For most of us, 2020 had been quite an underwhelming year to say the least. I spent over nine months working from home and consider myself lucky in having little impact to my work, with neither my family nor friends being severely impacted. The same cannot be said however for the hospitality scene in Brisbane. Closures have been abundant and excited openings have been few and far between. I had anticipated a fairly muted birthday celebration this year, especially when considering the difficulties in finding an opening during the period between Christmas and New Year. Thankfully I was perusing the Courier Mail a few weeks before and noted the opening of Butterfly in Woolloongabba, a newly opened Korean Fine Dining restaurant run by two Michelin trained chefs.
With a dark aesthetic it was definitely moody. Lighting was set to the centre stage with the performance of the chefs forming an essential element of the dining experience. When the restaurant is at full capacity, it seats 22 people, however that night we were seated alongside four other diners for a far more cozy and intimate experience.
We were looked after by chefs Alex Kim (who had worked at one Michelin starred Lee Jong Kuk 104) and Emanuele Polenero (who worked at Il Piastrino and Accursio Ristorante in Italy and Texture in London), throughout the dining experience their professional skills and expertise really shone through. They also shared a lot of their invaluable insight into their respective cuisines and we left not only full but also thoroughly educated.
The dinner was omakase and we weren't provided menus, adding to the element of surprise. The menu changes daily anyway depending on what is fresh and in season. Starting off our meal, we were provided with corn tea, with its mild sweet taste it provided a good accompaniment to our meal.
Our meal opened up with a welcome drink, the Korean Melon Shake with Sago. It was fairly thick with strong hints of rockmelon and pear with delectable sago balls at the bottom akin to a fruity bubble tea. The piece of mint on top added to the freshness of the beverage. I especially liked that it wasn't too sweet.
The first few starter courses were a lot lighter and delicate tasting before moving onto the heavier dishes, this was the five days aged kingfish sashimi with passion fruit. Readers would know that I am not often presented with the opportunity to try out dry aged sashimi, so I was definitely thrilled in being able to have some more. Compared to fresh sashimi, this was drier in texture but softer and with less of a fishy smell to it. soft and tender, the passionfruit seeds provided a good crunch and added sweetness to the otherwise soft dish.
Another fish we had was the one week aged Tasmanian salmon with chojang. Again like the kingfish, the salmon was a lot more dry and less fishy in smell but it retained the smooth oiliness that salmon is well known for. In fact the piece of salmon belly almost melted in my mouth. Served with chojang, a sweet and spicy red chilli pepper sauce allowed for variation from my usual soy and wasabi combination. The sweetness really accentuated the natural taste of the fish without being overbearing and neither did the spice. I really enjoyed this dish.
Next up was the, Gyeran Jjim also known in Japanese as Chawunmushi, it was served with with free range chicken and chestnut. It was lightly steamed to result in a super smooth and silky texture. Coupled with complementary flavours of chicken and the earthy flavours of enoki. Chestnut gave it some extra crunch too.
Our final fish of the night was the experimental one month cured blue mackerel. Compared to the other two, it was charcoal grilled and not served raw. The fish was far more firm and meaty. Although more pungent than the rest, I found it to be the most enjoyable on the part of it's fragrance and texture.
Meatier dishes came after the fish and we had the A8 grilled wagyu rib eye. With wonderful amount of marbling it was ever so lightly seared in front of us to allow for the fat to start melting without fully rendering. It made for a delightfully buttery mouthfeel that left us wanting more.
Another famous element of Korean cuisine is Jun, which translates to pan fried, but has evolved to mean pancake. That night we had two types, the Hokkaido Oyster Jun and Pumpkin Jun. These were served crisp and had a good balance of batter to topping, the delicious oyster was a moist parcel of flavour within the pancake. I definitely enjoyed this course.
The other barbecue dish we had was Dr L's favourite, Gochujang marinated pork belly w mash and spring onion salad. Gochujang is chilli pepper sauce and it was thankfully not very spicy. Coupled with the smooth creamy mash, it was wonderfully balanced and a unique coupling that I would never have considered before and was definitely a highlight of our meal.
Another dish which was highly unique that I had not considered before was the crab salad with tofu dressing. After a few heavier dishes, this was definitely a nice chilled interlude. The favours were light and the fresh seafood flavours were highlighted by the silky smooth tofu.
As mentioned earlier on, Chef Emanuele Polenero heralded from Italy and is very passionate about Italian food. That nigh we were able to try his hand made pasta served with creamy Fermented Korean cod roe sauce as well as sesame leaf. I absolutely loved the pasta, it had an amazing texture being just soft enough with bite after the end. Chef mentioned that it was made on the day and we could definitely taste the difference. Served with the creamy cod roe it was lightly salty and decadent especially with the fragrance of sesame. This was definitely one of my favourites of the evening.
Our last seafood course of the night was Australian Wild Banana Prawn Tempura. It was unbelievably crunchy and the prawn was huge with a deshelled middle but the head and tail were retained. The prawn was firm and fresh with a fairly thick batter. It went well with the dashi dipping sauce.
Our dessert for the night was a matcha panna cotta with caramel sauce. The matcha was fairly light in flavour and the red beans provided texture. I found the caramel sauce to be on the sweeter side and balanced out the smooth dessert. It was a delicious light dessert to finish off a decadent meal.
Dr L and I had a fantastic time at Butterfly. We really enjoyed our dinner and learned quite a bit about Korean culture and cuisine along the way. I liked the changing menu and it made for a very special birthday dinner after such an unusual year. Will definitely be back for another round in the near future.
Price Range: $150pp
Taste: 9.5/10
Value: 9/10
Service: 10/10
Environment: 9/10
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