Noksu’s chef—who honed his skills at fine-dining stalwarts like Per Se and Silver Apricot—has reinvented himself in a 14-seat, subway-station tasting counter beneath Herald Square, crafting Korean-inflected plates such as grilled mackerel with brown butter and squab glazed in gochujang agrodolce. Spurred by the pandemic’s shake-up of the restaurant world, he seized the chance to highlight the overlap between his Korean roots and classical French training, determined to create food that feels uniquely his after years of executing other people’s menus. Although he admits cooking isn’t a romantic passion but the vehicle for an unstated personal ambition that only a tasting menu can fulfill, he thrives on the daily pressure to “prove yourself,” improvising when dietary restrictions arise despite the kitchen’s tight confines. Ultimately, every service is both a test and a stepping-stone toward that private goal, with Noksu acting as the purest expression of his culinary identity.