W Prime Signature Steak

By Kim Rahn

There are hundreds of restaurants offering steak in Seoul, and the taste doesn’t differ much from one to the other, only becoming different according to whether guests have it rare, medium or well-done.

W Prime Signature Steak at W Seoul-Walkerhill, however, shows what a unique steak is, providing the ultimate texture and flavor of the beef.

This reporter was lucky enough to be invited to a dinner at Kitchen, the hotel’s home-style cuisine restaurant.

As an appetizer, foie gras and citrus parfait with crisp rice was served. The mousse-type foie gras was not rich but kept the flavor of the goose liver, and the crisp rice added texture to the soft mousse.

Next served were pan-roasted scallops, crushed peas and Jamon Iberico. The contrast between the savory Jamon’s red color and the green peas was beautiful.

And then came the steak ㅡ a best-grade Angus prime beef from Creekstone Farms in Kansas. “The United States Department of Agriculture-certified prime beef is a premium product used in many world class restaurants. The certification requires more stringent supervision and testing than non-certified programs,” Ciaran Hickey, cuisine director of W Seoul-Walkerhill, said.

Only the top 2 percent of quality beef gets the status of “Certified Angus Prime,” and Creekstone beef is supplied to Gordon Ramsay’s Maze in London, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Balthazar in Manhattan and several other top-notch restaurants.

It is cooked “sous vide”, or under “under vacuum” in English, in which the beef is cooked in a vacuum bag at a low temperature ㅡ at Kitchen, the beef is aged for 25 days and cooked at about 50 degrees Celsius. “The slow cooking for approximately two to three hours makes the flavors more concentrated and makes the meat very delicate and soft,” Hickey said.

It is said that the cooking method keeps the integrity of the ingredient, and this reporter understood it: The tenderloin looked rare with the color of raw meat in the middle, but it was all cooked ㅡ “mature” would be a more suitable expression. It just showed what the nature of tenderloin is. The rib eye was also tasty and juicy, satisfying the palate with its rich flavor. The side menu of potato gratin was rich but not greasy.

While this reporter was already full, frozen chocolate-covered cappuccino crunch cake was served with fudge sauce as a dessert. Once sampling it a little bit, I couldn’t stop and finished it all ㅡ the frozen cake and hot fudge sauce made a good marriage.

The steak comes with a choice of two side menus, including French fries, mashed potato, potato gratin, creamed spinach and onion rings, along with sauce ranging from classic bearnaise, black peppercorn, chimichurri salsa, W steak sauce to red wine butter sauce.

The steak menu is priced at 95,000 won for tenderloin (250 grams) and 99,000 won for rib eye (400 grams) or sirloin (400 grams). The appetizers and dessert are not included in the menu, but can be enjoyed at Kitchen as well.

For more information, call 02-2022-0111.