Jeju Dream Tower's Grand Kitchen buffet relaunches with expanded hansik lineup

Lotte Tour Development said Tuesday that Grand Kitchen, the buffet restaurant at Grand Hyatt Jeju inside the Jeju Dream Tower integrated resort, has reopened after a renovation aimed at drawing more visitors with a strengthened hansik, or Korean cuisine, lineup.

Foreign guests have recently accounted for more than 80 percent of stays at Dream Tower. Grand Kitchen's revamped menu was designed to meet that tourist demand while capitalizing on the global wave of interest in hansik.

The renovation brings together the most popular hansik dishes associated with Jeju travel and the island's broader culinary offerings under one roof.

New additions to the menu include Jeju black pork samgyeopsal grilled over straw fire, hanwoo striploin (grade 1 or higher), deep-fried back ribs, LA galbi in a house sauce, and dombe-gogi — a traditional Jeju boiled pork dish. Seafood dishes have also been added, among them grilled Jeju hairtail, snow crab, soy-marinated and seasoned raw crab, abalone sashimi and raw fish rice bowls. Korean staples such as savory pancakes, sundae and fried chicken round out the savory offerings. Desserts lean on Jeju ingredients as well, featuring traditional yakgwa cookies, Jeju Karrot cake and hallabong scones.

"Guests can enjoy an unlimited spread of premium health-boosting dishes at outstanding value," a Lotte Tour Development official said. "We expect strong popularity as a premium buffet where diners can experience high-end hansik — particularly freshwater eel, which is rarely found at buffets and is grilled to order by a chef at the live kitchen station."

Grand Kitchen is overseen by Executive Chef Kim Young-min of Lotte Tour Development, who brings more than 20 years of experience including a stint as head chef at Fontana, the buffet restaurant at Wynn Palace integrated resort in Macau. Some 30 chefs, including Kim, staff the restaurant's seven stations — among them a Korean hot food station, a grill and a seafood counter.

Grand Kitchen is located on the fourth floor. Admission for adults is 60,000 won ($44) for breakfast (7–11 a.m.), 75,000 won for lunch (noon–2:30 p.m.) and 119,000 won for dinner (5–9:30 p.m.). Children aged 5 and under are admitted free.