With all things Korean --right from beauty and fashion, to music and drama -- besotting the city’s youth, how can food be far behind? But for those seeking a taste of K-food, there are hardly any authentic joints except a few like King’s Bakery, Sonamoo and Café Tov. Hence when Seok Jung, who started King’s Bakery five years back, came up with Seoul Story, a place that serves veritable dishes from Korea – it immediately resonated with the city's gastronomes.
We were there at 5-month-old 150-seater, spread across 7,000 sq ft of area, to taste a few newly added options in the extensive menu. “Korean food is not about spicy and oily numbers, and yet, it’s not all about bland food. It’s harmonious cooking, where there’s not too much salt or spice, letting the taste of the main ingredient play out,” Seok says.
To make the gourmands more comfortable with Korean food, Seok has introduced several dishes that are original yet relatable to the Indian palate. Chicken Tangsuyuk, the first to arrive at our table, was a case in point. The deep-fried chicken strips along with crunchy carrots, onions and bell peppers came drizzled with a special sweet and savoury house-made sauce and white sesame seeds. The dish was a far cry from the typical sweet and sour chicken.
As we nibbled on the strips, the very comforting bowl of Jamppong, a Chinese-style Korean seafood noodle that arrived at our table demanded all our attention with its eclectic mix of colourful ingredients. The large bowl of watery broth had in-house hand-rolled noodles besides fresh prawns and greens. The subtle use of whole spices and condiments made it a zesty yet light number for the afternoons.
We followed it up with an ever-comforting plate of the popular Bibimbap. “It’s also my go-to food at any time of the day. We Koreans love it for its simple use of ingredients,” mentions Seok. The item had finely chopped carrots, spinach, bok choy, cucumber and spring onions served with steamed sticky rice and we devoured a plateful with the zesty Gochujang sauce.
If you are a fan of grills, try the Korean version of barbeque platter. Both the chicken and authentic Korean pork version of Samgyeopsal (three layered grilled pork belly) is available. We loved how the barbeque is set on a live grill at the table and you can enjoy the same with your family along with an array of accompaniments. The interesting part is that you have to wrap them all up in a lettuce leaf to enjoy an explosion of flavours.
We concluded the hearty meal with more than one fluffy choux, from the compact bakery counter at the property.