The Korea Times

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2001 1 3

Taste of Switzerland at Hyatt
By Ken Kim
Times Wine Writer
I
mages of Switzerland this
time of the year usually bring
to mind heavenly skiing on
the snow-capped Alps. wood
burning in the fireplace and talk-
ing to a stranger while sampling
Swiss cheese. Well, you may
well be able to do that if you
have a thick wallet and are will-
ing to fight jetlag. I said thick
wallet here because mv wallet
didn't last very long I was
there last Christmas.
The Grand Hyatt Seoul is cur-
rently holding a Swiss food pro-
motion at its Terrace Cafe. As
you will probably all agree, the
Terrace Cafe, with its snowy and
mountainous surroundings, pro-
vides a genuine touch of Switzer-
land. In other words, you can
have a piece of this wonderful
country right here in your neck of
the woods at a fraction of what it
would otherwise cost you.
Located on the main lobby lev-
el, the Terrace is a relaxed and
lively buffet style cafe with a
reputation for providing a wide
range of Eastern and Western
dishes. In order not to bore din-
ers with repetitive selections,
the Terrace's culinary team is
always in high gear, organizing
events such as the Swiss food
fair.
A.lthough no Alphorn was there
at the time of my presence. there
was no shonage of Fondue and
Rac!ette. The taste of cheese,
when the selection is right, is
best when ir is melted.
Of course, when talking about
cheese I must also bring- up the
subject of wine as they have
been inseparable friends with
each other for centuries.
The Fondue prepared here at
the fair is a combination of Em-
men taler and Gruyere cheese
mixed with a wine-based sauce
which went real well with Cha-
bil s !er Cru whi te wine. Other
cheese are Ti lsit and
Sbrinz. The wine li>t .::omnil ed
for the event contains 12 whites
and 13 reds. Convenient is that
all of them are available bv the
glass so vou can easily change
the variety according to your se-
lecti on of food. l also had a
Chardonnay from Chile, which
was much sharper. to my palate
then Chablis.
Fondue is when you dip a
cubed piece of bread into the
melting cheese before you eat it.
Raclette involves the same pro-
cedure, except that half a block
of cheese is put next to a wood-
burning stove where it slowly
melts and is then scraped off. Al-
so, instead of bread, pickled veg-
etables are used, cucumber being
the most popular. However. what
you will be seeing at the Terrace
is a modern Raclette machine in-
stead of a traditional Swiss stove.
Unlike Raclette, the long fork
that comes with a Fondue will al-
low you to do the job without the
need of plate. At the Terrace, the
setup is such that you will have
to take the melted cheese all the
way from the ''melting station"
to your table so you may have to
hurry up a little bit to prevent the
cheese from hardening.
The special menu contains ap-
proximately seventy dishes. thir-
75
ty appetizers, two soups, eight
main courses and t wentY
desserts. This is not including the
station where vou will find the
Fondue and Raclene. Others are
sal:lds, sausages and schhitzels
from the n re gi ons of
Switzerland. Also on display is a
circ'Ular block of En1mentaler
cheese weighing 80kg.
For mv r'h:ld of
lamb fo r. a change . l mtb1 admit
that thi> was not a choice as
it was a link drv drvness
indicates the less than
demand as ir ha,; perbps bec;1
sitting on the block a little too
long. Chateau Reverdi Listac
Medoc 1996 rescued my palate
from the dry encounter with the
lamb as any good Bordeaux wine
will. I made for my entree with
Swiss sausa<>es, which were trulv
a delight to palate. -
At the dessert station, you will
find enticing Swiss chocolate
mousse and I didn't waste any-
time choosing it in order to satis-
fy my need for something sweet.
Others included Kirsch and
Apfel Krapfen, and Sugar
Kirschtorte. I ordered a glass of
Contreau along with a -double
Espresso to close my sampling
endeavor at the Terrace.
An interesting aspect of this
eatery is that you can order the
food separate from the usual buf-
fet line. In other words. they
have a complete sit down menu
that includes a complete wine list
a> well. as other beverages. So
diners can walk in and ignore
what thev see on the servinc line
and begin their eating ritual as if
in a full service restaurant. Prices
for the event are 32,000 won for
lunch and 35,000 won for dinner
exclusive of tax and service
charge. Call 799-8166 if you like
a premium seats.
In closing. my personal note
must be in for Ralph Frebner. the
Executive Chef whose culinarv
work is alwavs a class act. Jen'-
nifer Kang, the P/R officer is a
loctl girl 'from near mv moun-
taintop vineyards in Northern
California. Good that I found
vou here at the Seoul Grand Hv-
Jenni'