Korean chef Edward Kwon explains the new halal-style menu to ambassadors from Asian and Middle Eastern countries at The Place Dining, a restaurant in central Seoul's N Seoul Tower, Tuesday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
The Seoul Metropolitan Government hosted an event with ambassadors from Asian and Middle Eastern countries to showcase halal foods reinterpreted by a Korean chef, Tuesday.
The event, named "Taste of Salam Seoul," was held at N Seoul Tower and is the first of its kind to present new halal foods in connection with the ongoing Taste of Seoul week that began on Saturday.
According to the Korea Tourism Organization, approximately 50.9 percent of tourists from Muslim-majority countries highlighted food as an aspect that needs improvement while visiting Korea.
Seoul sees the event as an opportunity to enhance dining options for Muslim tourists.
Korean chef Edward Kwon, drawing on his experience as an executive chef at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, showcased five different halal dishes. These recipes were reinterpreted, blending Middle Eastern and Korean styles to ensure that everyone, including Muslims, can enjoy them.
The main dish introduced during the Taste of Salam Seoul event / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
The main dish featured lamb chops as the primary ingredient, incorporating a Middle Eastern-style baba ghanoush sauce and Korean-style soybean paste. Another item introduced to the ambassadors combined hummus, a popular Middle Eastern food made of chickpeas, with Korean-style braised abalone.
Attendees who tasted the new halal-style foods expressed satisfaction with the taste and plans to introduce them to their respective countries, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The foods introduced during the Taste of Salam Seoul event will be commercialized in November as official offerings at The Place Dining, a restaurant in N Seoul Tower.
"The city will make efforts to create a better environment to assist Muslim tourists from Asian and Middle Eastern countries in traveling around Seoul and enjoying gourmet food without any inconvenience," said Kim Young-Hwan, the director general of the Tourism and Sports Bureau at the Seoul Metropolitan Government.
“With the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting N Seoul Tower, comprising over 50 percent, concerns have grown regarding providing halal food. We expect this event to serve as an opportunity to offer diverse dining options to tourists from Asian and Middle Eastern countries,” said an official from CJ Foodville, a catering service company that also operates the restaurant in N Seoul Tower.
Meanwhile, Seoul is actively seeking out restaurants where Muslim tourists can dine without any concerns, as part of efforts to enhance the tourism environment for travelers from various cultural backgrounds.
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