When 50 guests sat down to a sumptuous feast hosted by Dato’ Lim Si Boon in the private dining room of Meru Suites Eco Village, they were expecting kimchi and the usual Korean barbecue as they were told it would be a Korean dinner.
To everyone’s surprise and delight, they were treated to a 9-course royal banquet, to dishes that only royalty in Korea were privy to in days of yore.
With two celebrity chefs curating in the kitchen, the Korean tableaux unfolded as guests sipped Korean soju, a distilled Korean spirit of low alcohol content (around 20-25%) while waiting to be seated.
Then the banquet began.
The side dishes were beautifully laid out on the table as we sat down. Radish Water Kimchi, Cabbage Kimchi Cabbage Fresh Kimchi and Soy Sauce Braised Beef, with the Kimchi being replenished regularly. The first course of Pine Nut porridge went down a treat, velvety smooth ground pine nuts delicately seasoned, which was a first for me, world traveller that I claim to be.
The assortment of nine cold appetizers that followed were beautifully plated, tasty morsels that tantalized rather than fill, followed by mains like mushrooms with grilled minced beef, assorted pan fried delicacies, sliced and seasoned barbecue beef, stir fried noodles with vegetables and ending with Korean Rice Cake with Omija Punch.
Chef Kim Hanna is the award winning Senior Resident Korean Specialist at the Kongju Restaurant, the leading fine dining Korean restaurant in Bangkok. Chef Kim Hanna’s expertise and knowledge of traditional Korean ingredients and recipes has been the heart of the phenomenal success that Kongju has enjoyed for 20 years. She regularly appears in the news for receiving popularly coveted culinary awards and occasionally graces Thai television as a guest judge for cooking contests or to simply whip up her signature dishes on national television.
Before becoming famous in the field of Korean Food Art, Chef Kim Priscilla started her career as a viola player in Seoul, South Korea. With her love for food and arts combined, she decided to study at the Royale Korean Cuisine Institute. Chef Kim Priscilla now runs her own studio in Seoul where she teaches Royale Korean Food Art with music.
They were brought in specially by Meru Golf Resort to demonstrate the art of Korean cuisine to their culinary team.
SFCK
