Beer, beef, lobster and maple syrup ― Canadian food, eh?

There’s more to Canadian food than maple syrup.
And to prove that, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of good relations between Canada and South Korea, a host of Canadian organizations are sponsoring a Canadian Food Festival at the Grand Hilton hotel in northwestern Seoul.
The hotel’s two restaurants, Il Cavaliere and Atrium Cafe, will serve full-course meals dubbed the “Five Sense Menu,” with top-quality Canadian products: beef, lobster, beer, ice wine and, of course, maple syrup.
The chef Laurent Vogel will present beef tenderloin, sirloin and rib loin served with asparagus and roasted pumpkin with wild mushroom sauce, and beef tournedos and lobster with Hollandaise sauce, spinach and mashed potato. His fricassee of lobster and shellfish with black-olive risotto and spinach will feature Atlantic lobsters that have been caught off the Nova Scotia coast.
Without maple syrup, a Canadian diet isn’t complete. Canada accounts for 85 percent of the world’s production of maple syrup. For the food festival, the syrup has been used to sweeten a lemon sherbet.
Two major Canadian beers are on tap for the fest, Molson and Labatt, as well as a selection of Canadian ice wine to go with desserts. Featured dessert selections for the event include blueberry cheesecake and tart of corn flour with mascarpone and vanilla ice cream.
The festival, held in conjunction with the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Canadian Embassy and Canada Beef Export Federation, features a prize drawing that includes a trip to Canada.
The promotion runs until March 31. For information or reservations, call (02) 3216-5959.

by Ines Cho