personally enjoy. But you, and your wallet, can decide if you agree :)
Have a good weekend,
Soph