Māat Cuisine is Vancouver’s first Korean inspired fine dining pop up restaurant.
The concept was developed by Jay Son, restaurant manager and sommelier at CinCin Ristorante and Kyle Lee, sous chef at Elisa.
As two Korean restaurateurs, they are working together to create a fine dining Korean fusion pop up event to introduce Korean cuisine and service in a way Vancouver has yet to see.
Whereas most Vancouver based Korean restaurants focus on tapas style food, their pop up is a 7 course dining experience, with both Korean flavours and local, premium ingredients.
There will also be drink pairings of premium Korean soju, Hwayo, and wine to further showcase the two cultures coming together.
The event is a ticketed event on September 3rd and 4th, held at Nancy Go Yaya, which permanently closed as of July 2022, underneath Kissa Tanto.
Here’s a recap of the event.
The 9-course menu featured Korean flavours and local premium ingredients. I honestly found the menu exceptional with each course being unique in its own but still coming together well as a menu.
Chef Kyle did a great job with concepts for each dish which were interesting, creative and nicely plated. I enjoyed the menu from start to finish.
Octopus amuse: squid ink gochujang aioli, tomato sea -water, flying fish roe
Garden crudite: seasonal local farm vegetables, chive aioli, lacto fermentation
Yook hwe: hank’s grass-fed flat iron, Korean pear, seaweed multigrain craker, caviar
Egg custard: sungold tomatoes, lemon basil, shrimp garum, California premium gold rice
Gal-bi gui: snake river farm wagyu short-rib, red ginseng wine jus, burgundy black truffle
Janchi-guksu or banquet noodles in beef broth
Fizzy fruit: local seasonal berries and stone fruits
Mi-sut-ga-ru: multi grain mousse, poached nectarine
Glass Flower (Hwayo soju, Germain liqueur, vanilla, acid blend, lemon oil)
Seoul Bird (Grey Goose vodka, fresh pineapple lime, gochujang)
Dried persimmon, butternut squash cheesecake, plum ice tea
2018 Chateau Coutet Sauternes, Barsac
