Food Pr0n: Vizavi (COEX)

Posted by ZenKimchi in Featured, Food Porn, Restaurants | 4 comments

DISCLAIMER: I was given a free meal by these folks, but I never let that influence my judgment. I told them that too.

I was invited by the folks at Walkerhill to try one of their newest restaurants, Vizavi. It’s an upscale buffet at the COEX Convention Center. It ain’t cheap, but it’s good. As I get older, I find I don’t like buffets. They don’t hold the glamor they used to. They overwhelm with the variety and endlessness of foods, but less then twenty percent is edible.

Not so with Vizavi.

Foods aren’t made in mystery in a back kitchen and dumped onto a steam table. The sushi station has the cooks prepping live fish right behind the line in full view.

I was first impressed with the salad station. They had little amuse-bouche in individual cups that used ingredients you normally don’t see in Korea, like couscous and salmon roe. They also had unlimited crab legs next to a hot bar with enchiladas and mero (sea bass) on hand. Dessert included two full stations plus gelato. The centerpiece, though, was the grill station that served barbecued ribs, lobster, and lamb chops.

The other thing I noticed was the attitude of the staff. They were having a good time. They were playful. They took pride in their work. It’s stuff like this that you never notice when eating in Korea until you actually see it. And it wasn’t just because I was some VIP. I observed how they interacted with other diners. They were trying to create an overall fun experience.

I took a lot of pics, and I would be doing an injustice by fluffing this up with text. I’ll do what the Korean language food blogs do and just post the pictures with descriptions.

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto with Ricotta Puree

Mashed Potato Tart

Couscous Salad

Cherry Tomato with Cumin Dressing

Salmon Roe Cocktail

Caramelized Fig

Jamon and Cheese Board. You can see I took a big bite out of the leg.

Tuna Tataki

Sashimi

Twigim. The cook put some shrimp straight from the fryer on my plate. Light and crispy.

At the salad bar. I had never seen this before in a restaurant–Baby Ginseng.

One of a few dessert stations

Crab

Honeycomb

Prepping Salmon

More pictures here

Vizavi on Foursquare

DIRECTIONS: Samseong Station (line 2) exit 6. Walk to the front of the COEX Convention Hall. It’s on the first floor to the right.

Joe McPherson is the founding editor of ZenKimchi. He is also dining editor for 10 Magazine and writes and consults for multiple publications. He is the only non-Korean judge for the Korean section of the Miele Guide--but don't ever call him a food critic.

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