Seoul hotels serve up special menu selections for the summer season

Food & Travel

Published: 01 Jul. 2024, 15:55 Updated: 01 Jul. 2024, 17:15

Seoul hotels serve up special menu selections for the summer season

[Hotel News]

Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

Summer dishes at Four Season Hotel Seoul's Japanese restaurant Akira Back in Jongno District, central Seoul [FOUR SEASONS HOTEL SEOUL]

Through Oct. 13: Four Seasons Hotel Seoul in Jongno District, central Seoul, launched a summer health food promotion designed to restore vitality.

The hotel’s buffet, The Market Kitchen, is featuring Korean representative summer restorative dishes, such as ginseng samgyetang (chicken soup), steamed beef and ox knee soup and eel kimchi hot pot, and the Italian roasted pork dish, porchetta, through Aug. 31. Prices are 155,000 won ($112) for weekday lunch, 165,000 won for dinner and 180,000 won for Friday dinner, weekend lunch and dinner.

The hotel's Maru lounge will introduce nurungji samgyetang (59,000 won), ginseng chicken soup with a crust of overcooked rice. Nurungji has been a popular dish among foreign chefs visiting Korea for its crispy and savory taste. The promotion will run from July 15 to Aug. 18.

The hotel's modern Japanese restaurant Akira Back will offer a summer season dinner course that incorporates seasonal Wando abalone with pumpkin cream, Wando sea bass arai and amberjack tartare, clear soup with crab balls, grilled beef Hamburg steak, anago tempura with Nishing soba, eel Nabe with pickled plums, hojicha pudding and hojicha pound cake. A highlight of the menu is the seasonal sea bass arai, featuring thinly sliced sea bass marinated in ice and dipped in vinegar miso. It is known to be a must-try summer delicacy in Japan. Available from July 5 to Oct. 13, the course is priced at 260,000 won per person and is available for dinner service only.

(02) 6388-5000
fourseasons.com/seoul

Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul

Granum Cherry House buffet at Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul [BANYAN TREE CLUB & SPA SEOUL]

From July 6 to Sept. 30: Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, is set to launch the Granum Cherry House buffet centered around seasonal cherries.

The Granum Cherry House will serve American homestyle dishes and a variety of desserts made with fresh and ripe cherries. Dishes include cherry and burrata cheese, scallops and cherry jalapenos, lamb ribs and cherry salsa, cherry and chicken tortillas and cherries and doughnuts. Main dishes include bone-in striploin steak, crispy pork and shrimp.

The buffet’s dessert selection includes fresh cherries as well as cherry cinnamon creme brulee, cherry tarts, cherry black sesame cheesecake and cherry bingsu (shaved ice).

The buffet will use cherries imported from Washington state, United States, through July, and Canadian cherries through August to ensure that guests will be served the freshest cherries picked at their peak.

“Cherries are rich in moisture and nutrients, making them perfect for enjoying a cool and healthy summer, especially when energy levels are low,” chef Kim Jun-hyung of Granum Dining Lounge at Banyan Tree Seoul said. “We hope guests enjoy a visually and gastronomically delightful cherry buffet at Banyan Tree Seoul this summer.”

The Granum Cherry House promotion is available every Saturday and Sunday and on public holidays for lunch and dinner. Prices are 139,000 won for adults and 79,000 won for children.

(02) 2250-8000
banyantree.com/south-korea/club-and-spa-seoul/

Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas

Korean Cuisine promotion at the Grand InterContinentail Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, southern Seoul [GRAND INTERCONTINENTAL SEOUL PARNAS]

Through Aug. 31: Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, launched its "Korean Cuisine Master - Looking to the Past to Learn" promotion at its Grand Kitchen on July 1.

The Korean Cuisine Master promotion is the final series of the hotel’s Masters of Taste gourmet promotion, where master chefs in each field exhibit their expert techniques.

This promotion features three Korean cuisine masters, each specializing in royal and ancestral dishes, as well as fusion Korean cuisine using trendy Western ingredients. During the promotion, guests can enjoy special invigorating summer dishes such as hyojonggeng, a Joseon Dynasty hangover soup with abalone, sea cucumber, beef ribs and dried radish greens.

