SEA - Review - Chelsea - New York - The Infatuation

"We’ve tried to figure out how SEA’s pork ribs manage to pull completely clean off the bone, yet still retain a biteable—not mushy—texture. We’ve looked at cookbooks, watched recipe videos, and even attempted a few kitchen experiments. But we just can’t crack the code. The confusingly delicious cooking at SEA in Chelsea is less surprising when you consider that it’s from the chef behind Jungsik, one of NYC’s original, upscale Korean tasting menu spots. His second restaurant brings Southeast Asian flavors to Korean-style dishes—like dry tom yum noodles that look and eat a lot like jajangmyeon with warmer spices, and pork belly sliced as thin as pencil shavings, each piece with a strip of skin so crunchy it feels like biting into a tiny bone. photo credit: David A. Lee photo credit: David A. Lee photo credit: David A. Lee Pause Unmute Unless you’re on a very serious date, sit in the front room, or the vibrant, casual bar with blown-up stamps from Thailand, Vietnam and elsewhere brightening up the cement wall. It’s more welcoming than the slightly cold, more austere back room, where spotlights shine onto lacquered tables. Up front, the music is also a little louder, and the light—filtered through wicker basket fixtures—is a little softer. It’s an experience that matches the comfort and subtle sophistication of the food. Food Rundown Sriracha Ribs After finishing these four sticky, shiny ribs, we were humming Alice In Chains’ “Them Bones,” because that’s literally all that was left of them. Rivaling our favorite Southern BBQ spots, these come completely clean off the bone, yet retain an extremely satisfying, biteable texture. photo credit: David A. Lee Black Cod Curry This black cod curry is another piece of cooking wizardry. It’s the texture of sous vide pork, and sits on a nice, robustly spicy red curry with pickled mustard greens underneath. photo credit: David A. Lee Crudo Make this crudo a priority if you like raw fish. Slices of yellowtail are blanketed in coconut nước chấm, which is full of lime juice and fish sauce. Corn ribs and slices of tomato sweeten things up. photo credit: David A. Lee Prawn Rolls Another dish that should be on your table. These prawn rolls are a perfect pairing with SEA’s cocktails. Hot, fried in a lacy rice paper, and juicy, these are a nice start to your meal. photo credit: David A. Lee Crispy Pork We like this dish. The pork is juicy, the skin crunches like chicharron, the sauce is funky with fish sauce and chilis. But unless you really have a pork belly craving, this is skippable. photo credit: David A. Lee Crab Fried Rice Not skippable. Fluffy rice, crunchy on the bottom from a stone pot, big chunks of crab, pickled chilis, all tucked in nicely by a rich, golden omelet. Worth its $28 price tag. photo credit: David A. Lee Dry Tom Yum Noodles These noodles vaguely evoke tom yum of sorts, but aren’t particularly exciting. photo credit: David A. Lee" - Will Hartman