Grand Hilton brings taste of Fiji to Seoul

Fried mud crab with pepper dressing

By Kim Se-jeong

Grand Hilton Seoul has brought the tropical feel of the Pacific island of Fiji to its guests.

The Happy Island Fiji, Tropical BBQ package, a unique promotional package that emphasizes authenticity and diversity, is available until July 31.

Eroni Madraivia, the head chef at Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa, traveled to Korea to create the package’s menu using ingredients native to the island of Fiji, such as wild pig meat.

Fijian cuisine has Indian, European and Chinese influences and is a welcome addition to the hotel restaurant’s offering.

The menu includes roast suckling pig, roasted wild pig, BBQ Halibut with coconut milk dressing, roasted eel and fried mud crab as well as eight types of Fijian desserts.

Chef Madraivia will be at the restaurant until June 14 after which the food preparation and cooking will be managed by the local chefs he trained.

Those who visit the hotel before June 14 will also have the chance to watch “meke” performance. A Fijian dance troupe joined the chef in Korea in order to perform the traditional Fijian dance and play the “lali,” a traditional Fijian drum, for guests.

Roasted wild pig

Apart from the food and traditional performance, the Happy Island Fiji package enables guests to join a lucky draw, for which the top prize is a free round-trip ticket to the island for two and an accommodation voucher at Hilton Fiji Beach Resort & Spa. The second and third prizes are a room stay at Grand Hilton Seoul and a restaurant coupon for the hotel’s buffet restaurant, respectively. Interested participants may sign up at the restaurant door.

Fiji is an ideal summer destination and is only a 10-hour flight away from Korea. The island offers many outdoor activities from sea kayaking to mountain hiking, boat cruising, snorkeling and visiting national parks. Korean Air flies to Fiji’s Nadi International Airport three times a week.

The Happy Island Fiji package menu is available at the hotel’s buffet restaurant. Lunch costs 65,000 won and dinner 70,000 won per person (including tax and service fees). For more information and reservations, call the restaurant at (02)2287-8271.