Taste of Korea @ Latest Recipe, Le Meridien, Gurgaon

When and Where

Taste of Korea @ Latest Recipe Le Meridien, Gurgaon
Lunch Buffet – 1899 Plus Taxes PP
Dinner Buffet – 1999 Plus Taxes PP

Phone  – 0124-4992008

The moment we talk about Korean cuisine the first thing that comes to our mind is the word “exotic.”  That’s how Korean cuisine is perceived. This isn’t a very popular cuisine in indian, unlike Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisines.

Le Meridien Gurgaon is hosting Taste of Korea, where they are showcasing the cuisine of Korea. Chef Wang and Chef Park have been flown from Korea. During my conversation with chefs, I got o know that Korean food is similar to Japanese and Chinese; however the level of spices is higher/greater in Korean food. Post my discussion, I realized that I should expect stir fry, sautéed, cold/hot dishes at the promotion.

Gimbap/Kimbap was the first dish that I spotted. It looked like sushi rolls. Chef shared that these are very popular dish in Korea and unlike Japanese you can eat it without soy sauce and ginger as well. Wasabi isn’t served along with this dish. It has been derived from norimaki from japan during the Japanese colonial rule of Korea(1910-1945). Koreans use lot of local flavours and ingredients. This dish is made by rolling up rice and other ingredients in sheets of gim (nori, or seaweed paper) and cutting the rolls into bite-size pieces. Gimbap and sushi are similar, but the biggest difference between the two is that the rice in gimbap is seasoned with sesame oil, and the rice in sushi is seasoned with vinegar.

They also use lot of meats, sea food and poultry. The dumplings which I tried are very close to our own momos and are a popular street food in India. Salads were mostly cold and very refreshing – tasted great too! Hot section had lot of meats that was either stir fried or deep fried – Each had a different and unique flavour and tasted excellent.

Bibimbap is one pot meal which is very popular in Asian countries. This is signature Korean dish. Bibimbap is served as bowl of warm rice , topped with assorted seasonal vegetables, soy sauce, or doenjang, a fermented soybean paste and sliced meat topped with half fried eggs, a meal in itself. Bibim means “mixed” and bap means “rice”.

I have been fortunate to taste the authentic kimchi earlier which tastes very different from what we eat in Chinese restaurants in India. Kimchi is known as national dish of Korea and is served with every meal. Every region of Korea has a different preparation of kimchi , but the main ingredient is fermented napa cabbage and myeolchijeot (brined anchovy allowed to ferment) which gives a sour kind of taste unlike the Chinese kimchi which is tangy in taste.

If you are meat/seafood lover and are ready to try new cuisines then this festival is must for you. The taste of Korea at Le Meridien, Gurgaon is on till 17^th of this month.

Disclaimer – This review was done on an invitation from the establishment. Views expressed in the review is entirely ours and without any bias. Pictures of the dishes are not the standard portions, they are sample portions.