Mingles was my first time trying Korean fine dining. Id been a big fan of korean food for a long time but never been in Korea.
Back in late 2024 or early 2025 when I made the reservation Mosu had closed and Mingles still had two stars. It was a quite difficult choice between all the different korean fine dining options but once I dug deeper I realised Mingles resonated with me the most. So I called them the day reservations opened (since tablecheck didnt allow any solo reservations) and they happily offered me a table.
And was I lucky. Between the time when I made the reservation and actually visited they got a third star, making them the only three michelin star restaurant in Korea and ive heard theyve become a lot harder to book ever since.
Arriving at the restaurant I got greeted by a really proffesional team. While I personally prefer a service thats more personal I have no bad or particularly good notes regarding the service besides that I got a little enveloppe with some anchovy stock to make one of my favourite dishes I tried at home. Always lovely.
The menu started off quite well with my favourite of the first three bites being the chestnut rice cake which was so chewy, savoury and chestnutty. The asparagus and uni soup was just good and the strawberry with ham was okay, it just didnt taste that much better than if I would have slapped some parma ham or san daniele on a strawberry at home.
Then came the platter of fresh seafood. While I was foolishly expecting something similar to Japanese sashimi just with a korean touch, the fresh seafood was quite chewy. Particularly the squid. But since the seafood was seasoned with different oils and light seasonings and had a lot of flavour that actually turned out really nice.
During the meal they regularly came out with these beautiful displays of ingredient's used in the upcoming dishes. Something that I feel like has become a lot more popular.
But I really appreciated that they explained all the ingredients and what flavours they add to the dish. Often restaurants just mention the names of the ingredients and call it quits there but I really like going deeper and learning more about the local produce.
Also notice that on the back of the menu they mention all their suppliers, I love that and you can bet your ass I went to hunt some of those down. If youre ever able to get your hands on some Queensbucket brand sesame oil I highly recommend it. That shit is simply the best.
The next dish, gamtae roll and beef tartare were both very tasty. The gamtae roll was my favourite of the two since the gamtae itself was very pleasant and savoury.
Next up was the shrimp tartelette, one of the two dishes ( spoiler) that was slightly disappointing. It was definitely not bad but lacked flavour for me and the dooreup didnt really match particularly well with it.
The "mingling pot" that came afterwards however was perfect. Im not a soup guy, particularly thicker soups are not really my thing but this was just an umami bomb. Chef Kang mustve thought: "how can we pack all the most umami in one bite?" and ended up with this. So complex, so rich, so flavourful yet all the ingredients worked together harmoniously.
The high level of the soup continued with the jeju tilefish. The cook was sublime, the crispy layer on top was just perfect and sauce wasnt too strong so you could still taste the flavour of the fish itself.
However I couldnt say the same for the kind crab risotto. This was the second dish that was slightly dissapointing. Again, not bad, but the flavour of the risotto masked the delicate flavour of the crab and it felt like this dish didnt really fit in the Korean theme. I understand its trying to showcase the Korean rice in a contemporary way but I dont think it worked out that well.
But I already forgot about the risotto the second I tried the chicken roulade. All the elements of the dish were good but that black vinegar sauce was definitely the star. Tangy, rich and oh so flavourful. So much so I asked for more and pretty much didnt touch the sesame sauce. L'Assiette champenoise in France makes great sauces, some of the best in France in my opinion, but this black vinegar sauce beats them out of the park. Id gobble down a bucket of this, probably die from a salt overdose but id die a happy man.
The next dish was the Hanwoo beef. Now I had high expectations for this since id heard some people claimed it was better than any wagyu or European beef and you cant really get great Hanwoo beef outside of Korea. I however disagree. The texture is great, very tender and less fatty than a wagyu. But it didnt really have that beefy of a flavour. Give me a good piece of Saga wagyu beef or any European high quality beef instead. Still a very tasty dish. The blood sausage was also quite nice and the pear kimchi a refreshing little bite to go with it.
Next up was one of the extra's I ordered, the dried anchovy noodle. Now this was probably the best out of all the savoury dishes. Even better than the mingling pot. The soup was super savoury, noodles perfect but best off all was the combination of the sides and the soup. Adding a bite of the sides or extra sauce completely changed the flavour and complexity of the soup and suddenly I had 4 dishes in one. I was so full at this point already but just couldnt stop eating.
And then, somehow, god knows how, they made me forget about the soup with the desserts.
Both the bibimbap and the jang trio are on my top three desserts all time. I think about them on at least a weekly basis.
Not only were they o so delicious they were the perfect embodyment of what I look for in fine dining. A completely new take on culturally relevant dishes and ingredients that takes you by surprise and tastes absolutely divine at the same time. Its that rare occasion where everything just comes together perfectly and I cant imagine any dessert representing Korea and chef Kang's cooking as well as these two. Ive meanwhile recreated the jang trio dish multiple times at home ( to lesser extent) and everyone has absolutely loved it. I litteraly left the restaurant and started researching how to make it straight away, found a decent recipe and started sourcing the ingredients while I was still in Korea.
It was the perfect mix of sweet, salty, crunchy, soft, hot ,cold and even a tiny bit spicy.
I often feel like many fine dining restaurants kindof drop the ball at the end with the desserts but Mingles just decided to hit an double home run at the end.
The mignardises at the end were good, particularly the jujube breton but honestly I was still dazzled by the desserts at that point that I didnt pay them that much mind.
One of the best meals of my life. Highly recommended if you can score a reservation. And get that jang trio dessert! Or make it at home if you can.
As always hope you enjoyed the review and let me know if you have any questions
by Normal-Metal3664