Also included is jeonbok tarak juk (a porridge made with abalone and milk), gyuasang (summer dumplings filled with minced sea cucumber), shrimp, meat, hobakseon (pumpkin stuffed with pine nut sauce), gajiseon (eggplant stuffed with minced shrimp), ganjang gejang (soy sauce-marinated crab), gwabang suyuk (traditional steamed pork) and hamo shabu-shabu (soft pike conger hot pot).

"Domestic guests often critique Korean cuisine in buffet restaurants very harshly, so we carefully select essential ingredients like soy sauce, sesame oil and jang [fermented sauce]," chef Kang Yoon-kyung said. "Just like the promotion name 'Looking to the Past to Learn the New,' our chefs aim to provide a healthy gourmet experience through new dishes based on an understanding of traditional Korean cuisine."

The Korean Cuisine Master promotion is 155,000 won for weekday lunches and 180,000 won for weekend lunches and dinners, per adult.

(02) 555-5656
www.grandicparnas.com

Sofitel Ambassador Seoul

Mango bingsu secret at Sofitel Ambassador Seoul's L'Espace lounge in Songpa District, southern Seoul [SOFITEL AMBASSADOR SEOUL]

Announcement: Sofitel Ambassador Seoul in Songpa District, southern Seoul, is offering Korean and French summer treats at its L’Espace lounge.

It is offering its dish Mango bingsu secret for 100,000 won using seasonal mangos, French glace (ice cream) incorporating fresh fruits for 50,000 won and Jeju green tea bingsu for 50,000 won served with mandarin sorbet — all in single portions. Small bites, including macarons and madeleines, are available as well.

(02) 2092-6000
sofitel-seoul.com/en/

GLAD Hotel Yeouido Seoul

GLAD Hotel Yeouido Seoul in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, is slated to launch a dinner gala in collaboration with American wine label Freemark Abbey. [GLAD HOTEL YEOUIDO]

July 4: GLAD Hotel Yeouido Seoul in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, is slated to launch a dinner gala in collaboration with American wine label Freemark Abbey.

Dubbed the Freemark Abbey Wine Gala, the dinner meal consists of six courses paired with Freemark Abbey’s cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay. It also offers the label’s cabernet sauvignon from its 2013 Museum Vintage collection, which are vintage wines offered in limited quantities each year.

Menu items include a charcuterie platter, ceviche, mushroom portage, rack of lamb coated in herbs and beef bourguignon with vegetable confit. The dessert is Mont Blanc.

The dinner is limited to 60 guests and starts on July 4 at 6:30 p.m. Prices start at 150,000 won per diner. Reservations are mandatory.

(02) 6222-5000
glad-hotels.com/yeouido/index.do?locale=en

Josun Hotels & Resorts

Josun Hotels & Resorts kimchi [JOSUN HOTELS & RESORTS]

Announcement: Josun Hotels & Resorts released two new types of ready-made gourmet kimchi products.

Its Kisoondo Jang Kimchi (29,500 won per kilogram) does not use any jeotgal (salted and fermented seafood) and instead incorporates soy sauce that has been fermented for two to three years by a recognized Korean cuisine “master,” Ki Soon-do. The addition of the soy sauce helps the cabbage stay crunchy through fermentation and gives the kimchi an overall clean and lighter flavor. The kimchi also doesn’t use any sugar, and instead, creates sweetness with fruit.

The kimchi is available at Shinsegae Department Stores in Sogong-ro, Jung District, Gangnam District and Busan Centum City branch, and SSG Food Market in Dogok-dong, Gangnam District.

Mungeunji (30,500 won per kilogram), or aged kimchi, is one of the hotel’s signature kimchi products, though this is the first time it has become available online.

It achieves umami flavor by combining dashi broth, three types of jeotgal, ground radish, anchovy powder and pepper seeds. It is available online through SSG and Markey Kurly, in addition to the aforementioned stores, in person.

(02) 771-0500
josunhotel.com/intro.do

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]