Moi was the first Korean restaurant I had visited. As a result, my review is based on no previous experience and limited knowledge of the cuisine.
I went to the restaurant with my friend (both of us equally excited about trying out authentic Korean food for the first time) after several weeks of planning.
The restaurant is located right by the theatre "Det Ny Teater" on Vesterbrogade 42. It's easy to locate and has a bus stop less than a minute's walk away.
We were welcomed and at the desk and brought to a table in a cosy corner by the bathroom. There is a "girl" peeking through the window so don't be surprised!
The menu was given out and we both ordered the "Happy Vegan" dinner course with the organic elderflower juice (I think they ended up serving us the lemonade. The receipt also indicated that. However, we told them about the mistake and paid for the juice).
The drinks and side dishes came first. The drinks tasted good and were mild. The side dishes consisted of five small bowls: cooked zucchini, pickled zucchini, spicy boiled potatoes, kimchi, and an omelette.
None of the side dishes tasted particularly hot.
We were then served our "Seaweed, 5 seed & avocado".
The set was a plate had about 5-6 seaweed on it with wasabi paste and a mix of 5 seeds (in a semi-paste form). Next to that was thinly sliced cucumber, peppers (red, yellow, green), pickled carrots??, and avocado. The dish was also served with soy sauce.
The waiter explained how to eat the dish and we had fun mixing the fillings. The side dishes and sliced veggies complemented each other well.
Afterwards, we were served a small Mung Bean Pancake.
The pancake was about 10cm/4inch in diameter. Slightly disappointed about that. It tasted good, though, and had a thin slice of chilli? and greens on it. It was served with its own dipping sauce. I couldn't recognise it.
We took our time with the appetisers and eventually were served the main course. The main course was a hot stone Bibimbap. It was served with a red paste. The bibimbap had a base of rice and was topped with the same veggies as the appetiser plus an egg yolk and cooked onions.
The star of the show was very comforting. I decided not to mix in the entire paste in as it was slightly too hot for me. It was quite interesting to cook and eat your food at the same time. Be careful of the bowl, though, as it's quite hot in the beginning.
Finally, we were given the choice between Lotus tea and coffee. We both chose the tea. The dessert of the day was ice cream. They had either vegan or normal ice cream and we chose the latter.
The tea tasted literally like the essence of baked potatoes (a very good potato). It was weird but pretty good. The waitress offered to refill the pitcher with hot water if needed.
The waitress described the process of making the ice cream:
The chef discovered that beating the rice in water for two hours then extracting that water and mixing it with cream would make a good ice cream. She wasn't wrong. The dessert was amazing and the crushed salted sesame seeds on top balanced the dish well.
The restaurant has a very cosy and warm interior. There are BBQ tables and normal tables spread out.
The bathroom is amusing yet relaxing. The female bathroom has two "rooms". There is one with a tall ceiling and one with a shorter one. The flooring is checkered and there are towels to dry off your hands with. And incense! And a small candle! (I like it when people have an attention to details, ok?)
The bad:
1. We were only served one set of 5 side dishes although the menu stated 5 side dishes per order. In their defence, we did not order or ask for the second set.
2. The Mung Bean pancake was too small.
3. The bibimbap could have benefited greatly with a vegan/vegetarian protein besides the yolk.
4. More ice cream!
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The good:
1. The waiter and waitresses were all super kind. They all explained the dishes and the methods to eat them.
2. The food tasted very good and REAL. I had almost forgotten the taste of non-frozen & un-canned produce here in Copenhagen.
3. The three-course meal was set up and planned very well. There was a great balance between each dish and a good transaction.
4. Being surrounded by an all Korean staff (minus one) and some Korean customers was such a great experience.
All in all my friend and I had a great first experience at Korean cuisine and will definitely come back for more. read more