Oiji Mi

General Notes

Oiji Mi feels like the comfort food of fine dining to me, which is an incredible place to be. There are some pretty interesting flavor combinations but when it comes down to it it's not pushing the envelope excessively or trying to do too much; everything is simply executed really, really well. They offer a 5-course fixed-prix menu for $150; each dish was executed to perfection and I really do not have anything negative to say about this place. Excellent vibes (an interesting combination of warm, modern, and retro), not particularly difficult to secure a reservation for (the inside is quite large), reasonably priced for what you get, and simply amazing food. Oh and the concept art drawings of the dishes in the bathroom are really cute, haha.

Dishes Tasted

• ★★★★ chapssal donuts -- gruyere, raclette, sweet rice, creme fraiche ice cream. The raclette took a bit of time to get used to, but the overall the flavor combination is just incredible. Texturally, the contrast between the donut and the sweet rice and ice cream is perfect.
• ★★★★ dry-aged duck -- potato dumpling, spicy chorizo, kumquat. Served with the chorizo broth. Cooked perfectly, amazing flavor combination.
• ★★★★ oiji bowl -- sea urchin, spotted prawn, ikura, oiji, seaweed rice. This feels like a dish that doesn't really require much technique, but the oiji (pickled cucumbers) and the seaweed rice really add a ton to the dish. It's surprisingly incredible even outside of the ikura and uni. $35 supplement
• ★★★★ scallop -- truffle brown butter, bean sprout broth. Some kind of cabbage at the bottom. Perfectly seared, love the flavor combination.
• ★★★☆ gyeran-jjim -- shiitake broth, spring peas, onion foam. While this had shiitake broth (which is not my favorite), the overall flavor was quite nice. I liked how it had a flavor similar to the yellow part inside a crab.
• ★★★☆ beef tartare -- celeriac, pickled radish, caviar
• ★★★☆ spotted prawn -- gochugaru vinaigrette, green apple pearl, yuja.