By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
At the Grand Hyatt Seoul, there is no chance of confusing which restaurant serves Chinese cuisine. The in-house Chinese restaurant is simply called ``The Chinese Restaurant.’’
The name may not be creative, but the restaurant’s chefs believe it represents the restaurant’s commitment to offering authentic Chinese food in an authentic manner _ no compromises or ``fusion’’ dishes here.
``Customers are able to taste dishes that have never been prepared before in Korea,’’ Sidney Hardy, executive chef of the hotel, said. ``The Chinese Restaurant’s main focus is inviting customers to experience Chinese dishes authentically.’’
To live up to its commitment, the restaurant has recently undergone a big change in menus and services. After two weeks of renewal, the restaurant re-opened on June 25.
Jack Aw Yong, executive chef from Hyatt International, also joined the project with the association of Hardy and other chefs. Yong is in charge of Hyatt chains’ restaurant management in menus and services.
The restaurant’s new theme is ``home-style service,’’ where customers can enjoy a variety of dishes, different from typical ``course menu’’ styles.
The restaurant offers more than 70 dishes from Beijing, Manchuria and Sichuan with 67 kinds of a la carte and five set course menus.
Customers can enjoy representative Chinese dishes such as Peking Duck, but they can also experience such unique selections as crispy fried crabs with garlic and sweet bell peppers; sweet and sour cod fish fillet served in a stone pot; and Sichuan style seafood wontons with spicy sesame broth.
Three native Chinese chefs have also joined the kitchen led by experienced local chef Jeon Keuk-in to bring authenticity to these regional cuisines with their own specialties.
The three chefs are Yan Zheng with the specialty of cold dishes, Jian Liu whose specialty is wok and Xing Xue Xiao with the specialty of dumplings.
As Chinese dishes have been developed with unique regional characteristics, the renewal in the menu allows guests to sample the diversity of Chinese cuisines through regional specialties.
Some typical characteristics of each region is Manchurian cuisine that relies heavily on preserved foods and hearty fare due to the harsh winters and relatively short growing season.
But Northern cuisine favors straightforward tastes, with garlic, scallions and leeks and staples such as wheat, millet and soybeans.
Eastern Chinese cuisine, found in the cities of Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as the surrounding provinces, is primarily a cuisine of sweetness. But the food of China’s west, including the provinces of Sichuan, Hunan and Yunnan, combines a cornucopia of eastern spices with a natural abundance of ingredients.
Southern Chinese cuisine centers on Guangdong province and its capital, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Guangdong cuisine incorporates ingredients from all over China and emphasizes absolute freshness of ingredients and correct technique.
But despite the diversity and distinguishing features of Chinese cuisines, it seems many people have misconceptions, which the restaurant wants to clarify through the new menus.
``Generally, people tend to think of Chinese cuisine as oily and salty, but The Chinese Restaurant is bringing out the best prominent and bold flavors, cutting out the oily and salty aspects,’’ Hardy said.