Hotels Offer Oktoberfest Delicacies
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Through Oct. 4, the southern German city of Munich will be a paradise for beer lovers worldwide. Oktoberfest, the event featuring hundreds of ale varieties, is welcoming more than 6 million people from around the world.
Oktoberfest first started 176 years ago during a royal wedding. Now the festival has turned into a fete of traditional costume parades, various cultural performances, and events. It employs more than 12,000 staff to serve more than 100,000 seated customers at a given time ― with the rest enjoying their drinks while standing and enjoying the events. In total, one million liters of beer will be consumed.
Starting from the mayor's ceremonial tapping of the first keg and ending with everybody getting joyfully inebriated and wishing for the next year, the festival is all about beer, great dishes and fun.
According to Song Hun, brewmaster of Lotte Hotel World's Mega CC brewery, the festival brings strangers together. ``Six major brewery companies set up large tents of their own ― they can manage thousands of people at a time ― where long tables are installed inside. People are genuinely `packed,' and you get to make friends with strangers next to you. The one-liter-glasses of beer create an enlightened atmosphere where you can forget about everything except for the laughs and cheers,'' he said, reminiscing about his days studying brewery at the Technique University of Munich.
The festival also contributes to the promotion of German beer worldwide ― many people immediately think of Germany when it comes to beer despite the fact that, in terms of actual consumption and production, the country doesn't take the top spot.
``You name it: pilsner, weizen, dunkel, radler, helles… there are so many kinds of beer you can enjoy,'' Song said. In Korea, the mildest of the bunch, pilsner, is popular in the Busan region, while Seoulites prefer weizen, which is darker.
``Everyone has his or her favorite type of beer, but Koreans in general prefer it served in cool glasses,'' he said.
Mega CC is holding an Oktoberfest event from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2.
With a 30,000-won entrance ticket, one can enjoy unlimited premium house beer and one free coupon for the food station, which will serve an array of genuine German dishes such as haxen, sausages, pork kassler, and meat roasts.
Haxen, or roast pork leg, is one of Munich's delicacies. Served with grilled potatoes and the German cabbage side dish sauerkraut, its slight saltiness encourages more beer drinking. The assorted sausages also delight many beer lovers craving something German.
Special events are also lined up ― including a live band concert, magic performances, electronic violin concert, beer drinking games, and an arm-wrestling contest ― to spice up the festival.
In addition, people can buy a 10,000 won raffle ticket for a chance to win a three-night holiday at the Pacific Island Club, a two-night stay at a Lotte Hotel, and restaurant dining vouchers among others.
``Many people who have been abroad come up to me looking for some great beer they tasted in another country. Such an event will help people get a glimpse of original German beer and dishes at a bargain price, surrounded by a merry atmosphere,'' Song said.
Other hotels are also lined up to celebrate the festival.
The Millennium Seoul Hilton is holding an Oktoberfest event at its Orangerie restaurant throughout October.
The restaurant interior will be decorated in blue and white, the representative colors of Oktoberfest, and staff will be dressed in traditional Oktoberfest garb. Diners can feast on a Bavarian bounty, including handmade German sausages, sauerkraut, German-style potato salad, German sausage salad and more.
The Imperial Palace Hotel's Garden Terrace will offer unlimited draft beer and German sausages at 25,000 won on Oct. 1. The interior will be feature a traditional Munich-style motif and staff will be serving food according to German custom, the hotel publicist Han Mi-sun said.