Monday, June 27, 2011

Mourning The Loss Of A Good Meal

Aubergines and Rice

Just three months ago I discovered a wonderful restaurant called Tour de Table. Everything on the menu was under 10,000 won and the food that I tried was delicious. I fell in love with their 가지덥밥 (Aubergines on rice) which for 7,000 won was one of the best vegetarian deals in the area. I took friends there, spread the word, enthused about this lovely little restaurant serving reasonably priced, delicious cuisine.

Last Saturday I took an old friend out to lunch and decided that Tour de Table would be perfect. We braved the pouring rain, headed up the shabby steps and into the restaurant. Sat down at the table, shook off the excess raindrops and... stared in disbelief at the new menu.

It's one of those terribly sad culinary moments when you realize the restaurant you loved is gone and it won't be coming back. The menu had turned into a rather moribund selection of standard Italian choices. Three boring sounding pastas, a potato pizza and a couple more forgettable items. All 10,000 won or over. No aubergines, no deal.

We walked out and as we steadied ourselves for another foray onto the rainy streets of Hannam-dong, I calmly explained to the waiter that we'd come for good food, but that this new menu was a complete turn off. A boring selection compared to the previous delights. We made our excuses and left.

If I want sad spaghetti I'll go to Sorrento. It makes me both unhappy and annoyed that a restaurant that had charm and an interesting menu, decided to throw that away and play safe (as well as boosting their prices).

Goodbye Tour de Table, I knew you only for a short time, but the aubergines on rice were incredible while they lasted.

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