Global curry dishes featured at Grand Ambassador

Twenty-two curry dishes from 13 countries are featured at Grand Ambassador Seoul’s “World of Curry” festival. / Korea Times photo by Kim Se-jeong

By Kim Se-jeong

At The Kings, a restaurant in the Grand Ambassador Seoul, you can see how far curry has traveled across the world over the centuries.

An ongoing “World of Curry” presents 22 curry dishes enjoyed in 13 different countries, ranging from masala curry with baked cheese and eggs from India, green prawn curry, mulligatawny soup from the United Kingdom, and lamb stew Cape Malay from South Africa.

“We wanted to respond to our guests’ growing interest in spicy food. But we wanted the new dishes to be healthy and various in taste,” the Grand Ambassador Seoul’s executive chef Shim Chang-sik told The Korea Times. The chef added his recipes came from books, the Internet and his international working experience.

If this makes you wonder about the quality of the food, Dheerendra Tiwara, an Indian dance teacher at the Indian Cultural Center who recently arrived in Seoul, said not to worry.

Variety and local adjustments are a quality feature of curry, he said, and what he finds at the Grand Ambassador is savory.

Nan and papadam, thin breads accompanying curry dishes and yellow saffron rice, are also served as side dishes. In the appetizer section, guests can find lentil soup, and a shrimp and avocado salad with curry-cream dressing.

Known to have originated in India, curry is now recognized as an “international” dish.

The United Kingdom chose it as a national dish, taking into account that almost 9,000 restaurants serving curries are up and running, according to the U.K.’s National Curry Week website. Immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are the owners of these restaurants, and they are among 23 million people that eat curry on a regular basis there.

Curry is also found in Ethiopia in Africa, Burma and Thailand in Asia, Surinam on the northern tip of South America, and the Caribbean.

There is no record showing when curry arrived on the Korean peninsula.

But, the Korean version of curry ― with carrots, potatoes and onions ― was reportedly created in Japan in the early 20th century.

The Indian Princess Sri Ranta of the Ayodhya Kingdom, who is believed to be the first Indian on the peninsula on record, might have carried spices in her royal boat en route to Gyeongju, the capital of the Gaya Kingdom (45-532 A.D.) but there’s no record documenting this. She married King Suro.

Chef Ryu Dae-hyun at the restaurant said young diners are the main consumers of curry. “For the older generation, this is still too foreign,” said Ryu.

The hotel is trying to appeal to foreign guests and local diners.

Using Halal lamb is a pleasant surprise.

Meaning “permissible” in the Arabic language, Halal certification is a proof of religiously permissible products for Muslims.

There are requirements to follow in preparation of the products. Halal meat has to be slaughtered by cutting the throat, and Allah’s name has to recited during the process.

The hotel says the number of Muslim guests is on the rise.

The promotion is running until June 13.

Prices are 67,000 won for weekday lunches and 75,000 won for dinners. On the weekends, lunch is served for 74,000 won while dinner is 77,000 won. For female guests, the restaurant has a special offer on Monday and Tuesday of a 30 percent discount, but for lunch only. For more information, call (02) 2270-3121.