Wooga has perfected the science of aging beef

Wooga is a Michelin recommended restaurant located in Seoul and specializes in beef. Specifically, the restaurant claims it has perfected the science of aging beef. In fact, they proudly display certificates in the entrance of workers who have been designated as “aging masters”.

I went for the recommended courses in the menu although the dishes were not served exactly in this order:

As with almost every Korean meal, the first thing they brought out were banchan:

The first dish to come out was the tartar.

The server proceeded to sear the outside tableside while leaving the inside rare. It was served with Korean pears. This dish was absolutely delicious. The meat was marinated in a sweet and savory sauce that came through with each bite. Then the crunch of the pears gave a refresh to the palate with each bite.

Next, our ribeye was presented table side:

..and then the server proceed to cook it for us…

This was good, but not the best piece of beef I’ve had. After this, we had the tojang-jjigae. This is basically a fermented soybean paste stew. Our server tried to convince us NOT to order it as he said many visitors do not like the taste. I am glad I did not listen to him. It was delicious. Just like anything that is properly aged or fermented, like a good cheese, this dish had a nice funk to it. It was perfect with rice.

The last savory dish was the brisket which was also prepared for us. The fat on the brisket melted into the meat with each bite and was, in my opinion, ore enjoyable than the ribeye. I could not stop eating this.

The meal ended with some frozen yogurt which was perfectly balanced between sour and sweet.

Overall, I loved this meal. Although the ribeye was not a home run, the other dishes were and I would come back and highly recommend this place.