Chef Alex Kim, right, and wife Sunkyeong Jun offer diners with a Korean royal court dining experience at their restaurant Hansik. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Chef Alex Kim, right, and wife Sunkyeong Jun offer diners with a Korean royal court dining experience at their restaurant Hansik. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Herald reporter and foodie Lincoln Tan takes you to some of Auckland's eating places that make you feel like you're in another country.
One of the more popular tourist attractions for visitors to South Korea is The Korea House in Seoul.
Built in the style of the Joseon Dynasty's Jagyeong-jeonbuilding at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, it offers visitors an experience of traditional architecture, culture and lifestyle of Koreans.
But for many, a highlight of going to The Korea House is to experience the Korean Royal Court cuisine the venue offers.
Sunkyeong Yun with Korean fritters and yukhoe, seasoned raw beef dish, from Hansik's royal table course menu. Photo / Jason Oxenham
With holiday travel to South Korea now out of the question for most, there is this little known secret that an eatery tucked behind Victoria Park Market also offers this Korean royal feast experience.
Hansik, meaning Korean food, is an eatery on Drake Street in the space vacated by Atico Cocina opened in 2015 by Korean chef Alex Kim, 41.
Kim's ultimate aim then as it is today, he says, is to share Korean culture and food with Kiwis.
Up to 16 items, not all of them here, feature in Hansik's $80 per head royal table set meal. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"Sometimes I feel frustrated that whenever people talk about Korean food, they only think about Korean barbecue and bulgogi," Kim said.
At the entrance of Hansik stands a jing, or a large brass gong used in traditional Korean music.
Step inside and even though it feels modern, a giant traditional face mask and taeguk fans on the wall are enough to make a statement that this eatery is indeed Korean.
A Hahoeta traditional Korean mask, known to have been worn in ceremonies dating back to the 12th century, hangs on the wall at Hansik. Photo / Jason Oxenham
At the back of the restaurant is a private dining area, which has low dining tables and seating in typical Korean fashion.
Kim says it has never been his aim to run Hansik as "just another Korean restaurant".
"My aim since I started is to share this royal court cuisine of the Joseon Dynasty which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910," Kim said.
Beef ribs with abalone is served as one of four mains in the set menu. Photo / Jason Oxenham
"It has been an uphill task because few people understand it, and many only come to know about it after travelling to [South] Korea."
With border restrictions making travel to Seoul a little bit challenging during the pandemic, Kim is hoping locals and visitors to Auckland will instead make a trip to Hansik to experience this royal feast.
Priced at $80 per head, the set features 16 items which includes seven entrees, four mains, dessert, rice and kimchi.
Chef Alex Kim, right, reaches out for a serving of yukhoe or seasoned raw beef with wife Sunkyeong Jun sitting beside him. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Records on the court meals during the Joseon Dynasty showed that the royal table, called surasang, was served with 12 dishes, including rice and soup, as well as stew, hot pot, kimchi and sauces.
Most common soups served were miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) and gomtang (beef bone soup).
For mains in Hansik's take on the royal menu, diners get to choose from either beef bulgogi, grilled pork scotch or spicy chicken to go with braised pork belly, beef rib stew with abalone and spicy seafood and crab soup.
Hansik's version of bulgogi, thinly sliced and fried marinated beef with sliced onions, scallions, mushrooms, and other vegetables. Photo / Jason Oxenham
On special days and occasions, Kim would also engage traditional Korean dancers and drummers to perform there.
Kim's wife, Sunkyeoung Yun, is happy to don the traditional Korean hanbok when she helps at the restaurant on those special days to give diners a more authentic experience.
Royal food was prepared by court maids who had to undergo strict training about cooking from early childhood. Meals featured fresh seasonal ingredients.
Seasoned squid salad at Hansik. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Kim said Hansik follows the same ethos in preparing their royal table set.
"We assume we are serving royalty, and we have to make sure only food that not only tastes good but also looks good is used," he said.
"Now Korean drama is so popular, and I'm sure people would have watched the king eating gungjung eumsik, or palace food, which is a large banquet spread," Kim said.
"What I am doing is actually bringing that to real life and letting people have that experience themselves."
* Hansik Restaurant & Bar is at 19 Drake Street, Freemans Bay, Auckland
