The friend of my friend’s son invited us to the friends and family opening of the 27-seat restaurant upstairs in the luxury hotel Maison Hudson, his company’s—16” on Center—newest restaurant in the West Village. The official opening date was January 29th.  Weather permitting, additional seating will be available in their outdoor dining area.

We were treated to the cooking of  Jiho Kim, who hails from seven years at The Modern as Executive Pastry Chef and whose first iteration, Joomak Banjum, received a Michelin star. In Joomak, Kim offers a New American cuisine with Korean influence. His experience as a pastry chef comes through in the detailed presentation of each course. One eight-course regular tasting menu is $280, $250 for vegetarians.

Our NYC-themed amuse bouche included three teeny whimsical bites, a smash burger, an everything bagel with cured salmon and a Waygu and uni bite.

Next, the caviar course in a dill custard garnished with thinly sliced cornichon and creme fraîche followed by a mini playful pretzel croissant with whole grain mustard and then the Japanese Madai (sea bream) with French verbena, diongchimi (winter kimchi) and winter radish.

The excellent seared scallop was next, with smoked dashi pana cotta in a brown butter sabayon and black and white pebbles made from sesame and kombu. They followed that with the langoustine with a potato with topped with bouillabaisse and rouille.

Our Norwegian King Crab tops Koshihikari (sushi) rice, served with a gochujang tuile envelope, served separately, filled with furikake seasoning (salted toasted sesame seeds and nori),  that you break open and add to the dish.

Our last entree was perfectly prepared Long Island duck breast with a duck croquette and onion duck jus. 

Our two desserts at this multi-hour meal were banana bread with salted caramel and milk chocolate sorbet, and coconut mango shumai.

I recommend Joomak, especially for a memorable special occasion.

Joomak
in Maison Hudson Hotel
West Village
401 West St (between West 10th and Charles)
New York, NY, 10014
joomaknyc.com/