In Korea, the spring table is synonymous with vegetables.

As trees flower and the days grow longer, supermarkets stock up with a dizzying variety of delectable greens that can be eaten raw, roasted, blanched or piled into soups and pancakes for crunch, fragrance and an overall sense of goodness.

Spring cabbage, fatsia shoots and other delicacies pop up on menus throughout the city as well, including that of Dadam ― a Korean fine dining restaurant run by CJ Group subsidiary CJ N City ― that opened last March.

Located in affluent Cheongdam-dong, Dadam takes full advantage of spring with its season-sensitive, veggie-laden, multi-course “Sanme” lunch (45,000 won per person). 

According to sous chef Choi Jun-hyuk, the 10-course “Sanme” meal (one of several prix fixe options) is also vegan-friendly to boot.

“Our menu concept is to fully capture the flavors of all four seasons,” CJ N City marketing team junior manager Lim Jong-wook said of the spring-forward slant of the prix fixe lunch. “To give diners a complete seasonal experience, the menu is overhauled every three months and tweaked every month.”

Served up in an award-winning, minimal, 200-seat space, Dadam’s “Sanme” course successfully translates spring into an elegant, edible experience from its appetizers down to the dessert with artistically plated, season-appropriate dishes like bomdong salad, which sous chef Choi says derives its inspiration from “geotjeori” (a sort-of non-fermented kimchi), Korean watercress pancakes and spring vegetable-tofu perilla seed soup.

At Dadam, bomdong (spring cabbage) is reinterpreted as a salad for a textural experience heightened by crisp slices of raw chestnut and apples. A piquant doenjang (fermented soybean paste) dressing serves as a light, nutty backdrop to the vegetables themselves.

In-season minari (Korean watercress) is used to make subtle jeon (pancakes), with the watercress kept crisp, alive and fragrant, not wilted from overcooking, for a great starter.

Spring greens are also incorporated into a stellar soup made from deulkkae (perilla seeds), which pairs soft cubes of tofu with a slurp-inducing umami-rich broth.

Though many may not associate spring greens with dessert, at Dadam even the final course is equally spring-centric, with tender, in-season mugwort worked into a free-form tteok (rice cake) called beomul in Korean.

While mugwort beomul is a traditional dish, at Dadam colorful cubes of beet and kabocha squash are added to create a visually pleasing and equally delicious treat. 


Dadam

B1, 97-1, Cheongdam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul/ (02) 518-6161/ www.thedadam.co.kr

Open from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

“Sanme” lunch costs 45,000 won per person and dinner costs 60,000 won per person with a two order minimum.

By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldcorp.com)