South Korean celebrity chef Edward Kwon has opened a three-month pop-up at Siam Kempinski, and we’re pretty sure you wouldn’t want to miss it.
Kwon is the head chef and proprietor of LAB XXIB by KUmuda, which has been praised as one of the best restaurants in South Korea. Thanks to his movie star charisma (he’s actually starred in a number of dramas), Kwon is credited for helping make South Korean cuisine internationally famous.
Kwon started LAB XXIB in Seoul before relocating his dining den to the more relaxed seaside province of Busan — so don’t be surprised if his 12-course offering at Siam Kempinski feels like a combination of two different cuisines.
The 12-course dinner will feature traditional Korean dishes that have been remolded, reappropriated, and reinvented with modern touches and presentations. Kwon teases the palate with appetizers like sae woo jung (sweetened shrimp), served tartlet style; bibimbap (Korean rice bowl), presented as a rice ball; dakgalbi (spicy chicken), served beautifully on a French croustade; and gimmari (fried seaweed roll), reinvented as a crispy seaweed roll stuffed with spicy otoro and uni.
During our visit, the mains included samchi gui, a dish of charred mackerel from Busan served with three sauces (traditional samjang, red chili and chives), and galbi, a filling dish of one-hour slow-cooked Wagyu beef with Ganjang garlic and banchan (fermented Korean condiments).
The meal concludes with hu sik or Korean-inspired desserts of Gamte, tangerine and omija; and da gwa or petit fours of black sesame macaron, jujube rocher, red ginseng caramel, and wild raspberry.
The 12-course dinner is priced at B4,900++. Wine pairings are available for an additional B2,700. Call 02 162 9000.