Dessert Course: summer hibiscus rice cloud, kimchi puree, puffed wild rice, wild berries ~ Chef Collin Wagner

It’s always great when a dinner exceeds all expectations. I’m usually dubious about multi-course dining because usually, one or two items drag down the entire experience. But this was not the case with Cassie Keene’s Gingko Kimchi Tasting held last Sunday, June 10th at Kitchen Thyme.
I couldn’t really pick my favorite dish, each held their own in a delicious and memorable way. Such impeccable plating. I’m not really big on frou-frou, “tweezer-to-death” kind of dishes,but I do welcome good presentations as long as they could deliver on flavor.

plating the first course

 A friend and I were with 2 other couples at our table. One couple was Steve and Sarah Kim of Kimkim sauce and Steve knows Korean food. Interestingly enough, the other couple was Asian – the guy was also Korean but I’m not sure if his wife was. And we were quite the collective group of food-obsessed peeps – our conversations ranged (and lingered quite a while on/) from Korean fried chicken to the best pho and bahn-mi and of course what kimkim sauce was good for – fried eggs and mac and cheese. Oooh, and apparently Queens Dim Sum in the same Steinmart shopping center could give Full Kee a run for its dimsum money.
Anyway, I digress.
The kimchi was excellent. The dishes paired with them, perfect. So here they are in order of appearance.

1st Course: cucumber kimchi gazpacho, smoked duck, cumin yoghurt, shaved radish, borage ~ Chef Tim Bereika

2nd course: Nappa Cabbage kimchi, charred calamari, roasted potato, black olive puree ~ Chef John Maher

3rd course: Watermelon rind kimchi with rosemary, Va honey-glazed pork belly ~ Chef Ryan Evans

We had an amazing palate cleanser. 

palate cleanser: rvabeermeister Mango Hefeweizen sorbet with pickled mango and black pepper ~ Chef John Maher

4th course: Shaved daikon radish kimchi, 48 hour beef brisket, fried green onions, smoked fish sauce emulsion ~ Chef Aaron Hoskins

5th course: ramp kimchi, grilled sardines, pickled ramp ~ Chef Randall Doetzer

The ramp kimchi could be my favorite kimchi. Served with grilled sardines and pickled ramps, the Asians at our table (yes, me included) started craving some hot steaming rice to go with the kimchi and sardines. Or maybe we were all just high on kimchi.

Anyway, all good things must come to an end. The rice cloud (featured at the top of this post) effectively prepared our palate for the sweet ending. I could eat 10 of that donut with the dulce de leche pastry cream.

dessert course: kimchi macaron, kimchi donut with dulce de leche pastry cream, kimchi dusted truffle ~ chef collin wagner, chef tim bereika, chef john maher

Uhm, and I think the boys were having too much fun.

*all pictures taken with iPhone 4. Hurray for Kitchen Thyme for having good lighting.