What's On Diaries: I tried fine dining Shin ramen and it was totally worth it

Chef Minho Ted Shin has stories to tell…

When I first found out about this Journey Through Korea set menu at Alba, pan-Asian neighbour of the Dubai Opera, I was mildly intrigued. As a professional of this industry, welcoming new things into my universe is perhaps the top requirement of the job and hardly a novelty anymore, and so I said yes, put it in my calendar and pushed it to the little back burner of my mind, like everything else.

When I showed up however, I discovered something else was in store for me. Journey Through Korea, Chef Ted’s love letter to the very best of his homeland, his childhood memories and personal favourites, is a whole experience, made to transport you to the land beyond yonder without ever leaving your seats.

Chef Ted is an earnest craftsman (with the flourishes of a cinematic foodman), building up the menu to be as authentic to Korean gastronomy as possible, while maintaining that garb of fine dining that his restaurant totes. You sit at the kitchen counter and he regales you as each course progresses, taking you from the island to the mainland and back to his days in judo school.

To start, you’re given a menu with a map of Korea with all the regions highlighted and scratch-card-esque boxes, along with a coin of the Korean currency. One must use the coin to reveal the name of the dish corresponding to the area to be explored, after which it’s assembled live, on the other side of the counter and presented with an inspired drink.

Korean food is extremely colourful, not just in the variety of ingredients they use or the rainbow of produce, but also the flavour profiles and textures. Although dominated by spice and meat, there’s much to sample from, and given the commitment to using only the freshest ingredients that have touched the Korean air, every single one of the eight courses was incredible.

While we traversed through all types of fare, from hand rolls to ginseng soup to grilled eel and traditional Korean barbecue, my personal favourite and the most fun one was the fine dining version of Shin ramyun, the best brand of cup noodle in my opinion. To take such a roaring symbol of Korean popular culture and elevating it is the kind of quirk I can appreciate, and it’s only fitting.

Served in the original cup with the glossy pull off lid intact, this boujee version of Shin features homemade noodles, a seasoning packet of baby shrimp flakes also made in-house, complete with plastic packaging, a hearty beef broth and big slices of deeply flavourful, fall-apart beef. It’s assembled in front of you and served with kimchi. Couldn’t get more traditional than that.

The whole concoction has a touch of the homemade, rich, savoury and seafood-y, like a comforting hug on a winter day. It’s simple enough that it still feels like you’re eating a real cup noodle, but the premium ingredients mean the sodium slap in your face is missing (not complaining about that).

You sip and slurp as Chef Ted leans by the counter with his cheek resting on his palm, and you can tell the joy you get from eating this, he gets from making for you. That is why this menu is a hit – yes, the stellar food; yes, the storytelling; yes, the theatrics of the process but most importantly the honesty of it all.

Journey Through Korea, Alba, Downtown Dubai, Dhs900 for the full menu, Tel: (0) 58 147 9888, @albarestdubai

Images: Supplied