Volume 04, Number 07
Dining
Park Hyatt Seoul
By Christine Cunanan-Miki
The weekend trip to South Korea was much easier than my husband and I had imagined. After a short drive to Haneda’s old international airport—a small and rather decrepit building that happily takes you from parking lot to boarding gate in just a few minutes—and a plane ride that was the equivalent of one bento box and a magazine, we found ourselves in Seoul.
This was to be an eating trip, although one would hardly have guessed this, considering we hardly left our hotel. The gorgeously minimalist Park Hyatt Seoul is one of those ultra-luxury hotels that have become destinations in themselves because they have all the necessary R&R ingredients: drop-dead city views, lovely food and the kind of hotel rooms you wish you could afford to live in (I was told that interior design costs averaged US$1.5 million per room). Last year, Time Magazine even chose the spa-inspired guest bathrooms here as one of the 24 best places in Asia—in the suites, the rock-hewn deep soaking tubs, right next to floor-to-ceiling glass windows, are so big they can fit four.
In three days, we tried all the hotel outlets and ordered every Korean dish on their room service menu because it was simply wonderful to eat by our window — and there was nothing we did not like. The Korean food here may not be as authentic as the kalbi (grilled beef ribs) or bulgogi (marinated rib-eye beef) served in the noisy local diner several blocks away, but it was exactly the kind we wanted to have for a relaxing weekend.
Also, save for the beautiful presentation—little dishes in white porcelain on a wooden tray, with meat on sizzling plates—and appropriately glamorous prices, the hotel did not make any significant culinary concessions for its international clientele. The meat for the kalbi and bulgogi sets was adequately seasoned with sesame oil and chili (and certainly of better quality than anything I might have had by walking into a local restaurant at random), the kimchi and other vegetable condiments were spicy enough, and the hot seafood chige (kimchi stew) brought tears to my eyes. I enjoyed these dishes so much that I even ordered the bulgogi dinner set for breakfast—and thankfully, our room service waiter served the barbecued beef at 8am as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
One evening we dined at the Cornerstone restaurant, the hotel’s main restaurant, serving grilled meats and Western dishes, and run by Milanese chef Giorgio Pappalardo. Similar in theme to the New York Grill of the Park Hyatt Tokyo but much more cozy and relaxed, the Cornerstone probably has some of the best steak selections in Seoul, including Australian Kobe tenderloin, black angus, and wagyu rib eye. I decided to go East-West by starting off with oven-roasted tomato soup, a spicy and chunky broth that is a top-seller at Cornerstone, and then ordering Korean black pork from the volcanic island of Jeju for my main dish. The black pork was deep-fried so that its skin crackled noisily with each bite, and its tender and tasty meat paired very well with a rhubarb compote. The desserts, on the other hand, are managed by a Korean chef with stellarly sweet credentials that include training in Paris. I had two of his Valrhona brownies at dinner, and also his creative mango crème brûlée via room service—and both were excellent and full of gutsy flavor, and quite different from the zenlike desserts usually found in Tokyo.
Our stay was all too short, but with mileage tickets, Haneda departures, and a great place to call “home” in Seoul to always entice us, we knew we would be returning soon.
Park Hyatt Seoul
995-14 Daechi 3-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea 135-502
Tel. 82-2-2016-1234
www.seoul.park.hyatt.com
Roti—You’ll Return, and Return…
For Mr. and Mrs. C., Roti is beyond a favorite place—it is one of their most frequented dining spots. They go so often that even "C" is used to protect their identity.
How often do you two visit Roti?
Oh! We go three or four times a month! But my husband here is there once a week— without ME unfortunately!
What does it take for a restaurant to be a "regular" stop?
Good food, service—which at Roti is second to none and the overall feel, atmosphere of the restaurant from the glimmering lighting to the hip, fun music. But back to good food, that is what it really takes to become a place people come back and back and back to. Actually, my wife and I are both originally from the food industry—from some of the best food on land or sea—and people outside of the food world don’t realize how important it is to make a dish the same, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc. To make a customer’s favorite dish the same every time when they really need—or should I say—want it! It’s not as easy as you might think. Your mum actually did it well, but it’s hard to duplicate, night after night. Of course, the quality of the food has to be amazing—Roti gets a gold star every time in that category.
Ha! You sound as if you dream of some of the menu items? Care to share?
He loves chicken and chips—hearty and filling, which he requires! Did I say burger? Burger! Beef should always taste like this, even if it’s chopped beef. The lamb, New Zealand lamb, may be reason enough to return for more. Desserts—she always has her chocolate and Roti pleases in this course. Sometimes I fear that Roti’s desserts make her as happy as I do.