Winter feast at Powerlong
By Philip Hand
Photos by Yao Fan



《大长今》的热播激起了不少厦门市民对韩国料理的热衷. 乘着韩风, 宝龙大酒店从11月开始为期一个月的韩国美食节, 以飨食饕. 而且酒店的行政总厨还特地和韩国师傅精心研制菜式和辅料, 希望能更合乎本地人的口味.


Kimchee

As winter draws in the Powerlong Hotel has launched a two month food festival sure to warm the hearts -and the stomachs -of Xiamen's diners. In the 2nd floor Pearl Chinese Restaurant Chamber, November and December will see a celebration of hearty venison and crab dishes. But it is in the self-service buffet off the lobby that guests will find more exotic treats: November is Korean month.


Mixed hot pot

In honor of the hit Korean soap Jewel in the Palace (大长今) currently airing in China, the elegant glass-walled buffet has been turned into a little piece of Korea. The waitresses wear the hanbok, a traditional Korean dress, and are ready to greet guests with the courteous welcome they might receive in any high class restaurant in Korea. The live music and television broadcasts could be straight from Seoul. Best of all, Powerlong's Executive Chef David Xu is serving up a stunning array of Korean flavors. Chef Xu has been cooking for 17 years, and is a master of Asian cuisine. "I have a lot of experience of cooking Korean food," says Chef Xu, "so for this promotion I worked together with Korean colleagues to find the most authentic flavorings and ingredients."


Korean sashimi

Using imported Korean stone rice pots and fryers, Chef Xu has created all the favorites you'd expect: the stone pot fried rice, Korean barbecue and kimchee (spicy cabbage) are all superb. But there are also some less familiar flavors from the seaport of Inchon. Food & Beverages Director Patrick Zhu explains, "we wanted to do more than just serve up the Korean dishes that everyone knows. We brought in authentic recipes from Inchon, which is on the coast, so we can serve up some of the Korean seafood that Chinese diners might not be so familiar with."


Stone pot rice

These dishes include pan fried fish and seafood pancakes that melt in the mouth. Chef Xu tells us: "Korean food tends to use less flavoring than Chinese food, less MSG and garlic. It allows the natural flavor of the fresh ingredients to come out. This gives the seafood, in particular, a delicacy and subtleness that is unlike any other nation's cuisine." Pride of place in this respect must go to the distinctive Seafood Hotpot, a speciality of the Inchon region. "The soup goes on getting sweeter and sweeter the longer it boils," Director Zhu enthuses, "It's really a remarkable dish."


Sweet cucumber pickle

Diners will not go thirsty either: the barley tea is wonderfully warming, and for the adults there is imported Soju, a sweet and very moreish Korean liquor. For this reporter, the pickles were the highlight of the evening: fiery kimchee, sour radishes and a sweet cucumber. But don't take my word for it. The Korean theme continues until November 30.


Spicy squid

Vocabulary
kimchee 泡菜
authentic 正宗的
moreish 让人爱吃的
radish 萝卜
MSG 味精

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