Restaurant Review: Professor Lee

By Betty Richardson

The Place
Brought to the city by the crazy gang of culinary futurists responsible for Japanese/Spanish/Korean tapas lounge Bell'oco, Professor Lee is a restaurant that straddles many beasts: Western food, Korean food and pottery.
Named after Korean pottery professor Lee In Jin of Hongik University for reasons that elude us, the insides are classy and smart, dotted with artfully rugged earthenware pottery and menus tied with yarn. But don't go thinking it's going to be expensive – over two visits we struggled to spend over RMB200 per person. And we did try.

The Food
On the menu is a puzzling, yet delicious sounding selection of Korean and Western food with Korean ingredients. As somebody who loves anything with gochujang (the sweet, spicy fermented bean paste sauce that makes Korean food irresistible), the menu looks very promising.
For all its promise, Professor Lee does just two dishes very well, with all the others a resounding ‘meh.’ However, the two dishes it does well are so good that we'd consider going back just to get them.
The first is mozzarella stuffed squid ink arancini (deep-fried rice balls) with kimchi ragu (RMB68). These are crazy delicious. We had them twice, took four other people with us, and everyone agreed. Crunchy on the outside, and generously filled with melted mozzarella, the tart and spicy kimchi ragu was perfect.
The other awesome dish at Professor Lee is the 'fiery hot chicken' (RMB88). Korean-style chicken is always a good idea, and though this one is grilled and not fried, it's still full of spicy flavor, balanced by the olive oil drizzled mashed potatoes.
Sadly, other dishes fell flat compared to these two superstars. Lukewarm squid (RMB128), bland creamy spaghetti (RMB98), more lukewarm kimchi stew (RMB88) and ‘fire-roasted’ bulgogi beef (RMB88) with lukewarm poached egg on top. (Are we sensing a theme here?)
Food verdict: 1.5/3

The Vibe
Let’s be real, it takes a lot for a mall restaurant to be cool, but Professor Lee is as close as you can get, and it’s clear that somebody has put genuine thought into the concept. Sultry mood lighting, hardwood furniture and a soundtrack of cool jazz make for a generally pleasant place that you’d want to spend time in with friends. Couple that with whispery polite staff, who perform slightly over the top tableside bows after every interaction, and you have a winner.
Vibe verdict: 1/1  

Value for Money
If it’s straight Korean food you’re after, Professor Lee isn’t going to curb any cravings. However, what you’ll get is a meal for under RMB200 including wine, and waiters who are nice to you – a rarity for non-service charging restaurants in China. Besides, we’d consider future visits to Professor Lee a necessity, just for those mozzarella kimchi rice balls.
Value for money: 0.5/1

TOTAL VERDICT: 3/5
Price: RMB150-200 per person
Who’s going: young locals
Good for: casual dining, Korean food

Professor Lee, 4/F, Room 406, K11 Art Mall, 300 Huaihai Zhong Lu, by Huangpi Nan Lu.

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