En mi opinión, está muy sobrevalorado. De moda. Los precios son altos y sus sabores no se lograron. Esta vez probamos: tokiroshi ñoquis, degustación bashan y tortilla de papas. read more

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There is nothing to hate at Na Num. from its minimalist decor to the waiting staff that doubles in crockery washing and cocktail making to guys preparing food behind the counter one inked to the hilts distinguished by the word "respeto" stabbed across his neck unclear if is giving it taking it demanding it or simply saying it. As for the food it was interesting but I felt what it was giving was too much attention to sweetness and too little to umami. *** stars. read more

Those of you who've been regular readers for awhile will likely remember my review of two relatively new spots offering up Asian street food - The Night Market and Opio. The latter is only open Wednesday through Saturday evenings (making it difficult for me with my work schedule to get a night out for dumpling diving there). At some point earlier this year, they made a deal with a local Korean-Argentine woman and friend of Opio's owner, Marina Lis Ra, to come in and do what essentially is a weekly "pop-up" dinner (at some point it probably stops being a pop-up) each Monday evening called Na Num ("share", in Korean), inside Opio, Honduras 4415, Palermo. Here, she, her team, and I think the wait and bar staff of the restaurant, put out her take on modern Korean street and sharing food, much of it vegetarian or vegan. Now, my one real critique of Opio was the service. I had chalked that up to having a waitress who was new. But, it turns out, no, it just is kind of inept. Worse, this time, the bar. In addition to the much liked gin and tonics that they offer, they have four specialty cocktails. One of them is a sriracha infused bloody mary with a prawn in it. How could I resist? Only it turns out that they don't seem to have things well organized for these specialty cocktails, or perhaps just this one. If I'm having a cocktail, I want it on the table before food. I want to relax with it. I actually told the waitress I'd like to start with a cocktail, and then have the food come after, and I has asked for the food in a particular order that I wanted to try it (I ordered three dishes - they're all small plates). Instead, after about 15 minutes I received the mandu, which I'd asked to be the second dish. They're vegan, stuffed with a mix of vegetables, and served with a tamarind sauce underneath. They need more punch - both in the filling, and the sauce - actually, the sauce was tasty enough, there was just too little of it. They were also over-fried, which sort of dried them out. 200 pesos ($3.50), which is what you'd pay at most places for 6-8 mandu. Hmm.... and where's my cocktail? And my first course? "No idea, I'll go check." As I was finishing off the dumplings, my first course arrived, second. A beef tartare made from beef tenderloin, oysters, coconut, lime, carrot, and black quinua. Absolutely delicious. Wayyyyyy too small of an amount for 340 pesos (or is it? that's less than $6). Oh, that cocktail? "It's coming in just a moment, he didn't have the mix made up." Another bit goes by and my main course is served. Not by the waitress, who seems to now be avoiding me, but by the chef, directly. It's pork belly lacquered in spicy gochujang, served with a few strands of daikon kimchi and some sort of green apple puree. This is pure yum, but again - four slices of pork belly for 480 pesos is a bit steep (but again, just over $8), even at today's prices. Still, did I mention, yum? It could use something to go with it, and it turns out there's a "para envolver" setup of all the stuff you can use to wrap various meats and such with - that comes with lettuce, sprouts, herbs, and rice, for 120 pesos more. Though, that might be a good deal if you're getting several dishes that will do well wrapped up. At this point, as I'm ready to plunge the first slice into my mouth, I flag the waitress down and tell her I'm no longer interested in the cocktail, I'm almost done eating dinner. She shrugs and goes to tell the bartender, who glares at me, throws down the rag in his hand onto the counter, and stomps back into the kitchen. I don't really care. I know he's been working on the drink, but it's been 40 minutes since I ordered it. And, he's not done. He decides, apparently, to finish it off, and put it in the refrigerator to await someone else ordering it - that takes a solid 10 minutes to do so (he hadn't even cooked the prawns, nor actually mixed the drink, he'd just made the base and cut a few things up), by which time not only am I done eating, but am perusing the menu to consider ordering something else. I decide to swap to the sweet side of the menu, something I don't usually do, but I was feeling indulgent. A spicy chocolate and gochujang brownie sounds like a winner, and it is. Beautiful balance of flavors. And maybe the first dish that's priced reasonably, at 140 pesos. Maybe I'm being unfair on the pricing. The Argentine peso continues to drop against the dollar, and even with water and tip, this meal of four courses comes in at 1400 pesos, or $24, which in those terms sounds like a steal. I have to start converting the prices before deciding if something is expensive these days - the changes come fast and furious. I may, also, have been a bit peeved about my cocktail. read more

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