Restaurants We Know You Want to Put on Your Radar: Kochi

Sungchul Shim is a chef whose resume includes Per Se, Bouley, and Neta, which turned into the recently opened Būmu which we profiled and you should have visited by now. But like any great artist, the time has come to drop a solo album, which in this case is a restaurant called Kochi that seats 35 people at a time.

A glimpse at the chefs counter at Kochi, which is where you really should sit

Located in Hell’s Kitchen, Sung’s tasting menu is composed of nine courses designed around fancy Korean favorites, so think skewers highlighting seasonal ingredients and cool looking soups with egg yolks in the middle. The meal is inspired by what a chef would serve the Korean royal court and starts off with Tarakjuk, a creamy soup with pine nuts, potatoes, and served with a corn fritter. Additional courses include raw seafood, grilled mackerel, slow-cooked chicken, and pork belly served with a hazelnut ssamjang sauce. For Dessert, guests end on a sweet note with a black sesame ice cream pop served with crispy rice.

Pork Belly, a dish that has been known to break down even the most hardcore of vegans

The Black Sesame Ice Cream Pop closes out this new tasting menu

For those not into the structured format a tasting menu offers, a supplemental menu of a la carte items include steamed abalone and a bibimbap where crispy rice is topped off with uni, caviar, and seaweed puree among other savory ingredients. Drinks are made courtesy of Jooyoung Yang and offer plenty of soju, sake, and champagne for those not into seasonal cocktails.

The Kochi Temptation is made with Soju, Tomato Water, and Korean Chili Powder

We know its getting chilly out there, so if you’re going to go out to a restaurant, we think picking one with a specific tasting menu is worth the ten minutes it might take to strap your boots on. Kochi is located at 652 10th Avenue, at the corner of 46th street] and is open for dinner seven days a week from 5:00pm to 11:30pm. Reservations are available via Resy.