My very limited knowledge of dishes from the Land of the Morning Calm includes only kimchi, japchae, gimbap, bulgogi-gui, and samgyeopsal-gui.
So when Conrad Manila announced that they would have a weeklong Korean culinary festival at the Brasserie on 3, as part of the hotel’s Legendary Chefs Series, I made it a point to dine there to get to know more Korean kitchen specialties.
The featured chefs came all the way from Conrad Seoul. Younghun Hwang is the Chef de Partie at that hotel’s Italian Restaurant, and Junmok Lee is the Demi Chef at the Zest Buffet there, both of whom are very young. Just by looking at them, I could easily see they are the type who could easily come up with innovative recipes that today’s generation would go for.
So I booked myself and my family for lunch at Brasserie on 3. These guest chefs had the following on the buffet (thanks to meticulously placed labels, I could easily read what I was eating): gujeolpan (platter of nine delicacies), yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), sundubujjigae (soft tofu in spicy stew), bibimbap (steamed rice bowl with vegetables), dakbokkumtang (braised spicy chicken stew), and ganjang sawwojang (soy sauce marinated raw prawn).
To complete the offering, the chefs also featured Korean street food like tteokbokki (rice cake, fish cake with red chili sauce), eomuk (fish cake with soup), dakgangjeong (fried chicken with sweet chili sauce), gimbap (rice rolled with various vegetables), and saengseonjjim yachaewa hamkke (steamed fish with vegetables).
I had to try every dish offered on the buffet as I wanted to expand my knowledge of Korean cuisine, and I didn’t regret it. Every single dish I tried was a pleasant revelation to me. I enjoyed the experience and even went back for seconds.
Soju, the most popular Korean alcoholic drink, was also available. Pretty ladies in colorful Korean costumes were serving it to guests who wanted some “oomph” in their dining experience. Of course, I did not want to be left out so I treated myself to a glass…or two…or were there three?
Bumping into Conrad Manila’s General Manager Fabio Berto while at the restaurant, he reaffirmed the fact that many Filipinos are fascinated by Korean food. This encouraged him to invite these young Korean chefs to showcase these popular K-dishes on their buffet. Sure enough, that day I was there, the restaurant was full, with a few others still queueing up outside.
With the success of the Korean-themed buffet at Brasserie on 3, I’m sure Conrad Manila will bring back those chefs again for another round of K-Delights for Filipino food aficionados.
More information on Conrad Manila’s offerings is available through +632 8833 9999 or conradmanila@conradhotels.com
For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com
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