From traditional Kimchi to other Korean delicacies
Korean chefs Gu and Jin. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
From September 20 the Hilton’s Graze Kitchen all-day dining has been serving up authentic Korean cuisine courtesy Guest chefs Yong Hoi Gu and Hoe Jin from Hilton Colombo’s sister hotel, the Millennium Seoul Hilton. Today is the last day to savour this experience.
Graze Kitchen has the advantage of a cool and casual ambience which makes for relaxed dining although newcomers may have an initial sense of being overwhelmed at the variety of action stations available from the different cuisines of Western, Chinese, Sri Lankan, Indian, Thai and Japanese.
Ideal for a work event dinner or for a family outing with fussy eaters – the choices at Graze Kitchen are endless! The enchanting interior was topped with excellent service from the Chefs and service staff (who were more than helpful in explaining the dishes.
The Hilton’s Marketing Communications Manager Gigi De Silva says the Graze Kitchen will periodically introduce different types of cuisine to the buffet selection – depending on the chefs’ availability.
This initiative has created quite the buzz for the restaurant with Gigi happily stating that the idea of the venture was to give diners “Dinner with a variety”. With food from around the world at their finger tips Gigi confirms “This is the ultimate experience for diners for tasting different types of global cuisine.”
Head Chef Gu from the Millennium Seoul Hilton has had a wonderful 15 years cooking with the Hilton franchise and ‘chef de partie’ Chef Jin has been with Seoul Hilton for around 12 years. Gu describes Korean food as “many kinds of cooking styles” – the various practices of steaming, boiling, grilling are some of the core reasons of making many of the Korean food “taste best”.
We started off with the staple in Korean cuisine – Kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of usually salted and fermented vegetables with a variety of seasonings. Graze Kitchen didn’t disappoint here as the zing from the garlic, ginger, chilies and salt on the Napa cabbage made for a fresh start to a mouth watering meal.
Elaborating on more Korean delicacies Chef Gu mentions the ever popular “Samgyupsal” (fresh pork belly), as an ultimate go-to when experimenting with Korean cuisine.
The live action station was preceded by three kinds of warm soups, chicken dim sums, prawn balls and a variety of meat that was being either grilled, boiled or roasted by the busy chefs. Traditional dishes like “Sam Ge Tang” (Traditional Korean Ginseng Chicken), “Kimchi Bokeum Bab” (Spicy Kimchi Rice), “Jokbal” (Braised Pork Knuckle) made certain that vegetarian and meat options were available for diners.
The Action Station attacked our senses with a fusion of aromas from the “Modum Jeon” (Assorted Korean Piccata – Pumpkin, Spring Onion, Seafood and mushroom), “La Galbi” (Grilled Slice Beef) and “Bibimbap” (mixed rice).
Chef Gu recommended that customers try the clear, colourless, distilled beverage of Korean origin – “Soju” with their meals as the ultimate complement to their dinner. Chef Gu describes it as having “Good Harmonies” with the food.
The buffet’s dinner session opens its doors from 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. with breakfast from 6 a.m. to 10.30 a.m. and lunch from 12 noon to 2.30 p.m. The buffet is priced at Rs. 3888 net.